Serendipity Gardens by Carol Hegel Lang

Now is the time to think about what you can add to have a stunning spring garden. What do you think of when you see your ideal spring garden? Flowering shrubs and trees, tulips, daffodils, lilacs and peonies are what most people see in their vision, but if you want to have that spectacular show of color you need to start planning in the fall.

For me spring is all about color and fragrance. Why not add a hardy magnolia like first editions centennial blush star magnolia that is hardy to zone 4. Azaleas and rhododendron add a delicate punch of color to the gardens with their ruffled blooms and I would suggest proven winners handyman purple rhododendron or rosy lights azalea, both of them are zone 4 hardy. A favorite of mine are the weigelas, and here I would choose first editions shining sensation with lipstick pink blooms and burgundy foliage. In my front garden I have a Miss Kim lilac that only grows to about 6 feet tall, but I would love to add the reblooming bloomerang variety if I add more space.

Most people only think about tulips and daffodils for spring but there are so many other bulbs that can be added to give a longer bloom season. Hyacinths give lots of color and fragrance but I have never had very good luck with them in my own gardens. Crocuses are early bloomers and often are blooming when covered with snow. One of the prettiest is muscari latifolium, a two-tone blue grape hyacinth that is fragrant and great for naturalizing. Why not add anemone white splendor with daisy-like blooms? The frilly white petals have a yellow center.

Fritillaria come in many colors and really add a tropical look to the spring garden. Your friends will definitely be asking you about them, so try several different ones. Alliums are one of my favorites because when they are done blooming, if you let them dry on the stalk in the garden, you can pick them later and bring in the house as a dried flower to enjoy for many years. They come in many sizes from small to the gigantic globemaster that has nearly 12-inch-across blooms. All of these spring blooming bulbs must be planted in the fall, so you may not be able to order them this late in the season, but put them on your list for next fall.

When it comes to tulips they have really developed some gorgeous colors and shapes over the years. My absolute favorite catalog is “Color Blends” and they will group colors together as the name implies for a stunning garden. Look for perennial tulips if you don’t want to spend the money planting them every fall as the other tulips generally don’t come back again the next year. The squirrels have always dug up my tulips so over the years I have shied away from tulips, and planted daffodils. A couple of years ago I decided I would try tulips again and ordered a double one named angelique that is pale pink with white. It blooms for quite a long time and doesn’t fall over if it snows while the plant is blooming. One of these years I will order more tulips and see if the squirrels leave them alone, and if they get a chance to bloom because the snow has finally melted away.

So why am I writing about spring blooming perennials, trees and bulbs when we are in late fall? Because, as I mentioned, most of these need to be planted in the fall if you want them for the next spring season. Start thinking about what you want to do with your spring gardens so that when fall arrives next year you can buy them and plant them to really add lots of color, fragrance and excitement to your gardens. Who doesn’t want to have the prettiest garden in the neighborhood anyway?

When you invest your time and money in your gardens you want to be able to sit back and look at them with pride and really enjoy them. Winter gives you that time to think about this.

 

Carol Hegel Lang is a green thumb residing in Albert Lea. Her column appears weekly. Email her at carolhegellang@gmail.com.