Sturdy Summer Perennials

The other day my oldest son asked me for some gardening suggestions. He’s a new home owner and wanted some ideas for perennials that he could plant that would have bright colors and a long blooming time. For all you newbie gardeners perennials are plants that come back yearly for typically at least several, if not many years without having to be replaced.

Now to be completely honest this top photo shows a mixture of perennials and annuals. Annual flowers have to be replaced every year (but they bloom their little hearts out for you for the the year they’re with you). My point with this photo is I LOVE COLOR!!! So most of the perennials in my yard are showy with bright, happy colors.

This bright blue plant is perennial sage and the variety I love is May Night. It’s a deep blue and once it blooms in early summer (for about one month), you can shear off the flowers and get a repeat flowering at the end of summer for another month. The plant is a vibrant blue, attracts butterflies and is deer resistant.

This gorgeous yellow plant is Coreopsis Zagreb. I love this guy because he blooms all summer and is no trouble at all! Some perennials get diseases, some have to be supported with stakes. Not this baby. He just blooms and blooms from early summer until frost. He’s about 18 inches tall and loves full sun. Finally this plant is sturdy and if it gets hit by your hose it doesn’t get injured. I know that may sound like a crazy point but many plants get bruised or bruised by a heavy hose so I actually have this plant right in my hose’s path!

This pretty pink plant is a perfect sturdy perennial. It’s called Echinacea or coneflower. It comes in various shades of pink (and newer cultivars are even orange or red) and blooms from midsummer through early fall. It looks great amid blues, yellows , and whites in my garden.

This happy looking white plant is a daisy. It is cheerful, sturdy and blooms for most of the summer. White flowers give your eye a “rest” when you plant lots of color. This is a very traditional garden flower and it always makes me smile.

The last character on my list of sturdy summer perennials is Autumn Joy Sedum. This plant looks like this all summer—kind of like a big head of green broccoli. But then at summer’s end it opens up into lovely masses of small pink flowers that mound all over these heads! It’s a great plant because it holds up to our winters and needs no care in our summers. Then it blooms in a big way for the entire fall.

Well that’s my round-up of easy perennials to purchase and plant from just about any garden center (even now). Or if you’re lucky enough to be my kid (or neighbor) all of these plants are easily divided in spring and then they’re free!

Happy planting!!!

P.S. This is what Autumn Joy sedum will look like soon when it blooms. Stay tuned to my blog and you’ll see more photos in the upcoming weeks. I’m also on Instagram at Drjuliemarshall.