When planning an outside perennial flower garden, you may not know which perennials to choose, particularly if this is the first time you’ve ever planted a flower garden. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy-care perennial flowers you can plant in your garden that will make your flower beds the talk of the neighborhood. Here are the top five, low-maintenance perennial flowers to spice up any garden.
Salvia
This tough flower comes in varieties that can grow in places with harsh winters or in states that experience hot and humid weather year-round. This is one reason why this flower is often considered perfect for beginners. They come in purples and blues and are typically planted around the border of flower beds. These drought-resistant flowers grow well in dry, hot climates and will bloom from late spring until late summer. Some varieties will grow as tall as five feet in height, so be sure to plant these in the back of your garden so they don’t cover up your smaller flowers.
Peonies
Peonies are some of the most dependable perennial flowers you’ll ever find. They have an excellent track record of blooming for years after you plant them and they are a sure sign that spring has arrived. The three-foot-tall plants bloom in mid-spring and are highly fragrant. They require a well-drained, sunny location and come in numerous varieties including single-, double-, or semi-double plants. You will find single-colored blooms and bi-colored blooms in a variety of colors ranging from white to coral to pink. They do not bloom long (about a month from May to June), but their early arrival will set the stage for your colorful garden.
Bearded Irises
These crowned flowers will give your garden a regal quality that no other flower can provide. They come in a wide range of colors and bi-colors including yellow, blue, purple, pink, light blue, burgundy, orange, and more. In fact, you could have an entire garden with just bearded irises and have it be just as colorful as if you plant a dozen different flowers. They also come in various sizes ranging from miniature (8 inches tall or shorter) to tall (as tall as 38 inches), so you can strategically work them into your garden at different places to provide texture.
Black-Eyed Susans
Black-eyed Susans are yellow- or orange-petaled flowers that bloom from early summer through late fall. They are so easy to grow that they will often bloom the first year from seed, which is very unlike most perennial flowers. Naturally drought and insect resistant, these flowers will grow year after year with little intervention. The blooms resemble daisies and the plants grow to be about two feet tall. They are ideal for filling in gaps in your garden or in places that need a splash of a bright color.
Daylilies
These are some of the easiest perennial flowers to grow and will produce armfuls of blooms every summer for years. Even though each flower only lasts a single day (hence its name), each plant will produce dozens of flowers per growing season, so you’ll be able to enjoy this flower from early spring until late summer. They are extremely hardy and prefer to grow in full sun.
Conclusion
If you were under the impression that perennial flowers were difficult to grow, these examples prove that they don’t have to be. You can have a gorgeous and colorful perennial flower garden even if you’ve never before planted a single seed. Start with these low-maintenance varieties and you’ll be enjoying your lovely flower garden for many years to come.