When you start gardening with perennials, it's easy to think that all you have to do is get your plants into the ground, and with the exception of weeding, watering and cutting back, your garden will be done.
But here's what really happens: in the first year your new plants are underwhelming ? the clumps small, the flowers sparse. By the second year, your perennials have grown fuller and have more flowers, but in the third season ? watch out ? your plants look like they're on steroids, and you look like an accomplished gardener.
After that, many plants get bigger each season, while the odd one confounds you by doing a disappearing act. Responding to the inevitable change is your challenge as a flower gardener.
Veteran gardeners say that no flower garden is ever truly finished. When I was starting out about 15 years ago, my husband used to joke that my plants should have been on wheels because I moved them so much.
Perennial plants are the backbone of the flower garden because they're the plants with staying power. Their leaves die back as winter approaches, but with luck, the following spring, they come back. Some plants are short-lived, but old favorites like daylilies, hostas and peonies can last for decades.
The right perennials for your garden
When you're planning your flower garden, there are many choices to make ? some purely aesthetic, such as match-making with winning perennial combinations, and some purely horticultural - what grows best in your conditons.
The more closely you base your decisions on meeting the needs of your plants (in terms of light requirements, soil, moisture levels and so on) and on which plants look good together, the more likely you are to be successful with your perennial gardening.
Yvonne Cunnington is an avid perennial gardener and the author of Clueless in the Garden: A Guide for the Horticulturally Helpless. For lots more perennial gardening tips, visit her website http://www.flower-gardening-made-ea sy.com/perennials.html"
The protea family (Proteaceae) includes a wide range of ground... Read More
A sustainable garden means one that can be sustained over... Read More
To achieve Koi pond aeration, there are some things you... Read More
What's a perennial garden plant that blooms in the winter?... Read More
Over watering ranks first in causes of houseplant demise because... Read More
Palm family is unique in the aspect that most of... Read More
A rose is a rose is a rose - and... Read More
If you're not familiar with push reel mowers or if... Read More
Summertime provides the best time of the year to water... Read More
Perhaps you were browsing the pages of a catalog and... Read More
There is a magical quality to porch swings. In his... Read More
Called the "herb of happiness," Origanum majorana, commonly known as... Read More
Like many Americans, you may find bird watching to be... Read More
When starting a new plant from a leaf or stem... Read More
The fresh air of the early spring solstice and the... Read More
Hi there,I am Jhon Saunders and recently took up gardening... Read More
HID lamps are categorized in three groups :Mercury Vapor ,... Read More
I made my very first garden when I was six... Read More
A water garden is the area of your landscape that... Read More
"I have no plants in my house. They won't live... Read More
The areas of your landscape can be divided into several... Read More
If you have never grown vegetables before the first thing... Read More
Think of cyclamen and the chances are that Mothers Day... Read More
Yellow roses are beauties, aren't they? Don't they look beautiful... Read More
Decorative Birdhouses are active garden ornamentation --the presence and movement... Read More
I would like to know...WHO STOLE SUMMER???What did you do... Read More
Here are some of the popular orchid myths#1 Orchids are... Read More
Every gardener riding a lawn tractor should be concerned about... Read More
Noted English clergyman Sydney Smith (1771-1845) is quoted as saying,... Read More
1. If you have a non-electric mower which runs on... Read More
There are many reasons for creating an indoor garden ?... Read More
Parthenocissus tricuspidata is commonly known as Boston Ivy, Cottage Ivy,... Read More
Perennial plants and flowers stay around for more than just... Read More
A Shade Garden can be created in any of several... Read More
Along with lip-smacking sweetness, flower and foliage are also worthy... Read More
Just about right now, we start to see moss on... Read More
Viburnums are related to the honeysuckles, so it should come... Read More
Children are continually bombarded with advertising for fast food and... Read More
When you decide to buy one bird house or more... Read More
Planting times for vegetables and other annual plants vary from... Read More
Miniature roses are exactly what they sound like. They have... Read More
It is a beautiful evening and you are relaxing on... Read More
While shopping on line the other day at www.stoveramishfurniture.com, I... Read More
When planning your new landscape, the first place to start... Read More
The number one, most asked question that I receive about... Read More
If you've been gardening for any length of time you... Read More
Whether you call them Hydrangea Macrophylla, House Hydrangea, French Hydrangea,,... Read More
We've all heard that there is no such thing as... Read More
You can have different water pond designs, however ones that... Read More
Container gardeners take note. Tired of clay pots? Think vintage,... Read More
Having an outdoor patio offers the opportunity and place to... Read More
1. Always read the instruction manual before operating your lawnmower.... Read More
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of plants knows that... Read More
Earthworms are a gardener's best friend.Research has shown that earthworm... Read More
With an average lifespan of 75 years, teak wood has... Read More
Do you love spending time outdoors in your garden creating... Read More
Well it is now September, and the mornings are great... Read More
The garden should be near the house and away from... Read More
Are you one of those home gardeners that don't know... Read More
The task of selecting outdoor furniture for your natural spaces... Read More
Get ready for some gut-wrenching, laugh out loud hilarious pond... Read More
Kirengeshoma palmata Sometimes known as yellow waxbells, Kirengeshoma palmata... Read More
It's gardening season again! Are you ready? Whether you are... Read More
Copy-write 2005 Jan Money.Hydroponics gardening offers many advantages to the... Read More
The size of your yard will determine your final vegetable... Read More
Do you love to sit outdoors and swing for hours... Read More
Landscaping & Gardening |