season-by-season list of perennial flowers
Use these perennial plant suggestions to get a burst of overlapping colors with blooming times from spring through fall.
Perennial flowers are a must-have in your garden because of their ability to come back year after year, usually growing stronger and more beautiful with age. But unlike annuals, which bloom continuously for months, most perennials last only a few days to a few weeks. However, you can ensure plenty of blooms from your perennials if you plan your garden around the seasons to stagger the blooming times.
Don't be afraid to pack in plants for a great color show. While three or four varieties of annuals will brighten up a bed all season long, you may need a dozen perennials so something blooms from spring to fall. Start planning your continuous blooming garden by choosing this mix of spring, summer and fall blooming perennials for sun and shade.
Spring perennials for shade
These spring perennials will brighten up any shady area. These seasonal perennials are planted in low light and are low maintenance. They are also less likely to attract insects. You can count on these early bloomers to kickstart your garden each spring.
Barrenwort (Epimedium)
Bleeding heart (dysentery)
Columbine (Aquilegia)
Primrose (Primula)
Foamflower (Tyrella)
Virginia
Heart-leaf Prunera (Prunera)
Hellebore (Hellborus)
Jacob's Ladder (Polamonium)
Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
Viola
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum)
Spring perennial flowers for the sun
Need a little more to liven up your sunny space? These sun-loving perennials bloom year after year with dozens of flowers and beautiful color. Thrive in hot sun, many of these beautiful perennials are hardy and drought tolerant.
Alpine clematis (Clematis alpina)
Candytuft (Iberis)
Creeping Flax (Flax subulata)
'Crater Lake Blue' Veronica
Dianthus
Late spring to early summer perennial flowers for shade
Say hello to the first summer days with these shade-loving perennials. Bright colors and lush greenery create lively accents in a cool corner. Park a bench near your shade garden, grab a book, and relax while looking at your beautiful perennials.
Astilbe
Coralbells (Heechera)
Meadow Rs (Talikdrum)
Foam beads (X heucherella)
Woman's Cloak (Alchemilla)
Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea)
A late spring to early summer perennial flowers for sun
Sunny days and warm weather are made even better by plants that can beat the heat. There are many varieties of these low-maintenance summer flowers, so choosing a few that will fit into your dream garden plan should be easy.
Bear's Breeches (Acanthus)
Baptisia
Fleabane (erigeron)
Iris
Lamb's Ear (Stocky's)
Peony (Peonia)
Garden plant
Salvia 'May Night'
Summer perennial flowers for the sun
As the heat sets in, it's time to pick up hardy, drought-tolerant perennials (like these Better Homes & Gardens 2.5Qt Purple Lavender Live Plants in a Decorative Container, 3 Pack, $45, Walmart). You have dozens of choices for summer flowers that can beat the heat, so go ahead and plant as many as you can fit in your yard.
Balloon Flower (Platycodon)
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Campanula
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Flaming Star (Liatris)
Butterfly weed (Asclepias)
Catmint (Nepeta)
Echinacea (Echinacea)
Crocosmia
Delphinium
Evening primrose (Oenothera)
Dianthus
Garden Flax (Flax paniculata)
Globe Thistle (Echinops)
Hardy Hibiscus moscheutos
Helenium
Hollyhock (Alcia rosa)
Henna (Agastache)
Knautia
Lavender (Lavandula)
Lily (Lilium)
Maltese cross (Lychnis chalcedonica)
Meadowsweet (Bilipendula)
Mullein (Verbascum)
Penstemon
Pincushion Flower (Scapiosa)
Red-Hot Poker (Nifobia)
Shasta Daisy (Lucanthemum x superbum)
Veronica
Yarrow (Achillea)
Yucca
0 Comments