A long sweep of Spanish bluebells keeps you on the path in this spring-blooming woodland border. The cool, lavender-blue flowers lead you along past magenta azaleas and fluffy white foamflower in the dappled sunlight. Spanish bluebells easily naturalize by bulblets or seed, filling in the space between the path and lawn for years. They’ll go dormant after they bloom, so pull up spent foliage after it has dried or take an extra round with the lawn mower to clean up the bed. Replace the bluebells with a row of summer-blooming annuals.
A) Azalea (Rhododendron hybrid) Type Shrub Blooms Red, pink, white, yellow or orange flowers in early to late spring Light Full sun to part shade Size 2 to 15 ft. tall and wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3 to 11, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 11 to 1
B) Foamflower (Tiarella spp. and hybrids) Type Perennial Blooms White or pink flowers in spring Light Part to full shade Size 2 to 18 in. tall, 6 to 36 in. wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1
C) Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) Type Bulb Blooms Blue-lavender blooms in spring Light Part to full shade Size 12 to 18 in. tall, 3 to 6 in. wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1