Perennial Flowers

What is a Perennial Plant?

Generally, a perennial plant is one that persists for more than one or two years; but you will find that “perennial” can mean any time period from one season to more years than your lifetime. Perennial flowers in the garden, given that they are hardy in your climate and the growing conditions agree with them, will usually grow dependably for many years.

While some are grown for their foliage, gardeners are most often looking for these plantings to produce blossoms to brighten their landscape plans. These plants mainly flower for part of the growing season, unlike annuals (one season life-cycle plants). Thus, the enjoyable challenge of pairings that bloom together, and groups that brighten each part of the growing season from spring through fall.

Delphinium for height, mounding daisies for form, and daylilies anchor the design with color and contrast.

Perennial Plant Growth Characteristics

“First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap”

Perennials are plants that persist for more than one season. The hardiness level determines whether they are perennial in your garden climate. Usually more substantial in form and growth than most annuals, they are largely responsible for the lush beauty of English flower borders.

The Hardest Working Plants In The Garden

Since they live longer, these plants can be slower to establish and bloom; they often require the maintenance of lifting and dividing every few years (unless they are of the type that hate to be moved like herbaceous peonies).

“Plants will disappoint you if you don’t know them. It takes years to understand plants and how to use them. They are like human beings – you might meet one and at first think, ‘Oh, they’re pretty’, but then you get to know them, and discover that maybe they are not so pretty to work with, or live with, or they might not work well with others. To know plants takes a lifetime, and you must practice using them and make lots of mistakes, because failure is part of the whole experience.” -Piet Oudolf

The range of perennial flowering plants is incredible, which is one of the things that makes creating perennial plantings so much fun for gardeners. Of different forms and habits: tall or creeping and everything in between, a rainbow of bloom colors and foliage… for dry situations or for wet, for sweet or sour soil… – perennials originate from all around the world. You can’t grow all of them, but the choices for those in moderate climes are vast. Whole books, some very fat ones, are written about this type of garden plant. Discover your own favorites.

perennial abundance

You might say they are the hardest working plants because they provide so much interest and color for so little in return. They can serve as groundcovers, link the shrubs and trees to the rest of the landscape and the house. They are easily divided into new plants, and provide many sturdy starts that ask little in care. Initial soil amendments and some mulch are all many of them will need for years of beauty. Find out which are the stalwarts and which are sweet, but short term inhabitants of the garden.

5 Good Points for Growing Great Perennial Plants

Favorite Perennials

Secrets of Success

1. Always start with good soil preparation– this is the single most important thing you can do for perennial success.
2. Right plant for right place– find out the pH of the soil, the sunshine levels, and the moisture state during your growing season. The growing information for specific plants will guide you before you buy. Plants that like where they are planted thrive. (that means get the conditions as close to what the natural conditions might be). Is it a mountain plant, a Mediterranean native, a wetland plant?
3. Space the plants within the dimensions suggested and put at least three plants together– they grow well and look good that way.
4. Cultivate around the perennials and add fertilizer regularly during the time they put on growth; use division of plants to keep them rejuvenated.
5. Take notes and keep a journal, so you can remember all the information tidbits and what is planted where… some perennial plants are late starters, and some go dormant in hot weather. Many gardeners stick markers in the ground, but those can get lost. You will be glad if you wrote down the plant names, requirements, and placement.

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I want real flowers, perennial plants which not only grow and change and die, but also rise again and astonish me. A garden shouldn’t just bloom and look pretty; it should develop like the rest of life. Otherwise it, and we, live only to be spaded under. ~Emma L. Roth-Schwartz

“Cut and come again”

General Articles on Perennials

• What You Need To Know To Create A Garden
• Make a Perennial Garden
• Top Ten Perennials
• 12 Low-growing Spring Perennials
• 12 Midsummer Blooming Perennials
• 5 Best Perennials for August
• The Prairie Garden
• Why Plant Perennials?
• Country Garden Plants

Designs for Perennial Flower Gardens

Best time to Divide Perennials -easy print-out reference from Garden Gate Magazine.[pdf file]

A White or Moon Garden

A Blue Garden

A Cottage Garden

A Prairie Garden

American Style

Rock Gardens

Certain Plants for Certain Places

Useful Plant Lists

Tough Plants for Tough Places | Cottage Garden Plants | List of Plants for Dry Spaces | Fragrant Plants

Other articles of interest: Hellebores

Ten Best Perennials To Grow
Grow Native Plants
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