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Proven Winners Spring Magic

By early March, my mid-South garden can experience some deceptively warm days.  The temperatures can be in the lower 70s for a day or two before returning to the more common 40s and 50s.  These breaks from winter weather offer a tonic to my spring gardening fever, but I know better than to get too eager.  A drop in temperature can wipe out warm season flowers that are planted too early.

But there is a solution.  My friends at Proven Winners® offer a collection of flowering and foliage plants that are both cold hardy and colorful. Spring Magic® plant varieties can be planted in early spring and enjoyed until it’s time to replant them with warm season favorites such as Supertunia® Petunias and Angelface® Angelonias. 

What’s even better is these varieties are perfect for containers so you don’t have to worry about working in cold, wet flowerbeds to enjoy their beauty.  Simply pot them up for an instant splash of color.  Many of the Spring Magic® plants are perennials so they can be transplanted into your garden when you are ready to update your containers for summer.

There are over 40 plants available in the Spring Magic® collection.  Below I’ve listed 10 to give you an idea of all the possibilities.  Visit www.ProvenWinners.com to see all the Spring Magic® plants and to find a retailer near you.

10 Spring Magic® Plants to Try

Dolce® Blackcurrant Coral Bells (Heuchera hybrid)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 4 – 9, Full Sun to Full Shade, 8 – 16 inches tall
The bold purple foliage with striking silver accents of this Heuchera is a stunning addition to the garden.  It’s compact, mounding habit makes it the ideal companion in container gardens.

Helena’s Blush Wood Spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides hybrid)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 6 – 9, Full Sun to Partial Shade, 16 – 20 inches tall
I’m a big fan of Euphorbias.  I’m crazy about Diamond Frost® and the holidays just wouldn’t be the same without a few poinsettias around.  Helena’s Blush has green and white variegated foliage that are brushed with fuchsia highlights when the temperatures are chilly.  Chartreuse flowers appear in early spring.

Pagoda™ Columbine (Aquilegia hybrida)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 3 – 8, Partial Sun, 12 – 16 inches tall
If you need to add some color to a container in a partially shaded area, columbine is an excellent choice.  I love the delicate spurred flowers.  I like to plant Pagoda™ Columbine with Dolce® Blackcurrant Coral Bells.  The color and texture combination is a showstopper.  Pagoda™ varieties include Blue and White, Pink and White, Rose and Ivory, Rose and White and White

Polar™ English Daisy (Bellis perennis)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 4 – 8, Full Sun to Partial Shade, 5 – 7 inches tall
This is a flower that I always reach for when creating Spring container gardens. The button-like blooms with their cheery yellow centers are charming when paired with Spring flowering bulbs and other early bloomers such as Nemesia and Alyssum.  Available varieties include Pink, Red, Strawberries and Cream, and White

Silver Chiffon™ Snow in Summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 2 – 7, Full Sun, 6 – 8 inches tall
I like this plant for its woolly, silver foliage as much as I do for the abundance of delicate white flowers with bright yellow eyes.  It’s a wonderful choice for a monochromatic container planted with all white, glaucous and green flowers and foliage.

Stargazer® Mercury Foamflower (Tiarella)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 5 – 11, Partial to Full Shade, 8 – 12 inches tall
I am spellbound by the deeply lobed, green and burgundy variegated leaves on this plant.  Talk about adding pattern and texture! This is the plant to choose.  In early spring Stargazer® Mercury will put forth lovely soft white to pink blooms.

White Lace™ Evergreen Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
Fast Facts: Perennial, Zones 3 – 9, Full Sun, 8 – 10 inches tall
White Lace™ Candytuft covers itself in puffs of delicate white blooms.  In terms of early Spring flower power, this one is hard to beat.   It’s an ideal choice for spilling over the edge of a container.  Try it in a container combination with Silver Chifffon™ Snow in Summer, Blue Crown™ Blue Fescue and Dolce® Blackcurrant Coral Bells. 

Blue Crown™ Blue Fescue (Festuca)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 4 – 8, Full Sun to Partial Shade, 4 – 8 inches
This is a beautiful gray-blue grass that offers cool color and spiky texture for containers and flower borders.  Once established, it’s fairly drought tolerant so it’s a great choice for areas where water is limited.

‘Baby Blue’ Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica hybrid)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 3 – 8, Full Sun to Partial Shade, 6 – 8 inches tall
If you are a sucker for blue flowers like I am, this old-fashioned favorite will deliver.  Delicate sky blue flowers cover the low-growing plants.  Forget-Me-Nots are especially stunning when planted in drifts.  One of my favorite places to plant them is along the edge of a path. 

'Spring Silver' Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum hosmariense)
Fast Facts:  Perennial, Zones 5 – 7, Full Sun, 8 – 10 inches tall
This Shasta Daisy has a compact habit that is well suited for containers.  The flower’s pure white petals encircle a large golden disk and appear earlier than other Shasta Daisies such as another one of my favorites Broadway Lights™.  The sunny blooms look great in combination with blue flowers such as ‘Baby Blue’ Forget-Me-Nots.