Five spring perennials for March

Pulmonaria (lungwort)

Pulmonaria, or lungwort, are brilliant plants to have in the garden. There are plenty of different varieties to choose from, including 'Red Freckles', 'Ocupol' or simply the species lungwort Pulmonaria rubra. All are easy to grow, have pretty flowers and are a magnet for bees.

Watch Monty Don demonstrates how to divide lungwort, in this Gardeners' World clip:

Pulsatilla (pasque flower)

Pulsatilla, also known as pasque flowers, form colonies with silky, silvery foliage and purple, star-shaped flowers appearing from March to May. Once flowering has finished, leave the seedheads on to encourage the plants to self-seed and form new colonies.

Native primroses

Our native UK primroses, Primula vulgaris, are reliable plants that will take the worst weather thrown at them with gusto. A cool, shady spot is ideal. Here, you can leave them to naturalise and form clumps with fragrant, pale lemon yellow flowers.

Bergenia

Bergenia are tough, evergreen perennials. They'll happily tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, making them ideal ground cover plants. There are a number of new and attractive cultivars available, including the hairy-leaved Bergenia ciliata 'Wilton' and the icy pink flowered 'Silberlicht'.

Hellebores

Hellebores are perfect additions to woodland-style planting schemes – they look wonderful planted beneath trees where they combine well with other spring flowering plants like primulas and grape hyacinth. You can even use them to create a bee-friendly spring container display. Watch out for black spots on hellebore leaves – these are a sign of fungal disease. Remove any affected leaves that you find.