Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’). Not only my favorite, this plant was awarded the 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year. Light blue forget-me-not type flowers are blooming now, with new leaves popping out on this shade or part-shade perennial. The leaves decay in the winter, but return readily in our Zone 8 gardens. While not evergreen, the benefits outweigh this minor negative. After the flowers finish blooming in the spring, the clumping type plant, which is dividable for free additions, continues to give summer contrast in the garden with silvery, green veined heart-shaped leaves. Many gardeners new to our area ask “What is that beautiful plant?”

Variegated Winter Daphne (Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’). This is a beautiful plant at all times of the year, adding to foliage interest in the garden with evergreen leaves tinged in white. During the late winter and early spring months, the plant produces very fragrant small clusters of small pink flowers. I recently walked through the Bellevue Botanical Garden where the air is filled with the sweet scent of this favorite shrub, which grows to about four feet tall. Mine is happy to grow in not perfect soil, in part shade near a stand of pine trees.

Both of our spring plant picks are slug, rabbit, and deer resistant! For information on more ideal plant selections in our growing area, the SBGS recommends the website: Great Plant Picks (www.greatplantpicks.org). Happy spring gardening! - By Sarah Cheng