Perennials and Biennials Landscaping and Planting Tips

Perennials are different from annuals, in that, once they are planted, they will continue to come back every year. If properly maintained, they could continue to come back for many years. Biennials are another type of flowering plant that only bloom every other year.

Although many are quite beautiful, perennials are often not as brightly colored as annuals. They offer a variety of colors, such as pinks, oranges, purples, yellows and blues, but they are often gentler and less vibrant. If you’re looking for a garden with a more relaxed feel to it, these types of flowers are a good choice.

Many non-flowering types of plants can be found in the perennial category as well. Although some have very small flowers, or none at all, these types of perennials still make a fine addition to any garden. Adding these to your garden can give you the ability to create several different looks. Working these plants in with some brightly colored annuals, you can make some very attractive patterns and color schemes.

A popular type of perennial is the foxglove. They have thick green stalks with bell-shaped flowers that are either orange or pink in color. Foxgloves are typically easy to manage, and add a lovely contrast of height and shape to the other plants in your garden.

Another popular perennial is the hosta. Even if their lovely white flowers are not in bloom, these plants are quite attractive with their large light green leaves. Another nice thing about hostas is that they are very low maintenance and will survive in most conditions.

After the hosta’s blooms die in the fall, the large leaves will shrivel up and turn brown. When this happens, it’s hard to believe that during the summer, the hosta’s leaves were nearly a foot wide. All you need to do to get ready for the following year is chop off the brown leaves at ground level before the snow starts to fly.

Another low maintenance perennial is thyme, which makes excellent ground cover. Sage is another plant that adds a nice splash of light green, as well a pleasing aroma to your garden. Yarrow, although it is sometimes hard to keep from spreading, is often worked in with flowers and ground cover.

Irises are beautiful perennials that have large yellow flowers and long green stalks. The only maintenance required for these is to occasionally pull off the dead flowers so they can re-bloom.

A great addition to gardens in almost any climate is the Bougainvillea bush. These hardy plants produce many bright red blossoms and are very easy to care for. Bougainvillea bushes are able to survive well in drought prone areas as well as regions that experience long cold winters.

Even though perennials are typically more subtle in their coloration, there is a wide variety of them to choose from. Many of them require very little work after the initial planting, which is perfect for someone who doesn’t like the work that comes along with annuals.

         

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