One of the most exciting things to happen in gardening in the (relatively) recent past is the increasing ubiquity of perennial plants. Perennials are great for many reasons, but principally because they are the perfect combination of being both beautiful and long-lasting, many flowering all the way through from Spring until Autumn. Perennials are also great because they are so reasonably priced, meaning that they are accessible to all and and because they work well both planted in pots and in borders. To top all of this off, they will return the next year, which means that you can enjoy their beauty more than once. However, given that there is such a wide variety, choosing which perennials to plant can be difficult. Here are five of our top recommendations to make choosing a little easier.
1.Heucheras
If you want to get the most out of your perennial Heucheras, choose one of the varieties that is named after cities ( for example, ‘Milan’ or ‘Rio’). These varieties tend to be fairly slug resistant and the dark varieties thrive in sunny areas, whilst the lighter coloured plants do well in shade, meaning that they are suitable for all gardens. They can also be planted in all manner of ways, including in borders, under trees and in hanging baskets.
2.Salvia Nemorosa ‘Caradonna’
These flowers are beautiful in the way that they are perfectly coordinated, as if their costume was specifically chosen for them to stand out in the crowd: their leaves are a beautiful silver-green and their violet foliage on purple stems pop perfectly against them. These will also see you through until late October, providing that you deadhead them when required. Salvias do love sun and will always grow best in a sunny patch of your garden, but it is versatile in the way that it can be planted as its own masterpiece as well as being interwoven into longer grasses.
3. Tiarella ‘Iron Butterfly’
These plants are renowned for their ability to produce beautifully-coloured flowers, even in dappled shade. They will look fantastic all the way through from March until the beginning of November. These look great when clustered around the trunk of a tree or in a shady window box.
4.Euphorbia Corallioides
The yellow-green colour of this plant works as a perfect contrast to bright red flowers, whether in a border or as some more substantial foliage in a plant pot. They also look great inside the house, and will last a while inside too, providing that you dip the stems into hot water after cutting them.
5. Dianthus 'Memories’
This perennial is perfect in a front garden given that it both looks and smells wonderful. It grows best in sunnier spots that also have free-draining alkaline soil, which means either liming your soil, or growing the flowers in pots. It grows neat naturally, which gives a brilliant first impression and means they are easy to maintain- all you need do is deadhead when necessary to keep the flowers coming.
There are plenty of other perennial plants that will last from Spring to Autumn, but these are just a handful of our favourites.
