Perennial Principles: How to Plant for All-Year Color | Greenstreet Gardens

Perennial Principles: How to Plant for All-Year Color

perennial colorful garden Greenstreet Gardens

The beauty of perennials is that they don’t bloom all at once. Each one has its special time, determined by the plant’s deep history in the wild, but also shaped by horticulturists throughout the centuries. The secret to all-year color is to grow species that take turns flowering in every season. The fall is one of the best times to plan and plant your garden for the year!   

fall-blooming-flowers

Fall Flowers 

Fall is the time for some of the most beautiful perennials to shine. Common Boneset and White Wood Aster emerge with white blossoms. New England and New York Aster display vibrant purple petals. Seaside Goldenrod and Black-Eyed Susans reveal stunning yellow flowers to compliment the changing fall leaves, while chrysanthemums give bursts of colors in the whole spectrum. Like a sunset at the end of the day, your perennial fall garden can sometimes be the most radiant of the whole year. 

"Let these perennials inspire you to find the flowers you love in every season."

peony-rose-yarrow

Three Seasons of Spring  

It’s not hard to find perennials that bloom in the spring. It seems like every flower suddenly bursts into color, but the key is to grow species to fill every period of the spring. You don’t want to miss those precious first bulbs of the year like daffodils and Virginia bluebells. In mid-spring, columbine and creeping phlox start to shine. The end of spring welcomes peonies, roses, yarrow, and so many others that continue to flower into the summer. 

summer blooming flowers

Summertime Bloomers   

Some of the heavy hitters of the garden start to bloom in early July, like hydrangeas and garden phlox. At this point, our landscapes are often overbrimming with color, as vegetables begin to produce, and berries ripen too. Again, the key is to establish some longevity with long-blooming species like geraniums, bee balm, and coneflower. It’s also important to have late-bloomers in the bank, like sage and hollyhock, for August and September.  

dogwood branches-winter heath-ornamental cabbage

Color in the Winter 

We often have to look beyond perennials for color during the winter. Evergreen shrubs like wintergreen and holly offer green leaves and red berries that stay on the branch. Dogwood reveals vibrant red bark after its leaves fall. Winter heath blooms around Christmas time with pink flowers, while ornamental cabbage displays beautiful pink leaves through the winter, although it’s not a perennial. Still, with a little creativity, your garden can remain colorful all the way until the late winter.  

Let these perennials inspire you to find the flowers you love in every season. They are just a small taste of many plants, and the fall is one of the best times to plant them, especially those bloomers that will shine next spring. If you put them in the ground six weeks before the first hard frost, they’ll have time to settle in before winter. Need more advice or want to see what we have in stock? You’re always welcome to drop by our garden centers in Alexandria, Belle Haven, and Lothian!   

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