growth gets crowded and they don’t seem to flower as well. At this time, you can dig them out and replace them, or you can divide them (perhaps discarding the tired-out center, or mother plant) and replant well-rooted bits for a fresh new start.
Here are some of the many uses of perennials:
Creating a colorful bed or border
Filling an island bed (an isolated, self-contained garden, like an island in a sea of lawn)
Mixing them with annuals to assure summer-long color
Edging a walkway, patio, pool area, or deck
Interplanting them with roses, annuals, or other ornamental shrubs to provide year-round interest
Dressing up an area that was formerly lawn
For the nitty-gritty details on perennials, check out Chapter 7. If you just want the basics, read on.
IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR: GROUNDCOVERS
Low-growing perennial plants may be handy in a flower border (near the front where they won’t be blocked from view) or as an edging, but they have another, very practical use: You can plant entire areas with them, and they can form a low-care carpet. Groundcovers are problem-solvers for difficult-to-landscape areas such as shady areas, including under trees where lawn won’t grow, or areas where you don’t want to or can’t easily mow such as slopes/embankments.
Some favorite groundcovers include ajuga, candytuft, creeping phlox, epimedium, hosta, ivy, lamium, lily-of-the-valley, pachysandra, sweet woodruff, verbena, and vinca. For details on groundcovers, turn to Chapter 14.
Caring for and feeding perennials
The water needs of perennials vary. Some are moisture-lovers, others are drought-tolerant, and many are somewhere in the middle. Do your homework when choosing plants, not just on what they prefer but on which ones are suitable to the growing conditions in your yard and climate (otherwise, you’ll be jumping through hoops trying to please them). Chapter 2 can help you get a grip on how to plan your garden.
One generalization is possible, though: Nothing makes newly planted perennials feel more welcome than plentiful water does. The perennials have gone from a sheltered and confining life in a pot to the wide world of your garden, and water helps sustain the roots and encourages them to establish themselves and expand into their new home.
Many perennials (like most people) enjoy being fed. They respond by growing more robustly and producing more flowers. You’re fine with a general, all-purpose garden fertilizer, applied according to the label directions during the height of the growing season. Don’t feed your perennials as fall approaches and growth naturally begins to slow. You don’t want them producing a fresh new flush of growth that soon gets nipped by a frost. (For some general info on fertilizing, see Chapter 4.)
I have to admit that fertilizing the majority of perennials isn’t mandatory. If you plant them in soil that suits them (and do your homework when choosing the plants), they may do just fine without it. Good, organically rich soil and good growing conditions and regular water can sustain healthy, hearty perennial growth for quite some time. Fertilizing merely supplies a boost in these cases.
Looking at lifespan
The life cycle of a perennial depends on various factors, notably the type of plant and whether it’s happy in your garden. But you can certainly expect to get a minimum of two years and a maximum of a decade out of the vast majority of perennials. For best results, of course, take good care of them.
Considering fall planting
If you shop for perennials in late summer and get them in the ground a good six weeks or more before the first frost, those plants will definitely have a head start over their spring-planted counterparts. In fall, the soil is still warm and welcoming, and drenching fall rains can help water in the new kids. Depending on the severity of your winter, cutting back any new growth and mulching when winter is just around the corner may be good ideas.
Bulbs and roses
Bulbs, which store their food underground, are a richly varied group of plants. The best-known ones like tulips and daffodils are spring flowering, but these plants represent only the tip of the iceberg. Many others, like dahlias and lilies, are summer bloomers. What they all have in common is that they’re easy to grow and produce plenty of flowers. Just provide them a sunny, well-drained spot, stand back, and let them do their thing. See Chapter 8 for info on bulbs.
Although bulbs are quite popular, roses are America’s favorite flowers for many reasons. They epitomize romance and come in an impressive range of flower colors, not to mention their inimitable delicious fragrances. Lucky for us, modern rose breeders have worked their wonders on this plant to produce roses that are not only stunningly beautiful but also tough as nails.
Roses are no longer the wimps that gardeners loved to think about growing but were afraid to try because of the reputation for being a magnet to every known plant disease and insect pest. Today’s varieties are also available in a range of plant habits, from upright to bush forms to those that are ground hugging. Chapter 9 can fill you in on growing roses.
Gardening for Your Dining Pleasure
Increasingly for many gardeners, growing food is the real reason for gardening. There really isn’t quite anything like the feeling of satisfaction a gardener gets from nurturing and encouraging a tomato plant to put forth the most gorgeous and delicious tomatoes imaginable or harvesting a healthy and tasty fruit from a tree planted right in the front yard. And if you like to cook, there’s nothing quite like working with and eating freshly harvested produce that you know exactly what chemicals have been
