I love Anemone pulsatilla. I think these would be great. They also bloom for a very long time. As the season progresses, the plants get taller and the bloom stems get taller.

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Kevin

Muscari? It would multiply and soon you'll have a ton of those too.

You could use purple hyacinths or columbine if the daffys are late blooming. There is also a perennial species tulip that is a fuschia/purply color. This I haven't tried. Can anyone vouch for them?

Here is a link that might be useful: Specie Tulip

Creeping phlox would be great--blooms a long time--but it does like sun.

I also discovered an absolutely wonderful perennial a few years ago that is ridiculously easy and blooms very early and for a long time. I hardly ever see them but buy all I can when I do. It is Lathyrus vernus, the spring vetchling. It comes in shades of pink and purple.

Great foliage all season and about 20" tall. A member of the pea family, it has tiny peapods after the flowers go by. It does want sun.

I saw this on a garden tour about seven years ago, hunted some up, and don't know why they are not sold everywhere--very easy, very pretty.

Ajuga's and vinka minor's bloom will coincide with the mid-late blooming daffodils. Blue with yellow should work too.
If it's a well drained hill you may rethink tulips, but rather look for species (fosteriana, greigii or kaufmanniana) instead of hybrids. Even here, in my mulched and watered beds they are still very presentable after 3 years. Not sure about purple, but all shades of red are readily available.

aubretia, anenome as above and many others (great pic), forget-me-not, ajuga also, although it can be a thug for me all is forgiven when it flowers. This year my nepetia was flowering with my tulips. Ice pansy are also nice and seem to recover and start flowering about the time the late tulips bloom. Back to tulips though "Bakeri lilac wonder" is wonderful.

I agree with the suggestion of Anemone pulsatilla - they are beautiful and one of my favorites.

Mertensia virginiana - Bluebells - I saw them in a friend's garden this spring and have been coveting them ever since.

Bleeding Heart - Dicentra spectabilis - also blooms early - the same time as Darwin Tulips. If kept moist, it will bloom well into summer.

Allium and Columbine are also good at bridging spring bulbs with perennials.

Phlox subulata blooms from mid April to mid May for me.

great suggestions all. I think I will load up on the sure fire purple/blue hyacinths and creeping blue phlox and experiment with several of the perennials and see what shows up the best and check out the timing.

The hill is viewed from a bit of a distance so the showier the better. Some of the spring bloomers are more delicate. Will the A. pulsatilla show up from a distance? It looks great. Does it fill an area well (in time) or do I have to buy a lot? Its a big area

I might have trouble finding a lot of these at this time of year though. Either that or great sales !

I think some serious pruning of some of the forsythias might help de-yellow the area too. I have 3 of the groundcover type, 'Gold tide', but I don't think they read the tag about "groundcover" :-)

wendyb - you have some great questions - thanks for posting this. I have a similar area myself this is also viewed from a distance.

If you want impact from afar, Phlox subulata is a good choice. It spreads slowly and takes very little care. But it blooms later than Forsythia, though.

I like unpruned Forsythia for the arching branches. I wonder if Iris reticulata blooms as early as Frosythia. What about deep blue Scilla sibirica? Plant them near Forsythia to set off the yellow color????

Well now its yellow time and the forsythia and yellow daffs are in bloom. It seems that my memory was failing me last August. Most of the yellow daffs are no longer around. Not sure where they went. the white daffs help make it not as yellow as my memory thought it was. I have some low "groundcover" type forsythia there too. I think I might relocate them before they get too big.
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I planted camassia but they are not up yet. I tried a few icicle pansies, but they are ineffective. My phlox is not in bloom yet nor are columbines or anything else here. The only thing blue I have in bloom now is chiondoxa and hyacinths. I'm going to be hitting garden centers today. Maybe I will see something blue. But it looks like this fall I will be planting hyacinths. I think I will mark the spots for them now.

If your forsythia are still in bloom, do you have any blue perennials in bloom now?

My blue pholox subulata and my forsythia are both in bloom now, as well as the grape hyacinths and chionodoxa in that bed.

Someone gave me a clump of pulmonaria Mrs. Moon (bluish/pinkish blooms) last year, and it is in bloom now (and has been for well over a week). I wasn't aware this bloomed so early in the season. The blooms are tiny, and probably not much of an impact from a distance, though.

Good luck and please post if you find anything at the garden centers. I think we all look for this color combination at this time of year!

:)
Dee

Hmmm, so Anemone pulsatilla doesn't poop out in the heat like A. decans? I love the colors on the decans but have only had a couple over winter successfully and they disappear as summer's heat starts to kick in.

Pulmonarias are good blues and generally flower ahead of daffodils, with daffodils and after daffs have departed. I have one called Little Blue Star which is a mass of blue. And one called Rasphberry Splash which, as you might suspect, is pink. And then there is Sissinghurst White.
Blue hyacinths make a big impact but so do squills. And chionodoxa. Purple crocus tomasianus is also good with daffs. And how about phlox stolonifera though mine isn't blooming yet.

Pulmonarias are wonderful in a shady location. I have several varieties and for leaf interest alone they are fabulous. If you have medium sun, try some of the hybrid primroses, and for a near full sun, the pulsatilla is very good. Anchusa is a super blue for full sun, but maybe a bit late season for your need.

George

What is blue and blooming right now, with the neighbor's forsythia is: pulmonaria Mrs. Moon, Johnson's Blue, Blue Ensign and Roy Davidson, Brunnera, Virginia bluebells, veronica Georgia Blue and scilla.

The bluebells will disappear, like the daffodils. Of the rest, Johnson's Blue pulmonaria would be my first choice because it seems to have the best combination of flower power and plant vigor.

How about this for a distant view?
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Looks stunning, George. I have noticed that pjm's overlap nicely with forsythia as I drive around. I've never been a fan of PJM's except the first time in the year that I see them! But maybe I should reconsider. I would have to do some musical chairs to make it happen, but that's probably my best bet for a big look.

How about Purple Gem rhododendron? I haven't grown it yet so can't guarantee exactly when it blooms but it is early, shorter than pjm but more purple than pink.

is that def PJM? I think I remember Purple Gem not being quite as cold hardy. Better check that out. Also, it is much shorter and stays smaller than PJM, doesn't it.

I think the combo photographed is fun, and that's what we need in the tempermental NE spring....Fun! You made me think because we are redoing a tough small hill side with existing forthysia. (it is def going to be hacked back faor the first time in 20 years, after it blooms.) Take that! and That!
marie