Choosing and Planting Perennials

Flowers That Come Back Year After Year

Perennial flowers are strong, local flowers that come back every year without having to replant or do any extra work. During their off seasons, the flowers and stems die back and you can hardly even tell the plant is there (rather than just dying and looking like hideous brown clumps in your garden). When it's time to bloom, entirely new flowers shoot up where the old ones were.

Old Water Trough with Ferns and Perennial Forget Me Not with Tiny Lilac Flowers

Make Sure Soil Has Proper Drainage

Before deciding whether to put in perennials or not, you need to make sure that your soil has proper drainage. If the water stays saturated for long periods of time, you should build a raised bed. To test, dig a hole and fill it with water. Wait a day, and then fill it with water again. All traces of water should be gone within 10 hours. If the hole isn't completely dry, you will need to build a raised bed.

Eryngium (Sea Holly) Close-up of Blue Flowers, Perennial

The Goal Is To Have Flowers As Long As Possible

Picking your perennials can be a complicated process. The goal should be to have them flowering as much as possible during the year, so you should create an outline of the year. Research the different types of flower you want, and create a timeline of flowering. If you plan it right, you can have a different type of flower blooming at any point in the year. Getting just the right mixture of seeds can give your yard a constantly changing array of colors.

Primula Japonica, Flowers and Foliage, Perennial

You Can Find Seeds At Your Local Nursery

When you go to buy the seeds from your local florist or nursery, you might be able to find a custom seed mixture for your area. This takes the really tough research part out of the job. Usually these blends are optimized for the local climate, and do great jobs of having flowers always grow in your yard. If one of these isn't available,you can ask the employees what they think would be a good mixture. They should be happy to help you put something together which will be optimal for whatever you desire.

Geranium Phaeum (the Mourning Widow), Perennial, Small Deep Maroon Flowers with Green Leaves

Always Use Mulch when Planting Your Perennials

You should definitely use mulch when planting perennials. This will reduce the overall amount of work you have to do,by reducing the amount of weeds and increasing the water retention. Bark or pine needles work great, I have found,and depending on the rest of your yard you might have them on hand at no charge. As for fertilizer, you should use it sparingly once your plants start to come to life.

Primula Species, Close-up of Flowers, Perennial

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White Skunk Cabbage, Aquatic Perennial, Pointed White Spathes with Green Flowers

Adonis Amurensis March Clump Forming Perennial, Bright Yellow Flower and Mid Green Foliage