Perennials
Perennials are ornamental plants that do not die after one season of growth. Perennials are a low maintenance choice for beds and borders, you plant them once and they come back year after year. Perennial plants and flowers make a garden look better and better with age.
There are six easy steps for growing a great perennial garden:
- Choose a nice open location – There are perennials that can go in full sun
and those that can take full shade. - Sketch out a plan so that you have a guideline to follow.
- Choose your plants. You want to pick some that have varying heights to them. Taller plants give you a vertical element and add drama to the garden. This includes plants like perennial sunflowers, rugosa and other types roses. Medium height plants include cone flowers, ornamental grasses and coreopsis. Finally, you need the smaller plants for the front and also for use as edging. Combining those three heights gives your garden a lot of interest.
- Dig the soil and amend it. You turn the soil just to make sure that it’s easy to plant in, and then add a rich compost. The compost not only improves drainage and texture, it also feeds the soil.
- Place the plants before you begin to plant them.
Don’t crowd the plants, they need plenty of space.
Remember that perennials are going to get larger every year, so you want to give them enough space and then in two to three years they’ve still got plenty of room. Place your tall plants first, then the medium-size plants and finally the smaller plants. Then plant them. - Finally mulch your perennials. The mulch does a lot of things – It helps to conserve the moisture. It’s also going to suppress weeds, and dit brings a unifying look to the whole garden. Spread it out and be sure not to cover up the crown of the plant, just the areas around it. It’s as easy as that!
Planting
- Press the sides of the pot, then turn it upside down.
- If the plant is pot bound tease the roots and break them up just a bit because we want them to grow out.
- Make sure you have the plant at the same depth as it was when it was in the pot.
You can plant a perennial garden in one afternoon and you’ll enjoy it for many years to come. This video shares 10 great plants to use when starting a perennial garden for sunny conditions.
