Best perennials, especially for small gardens, are those that gain space by performing for months on end. Others may be particularly good at attracting wildlife.The nectar-rich flowers enliven gardens with butterflies and bees, and bear fruit. Plants encourage bird visits. Plants that keep giving.
If you plan to try new flower bed ideas this year, consider whether your current plant selection pays enough rent for the space. There is room for prima donna, but there are still attractive spring and autumn foliage shades. It’s in the vertical accents of the leaves. But do the rest deliver the goods?
Winter is an ideal time to improve beds, borders and containers. So identify the underperforming ones and make plans to spread the replacement in the spring or budget for seeds and new plants to ensure longer term color and interest. If you don’t know what to plant in your lawn, this list of must-haves is a good place to start.
10 perennials to plant in your garden
From flowers to structural shrubs, growing these garden plants will brighten up your space for months each year.
1. Pelargonium “Sweet Mimosa”
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- height: 18 inch
- expansion: 18 inch
- durability: USDA H1C
Even the common zonal pelargonium is beautiful and perfect for containers with a Mediterranean courtyard look. and blooms from early summer until the first frost.
Pelargonium will last year after year if kept cool and frost-free in winter. When the temperature drops, bring it indoors to brighten up your conservatory.
2. Astrantia Major
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- height: 2 feet
- expansion: 2 feet
- durability: USDA 7b/8a
With so many varieties of Astrantia, it’s easy to forget the simplicity and robust nature of the species itself. A particularly good choice if you are looking for shade plants.
In well-drained soil, it blooms from early summer to autumn. A branched stem holds an umbel of small greenish-white flowers, which sit in ruffs of papery bracts. All slightly pinkish.
3. Pale Echinacea
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- height: 4 feet
- expansion: 18 inch
- durability: USDA 7b/8a
There are many beautiful echinacea growing in your garden (burpee (opens in new tab) wide variety).
This pale coneflower has a spectacular inflorescence whose narrow pale pink ray petals recede like feathers from a central orange-brown cone.
These prairie perennials flower from summer through fall, and their black skeletons mark the borders long after flowering has finished. Plants don’t like dry, shallow, or poorly-drained conditions, so treat them with humus-rich, well-drained soil.
4. Persicaria microcephala ‘Red Dragon’
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- height: 4 feet
- expansion: 3 feet
- durability: USDA 8b/9a
This persicaria makes for a discreet border filler with lighter shades.
The tapering purple and green leaves on red stems almost resemble begonias. The leaves turn olive green, bronze, and finally orange-red as clusters of small white flowers open at the tips in late summer and fall.
Plants divide easily in spring or fall if you want to increase the number of plants.
5. Sage Sensation Rose
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- height: 12 inch
- expansion: 12 inch
- durability: USDA 6a-1
This hardy, sun-loving Vulcan Clary has a long flowering season from early summer to late fall. Low-growing, good in front of borders, windy areas or in containers.
The dark purple spikes consist of dark calyxes that open into transparent pink tubular flowers, forming a pleasing contrast.
6. Geranium “Azur Rush”
(Image credit: John Richmond / Alamy Stock Photo)
- height: 12 inch
- expansion: 2 feet
- durability: USDA 6a-1
Available at Nature Hills, this unobtrusive tulville is a reliable choice for border front and drought tolerant plants. (opens in new tab)Although it is more compact than the parent strain “Roseanne”, it blooms from early summer to autumn.
The blue flowers with white undertones are pretty and attractive to insects, making them suitable for wildlife gardens. Move or divide flocks in autumn or spring.
7. Viburnum “compact”
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- height: 5 feet
- expansion: 5 feet
- durability: USDA 6b/7a
Gelder roses grow into large deciduous shrubs. This compact form is available from Nature Hills. (opens in new tab)suitable for small gardens with a natural, rustic feel.
There is a spring show of flat creamy white caps followed by a harvest of bright red berries followed by a finale of pinkish-purple autumn hues.
8. Scutellaria incana
(Image credit: Martin Hibberd/Alamy Stock Photo)
- height: 3 feet
- expansion: 18 inch
- durability: USDA 6a-1
North American Hoary Skullcap has become a favorite in prairie planting schemes and for good reason.
From early summer to mid-autumn, pretty blue tubular flowers develop into attractive rosy pods. This herbaceous perennial is very hardy, prefers sun or light shade and will see new growth in the spring.
9. Bloodhorn “Midwinter Fire”
(Image credit: Martin Hughes-Jones/Alamy Stock Photo)
- height: 6 feet
- expansion: 4 feet
- durability: USDA 6b/7a
Grown for a wintertime show of orange-yellow leaf color and orange stems, this dogwood is less vigorous than other dogwoods. Leave it unpruned for a year or two, thinning by a third each spring to encourage new stems.
Ours, left to grow naturally, has attractive branched shapes, muted colors, and has never been inhaled.
10. Bergen
(Image credit: BotanyVision/Alamy Stock Photos)
- height: 18 inch
- expansion: 18 inch
- durability: USDA 7b/8a
Elephant ear is a top planting choice for weed control because it smothers weeds with large evergreen leaves that grow from sturdy, drought-tolerant rhizomes.
Try the “Angel Kiss” (dragonfly series), which has white flowers on the leaves. When temperatures drop, the leaves turn red and purple, adding color to your winter garden.
These hardy plants prefer semi-shaded areas and do well in north or east facing locations.
What are the best long-flowering perennials to grow in containers?
Container gardening is quick, exciting, creative, and best of all, it requires very little weeding. On the other hand, there is a lot to be done in the watering, feeding, and dead leaf departments, and even long-lived plants require division, fertilizing, root pruning, or potting at some stage to stimulate fresh root growth. will be
Shrub competitors include blueberries in ericaceous compost, which pays triple the rent in flowers, berries, and fall hues. For a longer flowering period, choose perennial Salvia x Silvestris ‘Schniehugel’ or S. nemorosa Sensation Rose. A delightful mix of tall Scutellaria incana, ornamental grasses and Rudbeckia hirta ‘Prairie Sun’.