Designing Perennial Gardens
Experience perennial beauty with these great tips

There are few things that bring more pleasure than the return of perennials each year. Perennials, as opposed to annuals, bloom year after year (the word “perennial” is the Latin term for “perpetual”). Most perennials disappear during the winter and grow up again in the spring (although some perennials remain green and even bloom during the winter months). There are, in fact, so many varieties of perennials that you are sure to find the perfect design selections for your garden.

Perennials do take some patience initially as it will take a year or two before they are established and blooming in your garden. The old English adage for perennials is “First year sleeps, second year creeps, and third year leaps,” but the reward of watching your lovely perennials bloom year after year is well worth the wait.

Perennial Garden Checklist

There are four considerations before planting your perennials:

  1. Color Scheme
  2. Mature Growth Height
  3. Bloom Times
  4. Coordinate Bloom Times & Colors

Color, height, and time of bloom are all important design considerations. Think about your color scheme (sometimes less is more) and pay attention to the plants mature growth height as you won’t want a tall perennial growing in the front section of a flower bed. Likewise, perennials that grow closer to the ground will be lost in the back. I’m not fond of looking at a lot of mulch so I keep an eye on how big around the perennial will get and try to fill the space but some folks are fond of space between plants and the plants sure appreciate it. Strike your own happy balance here.

You also should research the bloom times so that your garden will have color through an extended period of time. Think about combinations for certain times of the year; group some like-timed flowers for seasonal fireworks (see my companion gardening article for more information on how to balance out your garden).

For an excellent resource book about perennials, I recommend Armitage’s Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia by Allen Armitage. Dr. Armitage, a professor at Horticultural Department of the University of Georgia, is an authority on the subject of perennials and the book features numerous photographs of many varieties.

Choose Perennials to Plant by Sun Exposure Needs

Which perennials you choose also depends largely on where you wish to plant in your garden – in sun or shade. Let’s break down a list of some popular perennials by sun exposure needs:

Seasons referenced in list refer to approximate bloom time and measurements refer to height.

Three Kinds of Perennials by Sun Exposure Needs

  1. Full Sun Perennials
  2. Partial Shade Perennials
  3. Full Shade Perennials

1. Full Sun Perennials

  • Achillea (Yarrow)
    zones 3-8, summer, (yellow, pink, orange, red), 2’ – 4’
  • Anemone (Windflower)
    zones 4-7, spring/summer (blue, purple, pink, white, red) 1’ – 5’
  • Artemisia (Wormwood, Dusty Miller)
    zones 4-8, summer (silver-gray foliage) 2’ – 5’
  • Aruncus (Goatsbeard)
    zones 3-7, summer (white) 4’ – 6’
  • Aster (Hardy Aster)
    zones 4-8, summer/fall (pink, purple) 1’ – 4’
  • Baptisia (False Indigo)
    zones 3-8, spring/summer (blue, purple) 3’ – 4’
  • Centaurea (Cornflower)
    zones 3-7 (pink, purple, blue, white, yellow) 2’ – 4’
  • Coreopsis (Tickseed)
    zones 4-9, summer (yellow, pink) 1’ – 2’
  • Delphinium (Larkspur)
    zones 3-8, summer (blue, purple, white, yellow) 3’ – 8’
  • Dianthus (Carnation, Pink)
    zones 3-8, summer (pink, red, white) 6” – 12”
  • Echinacea (Coneflower)
    zones 4-8, summer (purple, pink, white) 2’ – 4’
  • Echinops (Globe Thistle)
    zones 3-7, summer (blue, purple) 2’ – 3’
  • Euphorbia (Spurge)
    zones 5-8, spring (yellow, orange) 2’ – 4’
  • Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)
    zones 3-9, summer (red, red-yellow) 1’ – 3’
  • Gaura (Gaura) zones
    5-8, summer (white, pink) 3’ – 4’
  • Helenium (Sneezeweed)
    zones 3-8, summer/fall (yellow, orange) 3’ – 5’
  • Helianthus (Sunflower)
    zones 4-9, summer/fall (yellow) 3’ – 12’
  • Hemerocallis (Daylily)
    zones 3-9, summer (yellow, orange, red, pink) 1’ – 3’
  • Iris (Iris) zones 3-9
    summer (purple, white, yellow, pink, orange) 1’ – 5’
  • Liatris (Gayfeather)
    zones 3-9, summer/fall (purple, white) 3’ – 5’
  • Lupinus (Lupine, Bluebonnet)
    zones 3-7, summer (many colors) 3’ – 4’
  • Lychnis (Campion, Maltese Cross)
    zones 3-7, summer (red, pink, white) 3’ – 5’
  • Monarda (Wild Bergamot, Beebalm)
    zones 3-7, summer (pink, white, purple, red) 2’ – 3’
  • Nepeta (Catnip, Catmint)
    zones 4-7, summer (purple-blue) 1’ – 3’
  • Oenothera (Evening Primrose, Sundrops)
    zones 4-8, summer (yellow, pink, white) 6” – 18”
  • Paeonia (Peony)
    zones 4-7, spring/summer (pink, white, red) 1 ½’ – 3’
  • Papaver (Poppy)
    zones 3-6, spring/summer (red, pink, white, orange) 2’ – 4’
  • Penstemon (Beard Tongue)
    zones 4-9, spring/summer (white, pink, purple, red) 2’ – 4’
  • Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
    zones 5-9, summer (purple-blue) 3’ – 5’
  • Phlox Paniculata (Garden Phlox)
    zones 4-8, summer/fall (pink, purple, white) 2’ – 5’
  • Phlox Subulata (Moss Phlox)
    zones 2-8, spring (pink, white, blue) 4” – 6”
  • Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan, Coneflower)
    zones 3-8, summer/fall (yellow-orange) 2’ – 5’
  • Sedum (Stonecrop)
    zones 4-7, summer (yellow, white, red, pink) 2” – 12”
  • Verbena (Vervain)
    zones 7-9, summer (pink, purple, white, red) 2” – 6’
  • Veronica (Speedwell)
    zones 3-7, spring/summer (blue, purple, pink, white) 1’ – 3’

2. Partial Shade Perennials

  • Aconitum (Monkshood, Wolfsbane)
    zones 3-7, summer/fall (purple, blue, yellow) 4’ – 6’
  • Ajuga (Bugleweed)
    zones 3-9, spring (purple, blue, pink) 4” – 8”
  • Aquilegia (Columbine)
    zones 3-8, spring (many colors) 2’ – 3’
  • Astilbe (False Spirea)
    zones 4-8, summer (white, pink, purple, red) 1’ – 5’
  • Astrantia (Masterwort)
    zones 5-7, summer (white, pink, purple) 2’ – 3’
  • Bergenia (Pigsqueak)
    zones 4-8, spring (pink, purple) 1’ – 2’
  • Cimicifuga (Bugbane, Cohash)
    zones 3-8, summer (white) 2’ – 8’
  • Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
    zones 3-8, spring/summer (pink, white, purple, red) 4’ – 10’
  • Digitalis (Foxglove)
    zones 3-8, summer (many colors) 2’ – 4’
  • Eupatorium (Boneset, Joe-Pye Weed)
    zones 5-10, summer/fall (white, pink, purple) 2’ – 6’
  • Geranium (Cranesbill)
    zones 4-7, spring/summer (pink, purple, white) 6” – 18”
  • Geum (Avens) zones 3-7
    summer (yellow, orange, red) 9” – 18”
  • Helleborus (False Rose)
    zones 4-9, winter/spring (white, pink, purple) 8” – 2’
  • Heuchera (Coral Bells, Alum Root)
    zones 4-9, summer (pink, white, red) 1’ – 5’
  • Ligularia (Ragwort)
    zones 5-8, summer (yellow) 1’ – 2’
  • Lysimachia (Loosestrife)
    zones 5-8, summer (white, yellow) 2’ – 4’
  • Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal)
    zones 3-8, spring (white) 6” – 9”
  • Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower)
    zones 4-7, summer (purple, pink, white) 2’ – 4’
  • Sidalcea (Prairie Mallow, Checkerbloom)
    zones 5-7, summer (pink, white, purple) 1’- 3’
  • Thalictrum (Meadow Rue)
    zones 5-7, spring/summer (purple, pink, white, yellow) 6” – 6’

3. Full Shade Perennials

  • Arisaema (Jack-in-the-Pulpit)
    zones 4-8 (unique foliage) 2’ – 3’
  • Asarum (Wild Ginger)
    zones 3-7, spring (heart-shaped foliage) 5” – 8”
  • Colchicum (Autumn Crocus)
    zones 4-7, fall (pink, purple) 4” – 6”
  • Convallaria (Lily of the Valley)
    zones 2-8, spring (white) 4” – 12”
  • Epimedium (Barrenwort)
    zones 5-8, spring (white, purple, pink, yellow) 6” – 12”
  • Galium (Sweet Woodruff)
    zones 5-8, spring (white) 6” – 12”
  • Hosta (Plantain Lily)
    zones 3-8, summer (white, purple) 6” – 40”
  • Lamium (Dead Nettle)
    zones 4-8, spring/summer (pink, white, purple) 6” – 9”
  • Phlox Stolonifera (Creeping Phlox)
    zones 2-8, spring (pink, blue, white) 6” – 12”
  • Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
    zones 3-8, spring (pink, blue, white) 1’ – 1 ½’
  • Tricyrtis (Toad Lily)
    zones 4-9, fall, (speckled flowers) 2’ – 4’

This is a nuts and bolts list of perennials; the true beauty of perennial selection is often in finding the perfect cultivar; our last listing, Tricyrtis, has a few species each with a few standout cultivars. I am always impressed with T. formosana ‘Amethystina’ , a smaller daintier toad lily with purple/tawny/ spotted…well you just have to see it…

Albert Einstein said that “God is in the details” and I feel the same way about picking the right plant for the border. Looking for the right plant can be half the fun; the other half is the looks on the faces when you get it right. We will be featuring articles for some of the individual genera soon, stay tuned…

Perennials are a gardening favorite that will bring year after year of beauty and color to your garden. Although some extra preparation and patience is necessary when getting started, your hard work will be rewarded for many, many years to come.