Gardening With Perennials - Beautiful Splendor Year After Year

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

As I mentioned in an earlier post one of the wonderful things about summer - other than the warm temperatures - are beautiful blooming flowers. Annual flowers in colorful pots or hanging baskets are one way to bring the colors of summer to your home however flower beds surrounding your home can be even better.

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

One way to keep that gorgeous color year after year is by filling those beds with perennials, which are simply plants that produce flowers each growing season. Perennials can be found at nursery's, home improvement store - Home Depot, Lowe's - retail stores - Walmart - also check out your local grocery store, many carry plants at a reasonable price.

Perennials are sold two ways, already in a pot filled with soil - typically a gallon - or bare-root - a plant that is sold with the roots exposed, rather than in soil - one thing to keep in mind, if you purchase a bare-root plant it should be planted as soon as possible.

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

If your new to perennials here are a few key points to keep in mind while you search for the perfect plants.

• Planting Zones: Not all perennials are hardy in all areas, this mean that if a particular plant is not within your growing zone it will not survive the winter. If you’re not sure about what zone you live in, the USDA web-site has a good map to help with that information.

Sun Exposures: Here is when the location of your flower garden will come into play, as the amount of sun a plant is exposed to greatly affects its development.  Below is a list of the three most common types of sun exposure, you will find this information listed on the plastic tag stuck inside the plants pot.

• Full Sun:  6 - 8 hours of direct sunlight. For most plants – unless they are heat and draught tolerant, select a location in your yard that gives a full 6 - 8 hours of morning and early afternoon sun with a little shade or indirect light in the later hours. 

• Full Sun to Part Shade: This exposure breaks down to 4 to 8 hours of sunlight, most of which is morning with afternoon shade. 

• Shade to Part Sun: This exposure - 2 to 3 hours – is typically for plants that need mostly shade with a little sun. Direct morning sun with afternoon sun that is filtered through the branches and leaves of trees is perfect.

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

If your looking for color all season keep in mind that all perennials do not bloom at the same time - bloom time is also included on those plastic plant tags - and when in bloom some may last for just a couple of weeks or up to several months. For all season color gardening experts suggest planting varieties that bloom at different times, guaranteeing color from Spring right through to Fall. 

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

Determining where to place your plants depends on your gardens backdrop, will it be a border or floating within the lawn - this type is referred to as an island bed.  A backdrop for a border garden could be a fence, stonewall, building or a line of shrubs in which case you will want to start with the tallest plants in the back decreasing the size as you move to the front. In an open space – round or oval – place tallest plants in the center, then begin working outward gradually decreasing plant size.

Create interest by using various colors and textured plants, however a perennial garden can also be quite striking by using a variation of a single color. Give the garden a blended natural look by grouping plants together, in other words instead of lining the plants up like solders standing at attention plant in a triangle or diamond shape.

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

Patience, now here's a word you might not expect but trust me it's important, one of the most common mistakes people make when planting perennials - I've been to this movie countless times - is not paying attention to the spacing for each plant. Everyone wants a lush full garden which will happen over time - here's where patience comes into play - however many of us - yes, I'm raising my hand - want it instantly.

So to get that we put in tons of plants grouped close together, forgetting that next year these small to medium plants are going to come back bigger and will continue to do so every year there after. What you ultimately end up with is a jumble of color and texture, which in some cases is perfectly fine, if however your like me and want the various varieties to stand out and shine you'll need to allow for growth.

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

The rule of thumb for spacing breaks down to 18-36in apart for tall plants, 12-18in for medium and 6-12in for small plants. Here's a tip for those of you that just can't wait - yes, I'm raising my hand again - planting an odd number - 3 - 5 - 7 - in a group, leaving some space in between will increase the effect giving a new garden a fuller look.

Perennial Garden Ideas - Houzz Ideabooks

If you love flowers and have never planted perennial give them a try, I can promise you won't be disappointed. Along with the information within this post there are lots of gardening articles and web-sites filled with great advice, information and ideas but as with anything however you choose to design a garden and what to plant in it is entirely up to you.

As I mentioned I've planted a lot of gardens over the years and followed some advice but in the end pretty much did what I wanted. Many of those gardens turned out fine but a few where a bit of a disappointment, but you learn as you go.

One final thought, flower gardens don't have to be limited to strictly blooming plants, dwarf shrubs - Alberta spruces are our favorites - and ornamental trees can be planted amongst the perennials for added interest. Plant a garden big or small, watch it grow and enjoy.