By
choosing long-blooming perennial
plants, you can capitalize
on the best of both worlds
- plants that persist, or
come back from growing season
to growing season, and those
that bloom for an extended
length of time. This also
means that you'll have more
time to appreciate the gardens
that you create!
Here
is just a sampling of long-blooming
perennial plants for the sunny
garden:
Achillea,
or Yarrow,
are very drought and heat
resistant plants, once established.
The flower heads are long
lasting and many colors are
available from yellow, gold,
pink, pastels in apricot,
lilac, salmon, cream and white.
Plants grow from 8" to
3' tall, depending on variety.
The flat-topped flower heads
grow up to several inches
across, and make excellent
cut and dried flowers, especially
yellow. The fern-like, gray
to gray-green foliage is somewhat
aromatic and attractive even
when the plant is not in bloom.
Coreopsis,
Tickseed, is one
of the easiest and most rewarding
garden flowers. The thread
leaf varieties are usually
the longest blooming, typically
from June through fall. The
pale yellow, bright yellow
or rosy-pink daisy flowers
smother the slender stems
and thread-like leaves. Plant
height, from 15 - 24",
is variety dependent. A mid-summer
shearing of the seed heads
will keep these plants blooming
for many more weeks.
Echinacea
purpurea, Purple Coneflower,
is a sturdy, bold-textured,
dark green foliaged favorite
that grows to 2 - 3' tall
and wide. The flowers are
large, daisy-like with unique
standings of dark-rose purple
and lighter in color.
Rudbeckia,
Black-eyed Susan,
is an old-fashioned garden
favorite. It is hardy, reliable,
insect and disease free, and
an exceptionally long-blooming
plant - typically from July
through fall. This medium-green,
bold-foliaged plant grows
to about 3' tall and bears
golden yellow, daisy flowers
with dark brown centers. Both
Echinacea and Rudbeckia flowers
make excellent cut flowers
and a wonderful place for
butterflies to sit and eat.
Gallardia
or Blanket Flower
is an American native plant
which thrives in the hot sun
and has beautiful yellow-orange
flowers, marked with red.
Height varies according to
variety. Some favorites include
"Baby Cole" which
is a dwarf only 8" high,
"Goblin," a 12”-15”
grower, and "Burgundy,"
which reaches 18”-24”
and whose flowers are a gorgeous
shade of burgundy red.
For
intense blue flowers from
mid-summer to September, plant
Plumbago
(Ceratostigma plumbaginoides).
Plumbago spreads quickly to
form a neat groundcover and
as an added bonus, leaves
turn a brilliant red in the
fall before dropping. This
excellent perennial grows
well in light shade also.
Veronica, Speedwell, has neat,
attractive foliage and abundant
flowers in densely packed
spikes. Look for the cultivars
'Goodness Grows' and taller
'Sunny Border Blue' for a
beautiful addition of blue
to your summer garden.
Remember,
this is just a brief glimpse
of the long-blooming perennials
available to choose from.
Stop by to see our wide selection
of perennials so we can help
you determine the plants best
suited to your garden.
