We know. It’s hard to conjure April showers and May flowers while December frost and January sleet lurk just below the nearer horizon.

But dates on the calendar are like objects in the side-view mirror: Closer than they look. Spring sales are really not so far away. Now’s the time to do the kitchen prep for two early risers that will be key ingredients in your future inventory.

Phlox subulata “Moss phlox” One of spring’s earliest harbingers, tough, colorful and cheerful. If it were a bird, it would be a robin.  Our 11 varieties provide a wide range of colors on the species’ trademark low, creeping habit.

One of our faves: ‘Candy Stripe’, a riot of starry blooms with a sweet pink brushstroke right down the middle of each white petal. 

Aquilegia: “Columbine”

Behold the beloved columbine! Behold especially two particular incarnations: Graceful A. caerulea  ‘Swan Pink-Yellow’ (a.k.a. ‘Oregon’), and the short, compact, heavy-blooming, double-flowered A. vulgaris Winky Series. They’ll light up your benches and your customers’ faces. 

Still can’t picture spring? Give us a call. We’ll ship you some. Spring comes in easy-planting, fast-finishing trays from Emerald Coast Growers – the easy choice!