Are you looking for plants that come up every year?
You know those –low maintenance– plant it and forget it type of flowers? Then you’ve come to the right place.
Whether you are just a beginner or seasoned gardener who wants to add more easy to grow perennial’s to your collection, I think you are going to love this list. I have looked for easy and gorgeous perennials to have for years to come including varieties that thrive in the shade and sunny areas.
Perennials That Thrive in The Sun
1. Toad Lily Mix
Unique, showy, exotic mix of blooms. A welcome addition for late season color for your garden. Along with traditional mums or asters, these small orchid-like curious blooms add a touch of excitement for your garden. (Get lily bulbs here)
2. Bi-color Red Hens and Chicks
Charming rosettes of succulent red, bicolor or steel blue leaves. Red Beauty’ sports medium-sized, fairly open rosettes of grey-green leaves with blood-red tips. This color may vary from season to season. Clusters of light pink flowers are produced in midsummer.
A peculiar characteristic of Sempervivum is comprised of one large rosette called the “hen” which sprouts many smaller rosettes around it called “chicks”. As the plants age, the “hen” may die out and be replaced by the “chicks”. Plants can be divided easily at any time by pulling up some of the “chicks” and replanting them elsewhere. Easy to grow even in poor soil. (Get Red hens here)
3. Destined to See Daylily
The striking and unusual blue-lavender coloration contrasts beautifully with the yellow-green throats. It has many flower stems on each plant and on each stem sits approximately 12 flower buds. Fragrant.
Daililly Huge 6-in. flowers atop tall, strong stems that bear 12 flower buds. Eye-catching color all summer long! Very low-maintenance and sweetly fragrant. Grows 20-26 in. tall. Bareroot. Zones 3-9. The best part about it — it attracts butterflies. What is not to love? (Get Day Daylily’s here)
4. Russian Sage
Decidedly Fragrant Foliage
Blue flowers accent shrub-like plants mid to late summer. Grows 3-4 ft. tall. Can really take the heat! Full sun. Potted plants.
This plant attracts butterflies. These plants thrive in full sun, poor clay soil with rare watering.
Cut to about a foot from the roots in the winter, they regrow to intense splendor by summer. If conditions are ‘right’ they can become invasive. Won’t thrive in partial shade. It is recommended to mulch with gravel, plant near driveway & street. (Get Russian Sage here)
5. Snow In Summer
A very useful groundcover perennial, often grown in dry, sunny areas with poor soil. Plants form a low, fast-spreading mat of silvery-grey leaves, studded with tiny white star flowers in late spring and early summer. An indestructible choice for difficult sites, but be sure to plant this where its spreading habit will not become a problem.
Beautiful spilling over rock walls or on steep sunny slopes, used as a lawn substitute. Also grows well in tubs or mixed containers. Easily divided in spring or fall. Plants should be clipped hard or mowed (to 2 inches) after blooming to maintain a tidy habit. (Get snow in summer here)
6. Dwarf English Lavender [Blue Cushion]
Grown as a scented herb for years, it makes a wonderful addition to any sunny location that provides good drainage. This particular variety is one of the shortest forms so it does well for edging but especially in a rock garden where it appreciates lots of sun.
Unlike some other compact varieties, ‘Blue Cushion’ forms a uniform, compact mound of fragrant, grey-green foliage smothered in deep violet-blue flower spikes from early to late summer. Flower spikes lighten to pale blue as they mature. Repeat blooming may last into fall if you deadhead on a regular basis. One of the very best! (Get Dwarf Lavender here)
7. English Primrose [mixed]
Primrose flowers {certainly are a} true sign of spring. They combine so beautifully with different varieties of flowering bulbs. The ‘Wanda’ varieties of English Primrose are vigorous and simple plants, smothered with flowers in early spring.
This strain produces blooms in a wide variety of jewel shades, from magenta and blue, to red, pink, yellow and white. Divide plants every a couple of years in early fall, to preserve their vigor. These perform best along with a rich, moist soil. Will tolerate full sun in cool summer regions. Watch out for slugs (Get English primrose here)
Perennials That Thrive in The Shade
8. Hyacinth
Hyacinths are generally planted in the fall for spring bloom. In the first year, the flower spikes average about 10 inches tall and are laden with tightly packed individual flowers. Each flower is bell-shaped, with reflexed or backward-curved petals.
In subsequent years, the flower spikes are generally looser in appearance, with fewer individual flowers. This gives the plant a less formal look but doesn’t affect the color or fragrance. They grow in U.S. zones 5 through 9. (Get Hyacinth here)
9. Bumble Bee [partial shade]
Silver and Gold-laced Primroses have been grown in gardens for centuries. This strain produces blooms of deep black-brown with a scalloped silver-white edge and a golden eye. Blooms are fragrant with stems just long enough for cutting, appearing in spring.
It’s best to plant these where they will be seen, perhaps beside a woodland path. Primroses prefer a moist site with protection from afternoon sun and will not cope well with dry shade conditions. Consider planting alongside a stream or pond, or under the downspout. Slugs are sometimes a problem. Clumps should be divided every 3 to 4 years, immediately after blooming. (Get bumble bee here)
10. Astilbe [Western & Country]
Astilbe are a popular choice for shady gardens, where they perform well if given a rich, moist soil and regular watering. This midsized selection blooms in early summer with fluffy, soft-pink plumes over a mound of large, shiny, green leaves.
A healthy, vigorous performer. Great in the border, also thrives in tubs or mixed containers. Fertilize in April and June. Excellent for cutting. Seed heads may be removed, or left on the plant for winter interest. Will tolerate full sun, in cool summer regions. Developed by Harry Verduin. USPP#14969: unlicensed propagation prohibited. (Get Astilbe here)
11. Ferns
Also called Auriculate Lady Fern. This Japanese species is a nice selection for edging in the woodland or shady rock garden. Plants form a clump of arching triangular leaves, at first pale green with maroon stems, then changing to grey-green.
Well behaved and non-spreading. Adapts well to containers. Old foliage should be trimmed to the ground in late winter. Plants benefit from a mulch of compost to help retain soil moisture. Deciduous. (Get fern seeds here)
12. Fire Spinner [Ice plant]
These stunning tri-colored flowers cover a tight, fast-spreading mat of succulent evergreen foliage. The flowers are most prolific in spring, reappearing throughout the summer. Green-apple foliage keeps its shiny presence through winter. Best in partial shade/ full sun. (Get fire spinner here)
13. Caladiums
Where most plants don’t tolerate shade too well — caladiums love shady areas! When your favorite flower will bloom for a couple of weeks only, caladiums will offer wonderful leaf color and texture all summer. White varieties like White Christmas, Moonlight or Candidum put on an impressive show all season long in shady areas. (Get Caladiums here)
Learn more about Perennials from any of the websites below
References & Other Resources
http://www.gurneys.com/product/destined_to_see_daylily/perennials
http://www.perennials.com/
Image sources:
http://www.gurneys.com/
http://www.michiganbulb.com/