Plant Perennials for Season Long Color

Perennials are the backbone of nearly every garden. To be considered a perennial plant, the plants must die back to the ground at the end of each season and regrow from the same roots each year. Perennials are easy to care for, dependable growers, and come in a wide variety of colors, textures, and forms, making them the perfect plants to add to your gardens for all growing season enjoyment.

With careful planning and selection of plants, gardeners can design their landscape to burst with color from early summer through late autumn. When planting your perennial garden, aim for a balance of integration and contrast. Too much variety can become unappealing, while not enough can become boring.

Some find it easier to stick to the same category of colors or pick a theme for the garden, but it also depends on personal taste and preference.                   It is important to remember that most of the time the plants will be green and in their leaf form, which is why you want to also pay attention to bloom time.  The bloom times of perennials can range anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months. If you want all season color, choose plants with various bloom times. For best effect, group at least 2 or 3 different varieties of plants together that will bloom at the same time.

 

Spring Blooming Perennials

• Columbine
• Bleeding Heart
• Bluebells
• Pasque Flower

 

Early Summer Blooming Perennials

• Peonies
• Poppies
• Meadow Sage
• Catmint

 

Mid Summer Blooming Perennials

• Day Lilies
• Shasta Daisies
• Monarda
• Delphinium
• Fox Glove
• Veronica

Late Summer / Fall Blooming Perennials

• Astilbe
• Black Eyed Susan
• Phlox
• Helianthus
• Coreopsis

 

Fall Blooming Perennials

• Aster
• Goldenrod
• Sedum
• Joe Pye Weed
• Ligularia

 

All Summer Blooming Perennials

• Blanket Flower
• Coneflower
• Coreopsis
• Ever Blooming Daylily
• Primrose
• Veronica
• Yarrow
• Daisy

 

Many perennials are self-propagating, meaning that they will spread themselves. These plants will continue to multiply and spread with no effort by the gardener, almost like receiving free plants! Popular self-propagating plants include catmint, phlox, dianthus, coneflower, salvia, sedum, russian sage, veronica, yarrow, beebalm, ajuga, artemisia, big montana lobelia.

To give your perennial garden, and other flowers as well, an extra boost, fertilize with a fertilizer that has a high phosphorus number (such as 5-10-5). Not only will you have happy perennials, but more blooms and better color as well.

Don’t forget to protect your plants from the deer! We recommend the Plant Saver or Deer Stopper formulas, and you can pick both of them up in the Garden Center today!

While there are plants that the deer are less likely to eat than others, it is not a guarantee. Popular deer-resistant perennials include:

– Fox Glove                                         – Fountain Grass

– Balloon Flower                               – Ostrich Fern

– Aster                                                 – Lamb’s Ear

– Phlox                                                 – Coreopsis

– Seedum                                             – Lavender

– Butterfly Weed                               – Sea Holly

– Hens and Chicks                            – Catmint

– Ajuga                                                – Salvia

– Astilbe                                              – Cone Flower

– Clematis                                           – Joe Pye Weed

– Beebalm                                           – Campula Family

 

In nearly every garden you will find one or more perennial plants. These plants are hardy but at the same time provide beautiful, long lasting color. By staggering the bloom times of plants in your garden, you can easily create a masterpiece to enjoy all season long. Start filling your garden with color today!