notes and musings from a perennial gardener
Plant Profiles
Irises are one of those flower families you either like quite a bit or not at all, perhaps unfairly. There are dozens of cultivars, so there’s bound to be something worth considering if you don’t currently grow them. If bearded iris aren’t your thing, the more demure beardless types might tempt you. Keep keep an open mind as we explore some possibilities.
For a superb cutting flower with “wow” presence, the familiar peony still ranks among the best perennials you can grow. If you haven’t thought about peonies in a while, it’s time to reconsider. Many are wonderfully fragrant too. These long-lived charmers will reward you with glorious spring blooms for decades.
Bleeding Heart (Lamprocapnos, formerly Dicentra) never fails to enchant us each spring with strings of little heart-shaped flowers, dangling like so many lockets on a vintage charm bracelet.
If you don’t already grow one of these beauties, maybe now’s the time. Planting a bleeding heart is a lovely way to honor someone’s memory if you’ve recently lost a loved one, or a pet. Perhaps you just enjoy romantic and nostalgic things. Long lived and totally carefree, bleeding hearts unfurl their charms each spring to delight us for a few brief weeks, then softly fade away.