Regional Picks: Spring Color—Mountain West

If your first few trips to the greenhouse can be overwhelming and disorderly , check out our plant recommendations for spring semblance in your region . There ’s no doubt that these saltation flowers will bring around the winter blues .

1. Mountain alyssum

Alyssum montanum

Zones:3–9

Size:6 inches tall and 12 to 20 inches wide

Conditions : Full sun ; adaptable to a wide reach of grease circumstance

aboriginal range : Mediterranean

This evergreen undercoat cover has modest gray - green leaves topped with stack of bright yellow ﬂowers that announce springiness has ofﬁcially arrived in the Rockies . The fragrant perennial does particularly well in John Rock garden where it can cascade down over stones and down wall . Deadheading after flush help it stay in a compact , mounded var. while also minimizing its disperse by seed . Once established , it is very drought tolerant .

2. Reticulated iris

Iris reticulata

Zones:5–9

Size:3 to 6 inch tall and 3 inches wide-cut

Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; varying soil conditions

Native reach : Turkey , Iran , Iraq , and the Caucasus Mountains

resemble crocus from a aloofness , clumps of reticulate iris are an other predecessor of saltation . The fragrant , diminutive ﬂowers come in shades of blue and majestic , with stripes of yellow and blank on the falls . This easy - upkeep bulb has grasslike leaves that fade away after blooming ; it then locomote dormant until the next year . It makes a majuscule molding industrial plant , but you will ﬁnd it thriving in my rock garden .

3. Flowering currant

Ribes × gordonianum

Zones:5–7

Size:3 to 5 feet improbable and 4 to 6 foot spacious

atmospheric condition : Full sun to fond shade ; rich , well - debilitate stain

Native chain of mountains : crossbreed of North American species

While many currants are known for their delicious fruit , this vain kind is known for its showy , fragrant blossoms in previous outpouring and for its fall leafage . Clusters of dangling , deep - pink - to - red bud open into trumpet - shaped , sluttish pinkish ﬂowers on the exterior with yellow on the inside , create a stunning multicolored shrub . In fall , the traditional currant - shaped leaves become reddish brown , adding nice color to the Western garden . require little maintenance , this shrub can be circumvent or function as a foundation planting .

4. Pasque flower

Pulsatilla vulgaris

Zones:4–8

Size:8 to 12 in tall and wide

condition : Full sun to partial shade ; well - enfeeble soil

aboriginal chain : Europe

One of my pet perennials , the pasque ﬂower provides many time of year of interest . Its purple , toll - form ﬂowers with a lustrous yellow plaza are some of the ﬁrst to blossom in our part . Many unlike cultivar in shades of purple , blue , red , and pink can now be come up . The ﬂowers are soon follow by beautiful ﬂuffy seeded player nous . Hairy , fernlike foliage offers interesting grain throughout the rise season . Pasque ﬂower mildly reseeds in the correct conditions .

— Michelle Provaznik is the executive director of the Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins , Colorado .

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Reticulated iris

Photo: Bill Johnson

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