Perennial All-Stars

The overall concept of the Old English Perennial Garden was to have floating areas of color throughout the growing season. These splashes of color would be repeated in a number of areas and would last two weeks - the normal bloom time of most perennials. Then, the next group would start to bloom. It was a sight to see, but it took four acres and a staff of ten gardeners. A shortcut is to use fewer types of flowering perennials that bloom for a long period of time. The plants listed below have a long bloom time, are fairly easy to grow, and don't take up a massive amount of bed space. One other common attribute is that they will need to be divided on a regular basis. With most perennials flowering in Spring, this group of mainly Summer-flowering plants is particularly useful.

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) A prairie plant, best in full sun, starts blooming in July and continues through August and into September. This composite flower (Daisy like,) with back-swept purple petals and a black cone, forms in good numbers on this sturdy 3-4' tall plant.

Goldstrum Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum') A couple generations beyond the prairie Black-eyed Susan, this plant starts blooming in July, and blooms until frost. This 2-3' tall plant is covered with golden yellow composite flowers with a black cone that continues blooming through Fall.

Daylily Stella d'Oro (Hemerocallis spec.) This daylily is unusual in its height and ever-blooming pattern. Starts blooming with the rest of the daylilies in June, and this one continues at a slower pace, but never stops until September, when it puts on a new push. This is a Dwarf daylily, 15" tall with gold yellow flowers above.

Moonbeam Coreopsis (Coreopsis spec.) This very fine-textured perennial is covered with tiny light yellow flowers from July to September. Often planted in groups, it can reach 18" tall.

Luxuriant Bleeding Heart (Dicentra X Luxuriant) This very dwarf form of bleeding heart 15-18' with a very finely cut leaf is a Spring bloomer. This plant produces clusters of cherry-red flowers in May and June. Best in rich well-drained soil in some shade.

Alaska Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare ‘Alaska') This is an outstanding variety of Daisy that blooms through July and August. Yellow eye with white petals. This plant grows 2-3' tall and is best planted in a sunny spot.

Butterfly blue Scabiosa (Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue') Blooms heavily in May but continues through until frost. The plant gets 12-18' tall, with unusual blue flowers. This is the 2000 perennial of the year.

These seven perennials can add long-lasting color to perennial gardens borders and mixed planting areas. Have fun with these easy-to-grow All-Stars!