With spring just on the horizon, Hampton Nursery & Landscape is buzzing with the energy of gardeners preparing for the season ahead. March stands as a crucial month for laying the groundwork for a vibrant, perennial-rich garden that will captivate and enchant through the months to come. Embracing perennials in your garden plan is a wise strategy for those looking to create a space that not only blooms year after year but also becomes an ever-evolving natural retreat. Let’s explore how to brighten your garden with some perennial favorites: Hellebores, Phlox, Dicentra, and Forget Me Nots.

The Perennial Promise

Opting for perennials offers a lasting legacy in your garden. These stalwart plants reemerge each spring, providing a reliable backbone of color, texture, and life that outlives the fleeting beauty of annuals. This enduring nature of perennials not only ensures a return on your gardening investment but also fosters a more diverse and mature ecosystem in your garden over time.

March’s Must-Have Perennials

Hellebores: Celebrated for their resilience and early bloom, Hellebores, or Lenten roses, are a beacon of hope in the late winter garden. These robust plants offer a spectrum of colors from crisp whites to rich purples, thriving in the cool, partial shade of early spring.

Phlox: As a herald of spring, Phlox lights up the garden with its vivid, fragrant flowers. Ideal for sunny spots with good drainage, Phlox welcomes the new gardening year with its striking colors and serves as a perfect border or ground cover.

Dicentra: Also known as bleeding heart, Dicentra captivates with its distinctive, heart-shaped blooms. This perennial adds a touch of elegance and charm to shaded areas, with its delicate foliage and arching stems creating an alluring display in the early spring garden.

Forget Me Nots: With their soft blue petals and contrasting yellow centers, Forget Me Nots are the epitome of springtime charm. These versatile flowers excel in moist, shaded areas, providing a serene blue backdrop or filler for garden beds, complementing the likes of Hellebores and Dicentra beautifully.

Perennial Planting Best Practices

For a thriving perennial garden, consider the following tips:

  • Soil Preparation: Enrich your garden with compost to improve soil quality, ensuring a fertile and well-draining environment for your perennials.
  • Espoma Bio-tone Starter Plus: Incorporating Espoma Bio-tone Starter Plus into your planting routine promotes healthy root development and early plant growth, thanks to its blend of organic fertilizers and beneficial microbes.
  • Consistent Watering: Establishing perennials requires thorough watering at planting and consistent moisture, especially during their first growing season, to foster deep, resilient root systems.
  • Mulching: Apply a layer of organic mulch around your perennials to maintain soil moisture, regulate temperature, and suppress weeds. This not only aids plant health but also contributes to soil fertility as the mulch decomposes.

Conclusion

Integrating perennials like Hellebores, Phlox, Dicentra, and Forget Me Nots into your March garden planning sets the stage for a dynamic, blooming landscape that will return and reinvent itself each year. At Hampton Nursery & Landscape, we’re committed to providing the plants, products, and expertise you need to create a garden that brings joy and beauty season after season. Here’s to a flourishing garden this spring and many more to come! Happy gardening!