Top five spring-flowering perennials

Many of our favourite plants are perennials. Unlike annuals, that often need to be replaced once or twice each year, perennials have the advantage of bouncing back, year after year. Many just get bigger and better with age, often surviving for many years. They are usually easy-to-care for plants making them a great asset in the low-maintenance garden. With propagation, usually achieved by simply dividing mature clumps, they generously give us more plants for our money.

Perennial borders can create stunning, eye-catching displays and reflect a variety of planting styles, from traditional cottage to the more contemporary, naturalistic planting style as pioneered by the Dutch landscape designer, Piet Oudolf. Perennials are an easy way to add colour to the garden. As we move into spring, the borders are bursting into life with early-flowering perennials. Here are just a handful of our seasonal favourites.

Dicentra spectabilis

Also known as bleeding heart, this plant has delicate, fern-like foliage but is tougher than it looks. It bears pretty pink and white, heart-shaped flowers. Best in a sheltered position, mass planting of Dicentra looks great in the dappled shade of trees.

Primula vulgaris

The true primrose of European woodlands, it has a soft, pale yellow flower and flowers for several weeks through spring. Looks great when planted in drifts at the front of a partially-shaded border and readily self-seeds.

Helleborus orientalis

The Lenten rose is a great evergreen perennial with its large, palmate leaves and flowers that take centre stage in early to mid-spring in pretty shadings of colour, ranging from white to green, pink and mottled.

Aquilegia

Also called granny's bonnet, aquilegias come in a variety of sizes and colour combinations and self-seed freely. This plant thrives in a woodland garden but is equally at home in full sun. A lovely plant suited to both contemporary and cottage garden planting schemes.

Polygonatum

Happiest in shade or semi-shade, this plant is reminscent of lily of the valley with its bell-shaped white flowers on elegant, arching stems. Allow it to colonise a shady area and plant along with foxgloves to really brighten up a dingy corner.