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gardeningwithe
- Senior Member
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:04 pm
- Location: Tennessee - 6B
Favorite Perrennials
I don't really have any perennials planted (I'm in zone 6b), but would like to plant a few this year. I'm looking to see what perennials people have and like (or love) for beauty, easy of care, etc. So what are your favorite perennials and why are they your favorite? THANKS!
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I'm in 6b also. I would have to say my favorite perennial is lavender. Doesn't get as big as it would in warmer climates, but English lavender does make it through the winter in the ground. It is easy care, has beautiful flowers which you can leave on for the bees, butterflies and beneficial insects or harvest for lavender herb, which I love and use in all kinds of things. I grow lots of other perennial herbs, oregano, thyme, sage, mint, etc. They mostly do have attractive flowers that bees like, if you let them flower.
For perennial flowers, I love all the native meadow flowers - yarrow, milkweed, coreopsis, joe pye weed, liatris, bee balm, sundrops, penstemon, black eyed susan... Makes a great mixed border that bees and butterflies like.
For perennial flowers, I love all the native meadow flowers - yarrow, milkweed, coreopsis, joe pye weed, liatris, bee balm, sundrops, penstemon, black eyed susan... Makes a great mixed border that bees and butterflies like.
I live in Hawaii and I love lavender too. It is best to make a plan and decide how it fits in with how you use the yard.
1. Pick a color pallette, unless you like the cottage look or like me you have too many plants you like have so the only solution is to have a cottage garden. The colors should go well with the colors of your house (It helps if you have a house painted in neutral colors) and you should probably select two to four complementary colors.
2. Select a style. Cottage, formal, oriental
3. Plants should have different heights and unless you are formal, the beds look less harsh and cut up if they have curves instead of hard edges.
4. Place the plants so you can create a view. A curbside view, window view, views from sitting areas on a deck or yard seating.
Foundation shrubs and trees should go in first. This provides the structure and bones of the garden
Middle level plants are usually the perennials some of them can also be structural since perennials often bloom seasonally. Look for texture and shape in leaves since you will be looking at them a lot
The lower levels would be things like annuals or ground covers.
Plants look better in groups and drifts rather than individuals. Groups of three minimum works best.
I like for shrubs. Evergreens preferably the dwarfs that either have a naturally nice shape or can be easily pruned without a lot of skill to keep a nice shape
for perennials. Irises seasonal bloom but nice tall lance like leaves., Gladiolas, hollyhocks(back of the border good for softening fences)
Annuals/short perennials coreopsis, ox-eyed daisies, ground covers helps keep the weeds down. I like alyssum, butterfly bush, and other nectar plants for the bees and beneficial insects. I also can tuck in some herbs chives (purple flowers) garlic chives (white flowers), basil, sage (makes a nice grey mound), pineapple sage (small shrub with red flowers but can be kept in pots. and a few of the more ornamental herbs that you might actually like to eat. Mint definitely needs to be kept in a pot preferably on a tree stump or pedestal to make sure it does not go to ground.
1. Pick a color pallette, unless you like the cottage look or like me you have too many plants you like have so the only solution is to have a cottage garden. The colors should go well with the colors of your house (It helps if you have a house painted in neutral colors) and you should probably select two to four complementary colors.
2. Select a style. Cottage, formal, oriental
3. Plants should have different heights and unless you are formal, the beds look less harsh and cut up if they have curves instead of hard edges.
4. Place the plants so you can create a view. A curbside view, window view, views from sitting areas on a deck or yard seating.
Foundation shrubs and trees should go in first. This provides the structure and bones of the garden
Middle level plants are usually the perennials some of them can also be structural since perennials often bloom seasonally. Look for texture and shape in leaves since you will be looking at them a lot
The lower levels would be things like annuals or ground covers.
Plants look better in groups and drifts rather than individuals. Groups of three minimum works best.
I like for shrubs. Evergreens preferably the dwarfs that either have a naturally nice shape or can be easily pruned without a lot of skill to keep a nice shape
for perennials. Irises seasonal bloom but nice tall lance like leaves., Gladiolas, hollyhocks(back of the border good for softening fences)
Annuals/short perennials coreopsis, ox-eyed daisies, ground covers helps keep the weeds down. I like alyssum, butterfly bush, and other nectar plants for the bees and beneficial insects. I also can tuck in some herbs chives (purple flowers) garlic chives (white flowers), basil, sage (makes a nice grey mound), pineapple sage (small shrub with red flowers but can be kept in pots. and a few of the more ornamental herbs that you might actually like to eat. Mint definitely needs to be kept in a pot preferably on a tree stump or pedestal to make sure it does not go to ground.
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gardeningwithe
- Senior Member
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:04 pm
- Location: Tennessee - 6B
Thanks for the response both of you! I had considered using lavender as I think it is pretty- I just wasn't sure how big it grew in my area and how much space to allot it. Herbs is a good choice- who doesn't like herbs. 
and Yay! I was planning on planting black eyed Susans this year to. I may start with those and see how it goes. I do have one grape plant that even without any knowledge by me on what to do has lived for two year and I have one small area set aside where I'm trying to grow asparagus (trying being the operative word- I may turn that into a herb area). Other than trying to plan the asparagus and planting the grape plant on a whim I have nothing else. lol. I think I will do a cottage type garden- I like the mish mash of stuff and think they are pretty. I hadn't thought of using a color scheme- what a great idea. Thankfully my house is light brown (more tan/sand colored) brick on the bottom and a beigyish/almondy color on top so that will help..... time to put the thinking cap on. Thanks for the great suggestions!
and Yay! I was planning on planting black eyed Susans this year to. I may start with those and see how it goes. I do have one grape plant that even without any knowledge by me on what to do has lived for two year and I have one small area set aside where I'm trying to grow asparagus (trying being the operative word- I may turn that into a herb area). Other than trying to plan the asparagus and planting the grape plant on a whim I have nothing else. lol. I think I will do a cottage type garden- I like the mish mash of stuff and think they are pretty. I hadn't thought of using a color scheme- what a great idea. Thankfully my house is light brown (more tan/sand colored) brick on the bottom and a beigyish/almondy color on top so that will help..... time to put the thinking cap on. Thanks for the great suggestions!As you don't have a strict agenda with this, let go and have fun! Flowering perennials that I may include are coneflower (Echinacea), shasta daisies, yarrow, phlox, bee balm (bergamot, monarda), black eyed susan, salvia, coreopsis. Don't forget the stellas (stella d'oro), the ever-blooming daylilies. Many of these selections are at the box store, and I have picked them up on ad, say 3/$10 at HDep. These are decent sized plants, and have done well.
Give each plant room. Some will just do, and some will bully, and some may not make it. That's gardening! For fun, a nice touch of color and happiness for birds, add some sunflowers. There are so many varieties available, choose right for you and your space. I've been growing the cucumber leaf, a native gulf coast variety that has many branches, small blooms, and keeps on blooming. It also tends to self seed. I start my sunflowers in starter pots and transplant out as when direct sown the birds think they are their snacks.
A perennial garden is not instant as are annual beds, but take time, and ever changing.
Give each plant room. Some will just do, and some will bully, and some may not make it. That's gardening! For fun, a nice touch of color and happiness for birds, add some sunflowers. There are so many varieties available, choose right for you and your space. I've been growing the cucumber leaf, a native gulf coast variety that has many branches, small blooms, and keeps on blooming. It also tends to self seed. I start my sunflowers in starter pots and transplant out as when direct sown the birds think they are their snacks.
A perennial garden is not instant as are annual beds, but take time, and ever changing.
I really like the idea of always having something in bloom so I try to select perennials with a variety of bloom times. For an area with shade/part shade I really like the fernleaf bleeding heart because it pumps out flowers from spring through fall, It isn't as showy as the traditional bleeding heart but I love mine! I planted some turtlehead this year that I loved for a fall blooms. For a sunnier spot, I'll add another vote for coreopsis and coneflowers for their easy care and nice display. One of my favorites I planted this year was agastache. I had several varieties and they all flourished with blooms nearly all season. I have black eyed susans everywhere, and although I do love them when they're in bloom, they get pretty ugly as they're finishing for the season and they don't bloom until later in the season so you'll definitely want something else in there as well. I really like using ground cover as well and have been happy with my spring blooming creeping phlox and my whooly thyme has flourished this year as well as a variety of sedums.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Asparagus is a long term investment. It is best to start from year old crowns. There are all male varieties available like Jersey Knight. I used to get mine from Guerney. I can't anymore since most places will not ship live plants or bulbs to Hawaii. Sometimes the big box stores bring them in.
Asparagus is hardy zone 5 and up. I grow it as a hedge and I just use cotton string and rebar to hold the fern up. Twenty five crowns is a good start and I plant it like a hedge. I did not harvest the first year and from the second year on I have harvested for about a month once in Spring and again in the fall. I harvest twice a day until the spears are the size of a no. 2 pencil and then I fertilize and let the leaves grow again.
I planted mine the old fashioned way which was to dig an 18 inch trench and work some compost into the bottom of the trench. Splay out the crowns about 18 inches apart and covered the roots but but not the crown then mulched. I had to put up a small decorative fence to make sure I did not fall into the trench at night since I don't have a light on that side of the house. Over the years I slowly filled the trench because aparagus likes to grow upward. The new method is to work the first 8 inches or so and mound upward over time. To save space asparagus can be planted in a double row.
Asparagus is hardy zone 5 and up. I grow it as a hedge and I just use cotton string and rebar to hold the fern up. Twenty five crowns is a good start and I plant it like a hedge. I did not harvest the first year and from the second year on I have harvested for about a month once in Spring and again in the fall. I harvest twice a day until the spears are the size of a no. 2 pencil and then I fertilize and let the leaves grow again.
I planted mine the old fashioned way which was to dig an 18 inch trench and work some compost into the bottom of the trench. Splay out the crowns about 18 inches apart and covered the roots but but not the crown then mulched. I had to put up a small decorative fence to make sure I did not fall into the trench at night since I don't have a light on that side of the house. Over the years I slowly filled the trench because aparagus likes to grow upward. The new method is to work the first 8 inches or so and mound upward over time. To save space asparagus can be planted in a double row.
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gardeningwithe
- Senior Member
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:04 pm
- Location: Tennessee - 6B
Thanks for more suggestions
Susan- Thank you for so many possibilities- a quick question though what is cucumber leaf? It sounds like a good choice.
Pink Sand- I love the idea of planting things that bloom in many seasons. I'll have to research what can grow well here for each season. I'll have to look at the fernleaf bleeding heart for this one area of my yard.
Rainbow gardener- a flower that will keep blooming sounds like a winner to me!
imafan26- thanks for the tips on asparagus... I thought I could grow it from seed
and it didn't do too well. I suppose getting crowns would be a surer thing? I might do that next year- (I have already got more seeds for this year lol- so we shall see how it goes). I know they take several years to get going well.
Susan- Thank you for so many possibilities- a quick question though what is cucumber leaf? It sounds like a good choice.
Pink Sand- I love the idea of planting things that bloom in many seasons. I'll have to research what can grow well here for each season. I'll have to look at the fernleaf bleeding heart for this one area of my yard.
Rainbow gardener- a flower that will keep blooming sounds like a winner to me!
imafan26- thanks for the tips on asparagus... I thought I could grow it from seed
and it didn't do too well. I suppose getting crowns would be a surer thing? I might do that next year- (I have already got more seeds for this year lol- so we shall see how it goes). I know they take several years to get going well.