Perennial Garden Design

Perennial Garden Design For a Beautiful Flower Garden

Successful flower garden design is a combination of a few things. There is the design aspect. There is the fun part which is the plant selection.

Maintenance is also important for your perennial garden design so that it looks its best.

I talk more about these things towards the bottom of this page.

I thought you might like to get right into the plants!There are a multitude of perennials to choose for you perennial flower garden design.

Here are some of my favorite perennials:

Daylily - Daylily plants come in a huge variety of sizes and flower colors. The flowers can be showy. Each flower bud turns into a pretty flower, yet each flower lasts for only a day....hence "day"lily. Since it has many buds though, there are continuous flowers. Daylily's bloom in the summer for about three to four weeks. There are a few varieties, however, which will bloom on and off all season long, such as 'Stella D'oro'. The flowers are yellow. As with all Daylily's, watch out if you have a deer problem.

Catmint 'Walker's Low' - I love this plant. As I write, it is October, and it is still blooming! It smiled with its flowers all season long. The flower color is a soft purple, on the quiet side. This plant can get to be about 3 feet wide by about 12" - 18" tall. It will get a little "tired" looking in mid summer. But not to worry. Give it a pruning by cutting off the top 8" or so. It will rejuvenate nicely. This is one to definitely include in your perennial garden design.

Delphinium - Delphinium can be temperamental. They don't always come back the next year. They are tall and can get knocked over in a storm. But I include them in this list due to their old-fashioned, outstanding charm. And the colors!!

Lady's Mantle - This is a medium sized plant with beautiful foliage. The leaves are a medium green and wide. They catch droplets of water on their leaves in a very interesting way. They are loose and the yellow flowers are tiny. It's a very pretty perennial.

Coneflower - Coneflower is now available in many colors....pinks, whites, and interesting variations of pink, peach and orange. They are a mid to late summer blooming perennial and are rather easy to care for.

Peony - Peonies look more like shrubs than perennials. Their flowers are very showy. They come in singles and doubles and are a nice break from the typical flowering perennials.

Salvia - There are quite a few types of Salvia, but I love them for their purple colors. When in flower, these plants will jump out with color.

Sedum - Sedums are extremely easy plants to grow. There are low ones you can use between stepping stones or at the edge of your beds. There are taller ones which put on a great late summer/early Fall show, such as 'Autumn Joy'. They look great if you mix them with a mass of Maiden Grass for a good looking perennial garden design.

Ornamental Grasses - There are many, but my two favorites are Maiden Grass and Fountain Grass, the former being a taller one. As nice as the foliage is, it's just as wonderful to see the plumes in the late summer and early Fall.

Thyme - Again, there are many types of Thyme. They are all low plants. Some are extremely low and can be used between stepping stones. They are fragrant also, which is an added feature!

Lamium - Lamium is another low growing plant. The flowers can be pink or white. The plant itself is nice even when not flowering and is used as a perennial groundcover.

Epimedium - This also is a perennial groundcover. It has beautifully shaped leaves and there are varieties with reddish tones to the foliage. Sometimes it is nice just to mix in this type of plant with all the other showy flowers in your perennial garden design.

Black-Eyed Susan - This is another late flowering perennial which is a gold/yellow color. These are very hardy and easy to grow. They will certainly provide a splash of color in your perennial garden design.

Most of the above perennials are in the purple, pink and white colors. Ok, I am partial to these colors. In fact, many years ago, I was working on a small garden area. I just did it loosely....I kept buying what I liked throughout the season.

And one day I took a look....my garden was comprised of all pink flowering plants. So if you find yourself always going towards one color, make an effort to diversify a little!

As I mentioned above, there are so many to choose from. There are also shade perennials if your garden has little sun.

If deer are your visitors, you might consider visiting my page on deer resistant plants, which lists both shrubs and perennials least favored by deer.

Make your planting bed wide enough so that there is room for layers of plants. Four to five feet wide should be the minimum in depth. That way you can place a plant that is two feet wide in the back, followed by an 18" to 24" wide perennial, and possibly some low plants, such as Lamium, in the front.

Don't forget to use plant in groups in the garden if you have the room.

I have a small side garden at my home. I do not have room to plant in groups in every area. What I did was plant some in groups and then some singles. It looks great! It is more of a loose cottage garden. I placed a pretty birdbath in the center for height and to break up all of the plants. You can see the birdbath picture here.

Tips on perennials care:

Here are some general maintenance suggestions for low maintenance perennials in your perennial garden design, for the best look possible. Again, they are not necessary, except for the last one*.

1. Remove or cut any undesirable leaves.
2. Dead-head flowers. This creates a neater plant and also forces the plant to produce more flowers. If you don't wish to do this, it is not a necessity. It just makes for a more beautiful garden.
3. If the plant happens to get overgrown, leggy or just unattractive into the season, cut it down to about 2" high. You will be amazed!!! The plant will re-grow again...most likely without the flowers, but you will have a new healthy plant!
4. *Cut perennials down to about 2" - 3" in either the Fall or Spring. This will remove old growth and allow for new growth in the Spring without the old growth interfering.

Have fun with your perennial garden design! This type of garden is always evolving and changing.....but that is part of the enjoyment.

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