"If you spend your time chasing butterflies - they will fly away
However,
if you spend your time building a beautiful garden - the butterflies will come to you
And if they don’t,
at least you have a garden to be happy with”
So you want to plant a perennial garden but you don’t know where to start. You’ve come to the right place.
This post will mainly focus on adding a few pops of color to your garden rather than the lush greenery that New England spring yards, wood lines, and understories are already plentiful of. Not to mention the much-needed saturation of color for the soul after a gray Vermont winter.
Hellebore - Have a shady area that stays fairly moist in your yard? If you live in Vermont I bet the answer to that question is “absolutely”. Hellebores thrive in those exact conditions and offer a fairly wide variety of color options from light green to deep purple. They’re deer resistant and will often hold blooms for over a month offering a specular show well into summer.
Columbine - A magical native - usually found under the tree canopy of woodlands, in meadows, and thriving at high altitudes. Columbine does well in partial shade with well-drained soil and will produce volunteer seedlings close to other plants offering the potential for a long-term addition to your garden.
Jacob’s Ladder - Preferring a cooler summer climate, this showy blue flower will offer a re-bloom in late summer if cut back at the proper time in spring. Plant Jacob’s Ladder in a moist, partial to a fully shaded area to add a glint of blue cluster to your landscape.
Thank you for checking out this month's perennial round-up!