Perennial Garden Plans

As one travels across the U.S. it becomes obvious that there are almost an unlimited number of perennial garden plans and styles featuring Hardy Perennials displaying their glory in shades of red, Blue, pink, Purple, rose, bi-color, White, and numerous additional colors.

I know what some of you are thinking that white is white but in reality that simply is not accurate.

White, just as in the case of all the other colors, comes to us in many tones and sometimes is mixed with various hues found in the rainbow.

Check out some of the Columbine varieties sporting beautiful bi-colors featuring white with blue or red just to mention a couple of outstanding forms.

Designing a perennial garden can be as simple or complex of a project as you care to create.

As long as...

One remembers to grant their selections the proper exposure which means that sun lovers should receive abundant light while others prefer shade.

Please be advised that in the southern part of the country it may be advisable to error on the side of caution by providing a little shade for perennials listed as requiring sun.

A simple rule in perennial garden design is to check the heights the various plants will reach at maturity and place the taller growing ones in the background and work your way forward with shorter ones.

I have however, on occasion found it quite interesting when tall growing forms shielded shorter ones from view until you were close to the bed.

Probably the best way to make this clear is to imagine being on a garden path and ahead of you appears to be only tall growing forms, that is, until you come around a bend and suddenly you are surprised by a much shorter growing plant or grouping.

Following is a list of plants for the following garden themes we have created which you may find useful in developing your perennial garden:

• Butterfly
• Hummingbird
• Fragrant
• Herb Plants
• Rock
• Container

You can choose to use these lists and others we developed as you find them on our site or create your very own once you have learned how each variety contributes to the overall effect.

Depending on your location you may have specific design requirements such as Xeriscaping which is the use of Drought Tolerant Species to better cope with a rather dry environment.

Perhaps deer or rabbits present a problem and a list of Deer and Rabbit Resistant perennials would be helpful in moving forward with your project.

Having problems establishing plants close to Black Walnut trees? This list of plants Tolerant of Black Walnut should be useful.

Be sure to check our suggestions for Ground Covers, fall blooming perennials and consider trying ornamental perennials for Cut Flowers where you have used only annuals in the past.

Remember that the crowning glory of perennials is their ability to flourish from year to year.

The previous statement is true only if you provide the conditions required by the individual specimens which enables them to thrive.

Don’t forget to put a little adventure into your gardening experience by trying varieties that are not commonly planted in your area as you may find that they will do just fine.

In my local market area the garden centers and chains at best only carry about three dozen different perennials and that is just too limiting.

One of Americas most knowledgeable plant experts once told me that "There are probably a thousand perennial varieties that would do well in my part of the country" and experimenting with new ones each year has and will continue to be quite enjoyable in my ongoing gardening pleasures.

Please visit our sections titled Perennial Flower Beds and perennial Flower Garden Ideas that should help you to determine the proper selections for the garden theme that you are developing.