Do you want more perennials in your garden but you’re not sure where to begin?
Fear not! Let’s dive into 5 key considerations to guide you in choosing the perfect perennials for your garden, transforming your space into a blooming haven year after year.
1. Flower Timing:
Perennials flower at different times of the year. When thinking about what to plant, consider when these plants will flower. Perennials usually fall into 4 flowering windows:
- Early Spring
- Spring
- Summer
- Late Summer/Fall
When shopping for perennials, be sure to shop during the season you want them blooming in your garden. Most stores will stock perennials when they are in flower so you know what you are getting, however, you can always call and ask if they carry perennials outside of their flowering window.
When do you spend the most time in your garden?
Buy more flowering plants for those time windows to get the most enjoyment out of your garden.
Here are a few genera, based on bloom time, to get you started:
- Early Spring: Aubrieta, Saxifraga, Iberis, Hellebore
- Spring: Campanula, Leucanthemum, Aquilegia (Columbine), Coreopsis, Salvia
- Summer: Delphinium, Gaillardia, Gaura, Penstemon
- Late Summer/Fall: Rudbeckia, Hypericum, Caryopteris
2. Light Requirements:
Do you have a hot, sunny area or a shady, wet part of your garden? You will need to find perennials that are suitable for those areas. For example, plants that love the shady, damp areas will suffer and not look great if planted in the hot southern side of your house (i.e., Astilbe, Dicentra, Pulmonaria).
Remember: Lighting can also change throughout the day due to neighboring trees and structures, so it is best to monitor the amount of sunlight coming to your space at different times of the year while planning. The morning sun is nicer to plants than the afternoon sun unless they love it hot!
Understanding Shade Types:
- Dappled shade occurs when sunlight filters through overhead branches, creating a shifting pattern of light and shadow.
- Partial shade generally refers to a location receiving 3-6 hours of direct sunlight daily, preferably in the morning and early afternoon.
- Full-shade areas receive less than 3 hours of direct sunlight daily.
Here are a few genera, based on light needs:
- Full/part shade: Bergenia, Brunnera, Columbine
- Full Sun: Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Gaillardia, Leucanthemum, Gaura, Salvia
3. Space constraints:
How much room do these plants have to grow and how tall do you want them to be? Perennials are bred to fit a lot of different spaces in the garden. Are you looking for a ground cover? A plant that is the front border of your garden? Something extremely tall to put in the back? Pick a plant that will mature to the size you are looking for.
When you visit your garden center remember to look at the plant tag. This tag will let you know the mature plant’s spread and height. For example, Leucanthemum superbum ‘Becky’ (Shasta Daisy) grows 36”-42” tall! The AAS Winner Leucanthemum ‘Carpet Angel’ is a ground cover and only grows 6-8” tall which you can see in the photo below.
4. Choose an All-America Selections Winner for your garden:
All-America Selections is the only national, non-profit plant trialing organization in North America! Plants are trialed all over the United States and Canada in different regions and climates to test for durability and showiness. Plants that are deemed AAS Winners are proven to have superior garden performance! Check out the AAS Winner page to learn more about each winner, and call your local garden center to ask if they carry them.
5. PLANT WHAT YOU LOVE!
You can’t truly enjoy your garden if you don’t love what you plant. If you want an all-pink garden, you can have it! Start a Pinterest page with all your favorite flowers to help you make decisions. Visit garden centers to see what they carry in season. For next-level inspiration, visit botanical gardens near you to see how they landscape their gardens.
