Three perennials will give you continuous color from spring.

Yes, but you don’t need five. Stick with bleeding heart, creeping phlox, and catmint. They stagger blooms naturally, handle neglect, and actually come back every year. Bleeding heart flowers early, phlox takes over in mid-spring, and catmint keeps going into summer. Cut the phlox back after first flush and it reblooms. That’s three, not five — because most “top five” lists include stuff like peonies (late spring) or irises (brief). If you want continuous color, plant these three and call it done. You can add a fourth if you’re feeling ambitious, but don’t overthink it.