Facing a forecast of heaps of snow the other day, Ken Druse and I got to dreaming on the phone together of more colorful times ahead. Of the emergence, not so very long in the future, of spring’s first woodland perennials, natives that do their thing early beneath trees and shrubs.
“Hey, let’s make it another edition of our Desert Island Plants series on the radio show and podcast,” we decided. And so favorite natives of spring are the topic.

Talking about our most loved spring native woodland perennials is a perfect fit for Ken Druse, whose books “The Natural Shade Garden” in 1992 and “The New Shade Garden,” published in 2015, each covered a choice selection of such plants. He’s back today on Skype from his own snowbank, a few hours’ drive away from mine, to think spring and its fantastic native perennials. Attachments area
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