We're not sure which is more difficult … Choosing the Perennials from the dizzying array of varieties and cultivars out there, or choosing which kind of Perennial Garden to start with?
Start your new mixed Perennial border or garden bed this year and get your flower fix all season long with a wide variety of Perennial plants for sale at Nature Hills Nursery!
Creating a Mixed Perennial Garden
Perennials are fantastic for filling small to large voids in the garden, small enough to add to container gardens, and easy enough to grow for en masse plantings! The versatility and range of their abilities, colors, sizes, forms, and bloom times are absolutely astounding!
Regardless of the type of garden you choose, there are a few key pointers to remember when planning your new garden:
- Plant larger plants at the back of a Perennial border, or in the center of a circular planting
- Medium-height plants in the middle
- Smaller plants around the edges
- Groundcovers on the edges or filling in bare spots
- Tall or columnar plants, or vines on trellises, can serve as focal points
- Plant in groupings of 3 or 5, or repeat in drifts across the bed for visual impact
- Combine spring, summer, fall blooming, and reblooming varieties for continuous color
- Consider seed pods, dried heads, and winter structure for added seasonal interest
Perennial Garden Design Tips
Go Formal
A formal Perennial Garden has a consistent theme and/or color scheme (both foliage and flowers), evenly spaced plants, neatly trimmed/sheared backdrops, and cleanly weed-whacked edges. Architectural spiky plants and statuesque Grass columns, tidy rounded globes, mixed with flat and spreading groundcovers, all help create clean lines and formal features. Black foliage or blooms add drama, and sculpted shrubs or clipped backdrops enhance the formality.
Wild and Informal
If you lean whimsical, choose an informal layout. Cottage gardens, prairies, and wildflower styles allow free-flowing designs with color bursts, textural variety, and a casual vibe. Winding rows intersect the entire garden bed, groupings with pops of color here and there, tall and short plants mixed and matched throughout, with flowing, billowing, spikey, and rounded plants all mixed together! Tumbling edging spilling over the sides, and big, flouncy flowering backdrops or waving Ornamental Grasses set everything off in the rear.
The Butterfly and Pollinator Garden
Support bees, butterflies, beneficial insects, and hummingbirds with nectar and pollen-rich pollinator-friendly Perennials:
- Butterfly Weed (like Cinderella)
- Cardinal Flower like Starship™ Blue
- Aster Plants, or Showy Goldenrod (like Dwarf Little Lemon) for late-season flowers
- Salvia, Bee Balm, Hyssop
- Native Wildflowers
The Cutting Garden Perennials
Snipping blooms for bouquets also encourages new flowers to form and flushes of rebloom until frost in many cases! Create a bouquet-ready cutting garden with:
- Goldsturm Black-Eyed Susan
- PowWow® Wild Berry Coneflower
- Blazing Star Gayfeather
- Millenium Allium
- Butterfly Blue Scabiosa
- Daisy May® Shasta Daisy
- Baby's Breath for filler
- Showy specimens like Delphinium and Larkspur
Scented Perennial Garden
Mix these Perennials into your Rose garden or among other scented shrubs for a dreamy meditation garden to relax in and soothe the senses! Blend these into a sensory escape or meditation garden. Soothing, fragrant selections include:
- Lavender
- Peonies
- Oriental/Asiatic Lilies
- Salvia
- Bee Balm
- Tall Garden Phlox
- Dianthus
- Sweet Alyssum like Golden Spring
- Heliotrope
- Spring Bulbs like Hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, Tuberose, Tulips, Daffodils, and Muscari
Unique Flowering Perennials
Add conversation starters with these unusual perennial plants:
- Red Hot Poker
- Leopard Plant like Bottle Rocket
- Compass Plant
- Indian Pinks
- Foxglove
- Pineapple Lily
- Foxtail Lily
- Kangaroo Paw
- Globe Thistle or Sea Holly
- Astrantia
Nature Hills Has The Perfect Perennials For You!
From full sun to deep shade, there's a Perennial for every condition:
- Cold-hardy, heat-tolerant, sun and shade-friendly varieties
- Most prefer consistent moisture, fertile soil, and mulched beds
- Great for curb appeal and practical problem-solving
Consider gardens that are:
- Fire-defensible
- Deer-resistant
- Slope-stabilizing
- Herbs and edible flowers for Edible Landscapes
- Balcony or patio-friendly
Dry Perennial Gardens
Drought-tolerant Perennials are perfect for arid or rocky spots, and even Rock Gardens:
- Sedum, Lavender, Ice Plant
- Ornamental Grasses
- Coreopsis
- Coneflowers, Salvia, Blanket Flower, Yarrow
Sunny Perennial Garden
Love the sun? These thrive with full exposure:
- Russian Sage
- Daylilies
- Shasta Daisy
- Coneflower
- Flowering Chives/Alliums
- Salvia
Moist Soil Perennial Gardens
For wet spots and Rain Gardens:
- Big Blue Liriope, Japanese Iris, Swamp Milkweed
- native Turtlehead, Cardinal Flowers, Joe Pye Weed, Meadow Rue (like Black Stockings)
- Soft Rush for unique texture
- Creeping Jenny, and Ligularia for bold foliage
- Spiderwort like Sweet Kate, Amethyst Kiss™, Concord, and native Ohio Spiderwort
Shade Garden Perennials
Understory charmers for low-light:
- Hostas and Ferns for greenery
- Coral Bells, Bleeding Hearts
- Astilbe, Lungwort, Bergenia, Brunnera, Tiarella
Caring For Perennials of All Kinds
Perennials are some of the most rewarding plants in the garden! Coming back year after year with blooms, fragrance, and beauty. With just a bit of thoughtful care, they'll flourish for seasons to come! Find all the expert tips and tricks for Perennial planting and care to keep your garden looking its best for years to come!
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Watering Wisely: During their first year, keep Perennials evenly moist as they establish strong roots. Use the Finger Test to check if the soil is dry a couple of inches down before watering again.
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Mulch Matters: Add a layer of arborist mulch around your plants to conserve moisture, regulate soil temperature, and prevent weeds.
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Deadhead for More Blooms: Many varieties will rebloom if you deadhead spent flowers regularly. Snip faded blooms to keep the show going.
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Divide to Thrive: Every few years, divide overcrowded Perennials in early spring or fall to rejuvenate their growth and spread the beauty to other parts of your garden.
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Feed Lightly: Apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in spring when new growth appears. Too much nitrogen can cause lush leaves but fewer flowers.
- Prune With Purpose: Cut back stems after the first frost for most herbaceous Perennials, unless you're keeping them for winter interest or wildlife habitat. Pinch back leggy plants to encourage branching.
The Sky's The Limit With Perennials At Nature Hills!
With the broad range of colors, sizes, forms, and functions that Perennials are available in, you will need extra help Choosing the Right One For Your Garden, but Nature Hills is here to help every step of the way!
Creating a mixed Perennial Garden in your landscape allows you to have it all, no matter which you choose, and you'll enjoy something new throughout the entire growing season!
Order quality Perennials today from Nature Hills and find all the expert tips and tricks for Perennial planting and care to keep your garden looking its best for years to come!
Happy Planting!
