MY LIST OF EASY PERENNIAL PLANTS and TIPS

By trial and error,during the 11yr love affair with my garden, I found several perennials to be tried and true (I am talking Midwest) The Cone flower has to be at the top of my list. It breaks through the soil in early Spring,a little bigger each year, and blooms July through Aug.and its beautiful blooms attracts butterflys.

I have also had great success with BeeBalm It does attract bees but don't worry, they are so busy on the plant that they will not bother you. You never have to fear that this plant will not come back each Spring; it will, and it is always bigger, so when you plant it, leave enough room for it to spread. In addition to the beauty of the flower itself, it smells wonderful. If you 'google images' you will see the many varieties bee balm comes in. Hydrangeas are the most beautiful of flowers.

It is IMPORTANT to know that Hydrangea's need water! If your plant starts to droop, WATER it! It is amazing to watch the poor flower come back to life after seeing it completely collapsed. Not that that is a good thing, just amazing to see it's will to survive. It also needs to be guarded from the sun, so if it isn't in shade and the sun it hot on it, guard it with an umbrella for those few hours. This flower becomes a nice full bush year after year and it is one flower that drys naturally on the vine in the fall and can be cut and used in the home all winter (simply laying on a shelf, or used in a wreath or standing in a vase.) I am going to talk about drying flowers in another post. Black eyed Susans. Not much to say other than they come up each spring, adds great color to the garden and doesn't need much attention other than deadheading.

There are so many more, but I will let you have the fun of the search and the trial and error process. I DO want to talk a little about placement. 1.My first priority is where to plant the larger perennials. I evenly space them along the back row of the flower bed about 4ft apart. (Sometimes a symmetrical decision should be made,an example:I had steps coming out of my back door so I put a Hydrangea on each side.) 2.In between those spaces and slightly in front of the back row would be a mixture of either shorter perennials or annuals. Notice in the photo below the pink flower next to the purple petunias. It is my favorite, the generic name is Butterfly plant. 3.In the front row the choice is endless, just be sure these plants are the shortest ones in the bed. I hope you enjoy these photo's. Tomorrow I am going to talk about Art in your garden.