By David Moore
Flowering shrubs and perennial borders are a renewable resource — pleasure and beauty which are free after the first year. (Photos taken March 28, 2009.)
(To see a larger version of any of these photos, click on the thumbnail.)
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- Rhododendron species R. lanigerum is our earliest bloomer this year.
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- Pink buds of Rhododendron calophytum need a day or two more of mild spring weather.
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- Snowdrops will give way to daffodills as March turns to April.
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- Young leaves and sepals of hellebore glow with the sunlight behind them.
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- Bulbs are the mainstay of bright colours in spring for us and for the bees.
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- Helleborus orientalis, or Lentin Rose is an eager bloomer despite the cool, damp weather.
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- Hellebores have a good colour range.
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- H. orientalis opens and awaits pollination.
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- Hepatica is a woodland wildflower of Eastern North America, also happy here.
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- Primula varieties are early, colourful and unstoppable once established.
