Perennials for your flower garden


Perennials will be the backbone of your flower garden because they have staying power.

Their leaves die back as winter approaches, but with luck, they'll come back each year. Some plants are short-lived, but old favorites like daylilies, hostas and peonies can thrive for decades.

The charm of a flower garden is the fact that it changes month by month, giving you new blooms to enjoy all season.



When you begin your flower garden, it's easy to think that all you have to do is get your plants into the ground, and with the exception of weeding, watering and cutting your plants back each season, your garden will be done.

But here's what really happens in the garden:

Perennials
Lush perennial garden
with purple coneflowers
Photo: ©Y.Cunnington


The first year your new plants are underwhelming – the clumps small, the flowers sparse.

By the second year, you'll see more flowers and better growth. But in the third season – watch out – your plants look like they're on steroids, and you look like an accomplished gardener.

After that, many plants get bigger each season, while the odd one does a disappearing act.

Responding to inevitable change is the challenge - and that's why veteran gardeners often say that no flower garden is ever really finished.

The right plants for your garden

When designing your flower garden, there are many choices to make with regard to planting.

Some are purely aesthetic - such as match-making plant combinations and colors - and others, horticultural - what grows best in your conditions.

The more closely you base decisions on meeting the needs of your plants - light requirements, soil and moisture levels - and on which plants look good together, the more successful your flower garden will be.

In the links below, you'll find information and growing tips for many flower garden favorites:

PERENNIAL PLANTS
FOR SUNNY GARDENS:

Bearded iris - Modern cultivars with better color, more blooms

Perennials - peonies
Peonies - old-fashioned
garden favorites

Cushion spurge - Long-blooming flowers for spring with Euphorbia polychroma

Daylilies - Hardy, easy-to-grow favorites

Dianthus 'Firewitch' - A perfect low-growing
spring flower

Echinacea - New-look coneflowers to try out

Geranium Rozanne - 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year

Lavender - Makes an elegant edging plant

Perennials - bearded iris
Bearded irises flower
in jewel-like tones

Lilies (Lilium) - Beautiful blooms that mix well with other flowers

Nepeta 'Walker's Low' - Handsome catmint

Peonies - Colorful, fragrant and fabulous

Roses - Discover the allure of rose growing

Russian sage - Here's one for hot, dry gardens

PERENNIAL PLANTS FOR SHADE

Helleborus × hybridus (lenten rose)
- Long-blooming flowers for early spring

Hosta - The shade garden star

Perennials - hostas
Hostas make elegant
foliage plants

All Photos: ©Y.Cunnington

Japanese Painted Fern
- Attractive and low-maintenance

SPECIAL CONDITIONS
AND SEASONAL INTEREST

Big bold plants - Add drama to your garden

Damp spots in the garden -Native plants that
love it moist

Fall-bloomers - The season may be coming to an end, but why should your show stop early?

Plants with attractive foliage - Why leaves matter

Perennial ground covers - Plants for challenging spots

Rock gardening tips - Easy alpines for beginners

For more information:

More easy-care perennials - Flowers that grow themselves

Cut your own garden flowers - Tips for long-lasting bouquets

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