Do the work once with perennials and reap the rewards year after year as they come back to add charm to the garden! There are many varieties to choose from including the popular Montauk Daisy, and Digitalis in pink, white, and cream. Also known as foxglove, Digitalis adds height to the garden via its eye-catching flower spikes of unique tubular blooms with spotted throats. Delphinium has flower spikes as well, in dark blue, light blue, and white. Our Lupine looks spectacular if you need some structure in the garden. Dramatic bold spikes shoot up out of a clump of bright green foliage, adding height as well as color. Delphinium and Lupine are both great butterfly attractors.
Butterflies also love beautiful daisy-like Coreopsis. It comes in a few different styles: a bright golden yellow with semi-double flowers, a striking gold and bronze-red bicolor, and a pretty pale yellow single flower with airy, ferny foliage. Echinacea, or coneflower, is yet another pollinator-friendly perennial, its colorful cones bobbing in the breeze surrounded by fluttering bees and butterflies. Rudbeckia, the classic black-eyed Susan, is a New England standard. This lush, rustic plant thrives in the soil here and adds a golden glow to the garden. It’s great if you need a foundation of color or an anchor in the yard. Echinacea is good for that as well. It’s also a New England standard.
Now, your grandmother probably loved hardy Lavender, the classic garden perennial with spikes of purple flowers that are particularly beautiful when planted en masse. Both the flowers and the foliage are famously aromatic, so much so that Lavender is grown commercially to use in perfumes. Most gardeners, however, simply love the way the deep purple of the flowers contrasts with the cool gray-green of the leaves. Hardy Lavender stands up to heat and drought while adding midsummer color to the border or herb garden, and thrives in well-draining soil with good air circulation. When you harvest the stems, which you can do at any time, take every third one—that way the plant still looks full and the air can circulate freely. Lavender flowers are great for drying and adding to arrangements, sachets, and bath salts. Their unique essence also adds unexpected flavor to baked goods, lemonade, and other culinary delights.
Looking a bit like lavender, perennial Salvia is the go-to for a dark, true blue flower when the lavender-blue of other blooms lacks the intensity you’re going for in a design. These dramatic spikes jump out against their gray-green foliage background. One of the most effective ways to use this plant is en masse, creating a deep blue sea in the garden. Fill a nice long border with Salvia and put some shorter bright red begonias down front. Tuck in some dusty miller for a patriotic theme or go in a different direction with some yellow rudbeckia and magenta begonias. Vivid colors pop against the deep blue, and chartreuse foliage makes an eye-catching accompaniment as well. Now drama is one thing, but a plant has to be able to last the summer and this one goes the distance. These spiky blooms are tough, standing up to heat, humidity, and drought—they even handle poor soil. Yes, this classic low-maintenance beauty is a great choice for our hot New England summers.
Sturdy, upright Achillea is in good supply, with lovely lacy foliage. We also have the fair Aquilegia with ethereal flowers dangling over a mound of green, and beautiful Bellis with button-like blooms. Dianthus comes in deep red, pink shades, bicolors, and some frilly edged varieties. Plants grow very short, reaching only ankle-high with pretty grass-like greenery. Hardy Verbena is a plant that flowers very well if watered regularly. It’s especially effective if you need an element that trails or drapes. Verbena has a dramatic way of leaning up and over a path or walkway.
Though each has its own distinctive personality, all of our perennials play nicely together.
