I was teaching a garden design class last week and several of the students were totally new to gardening in Connecticut. A few had moved here to Connecticut from overseas and a few had recently purchased their first house and were starting their first gardens. They all wanted to know which perennials would be easiest to grow and would flower for a long time.
So, for any newbie gardener, whether you garden in Connecticut or someplace a bit farther afield, here are 5 perennials that are easy to grow and will make you feel like a gardening success.
All of these perennials will look best in your garden if you plant them in groups of three or more.
Baptisia australis (False indigo)
photo courtesy of White Flower Farm
◊ Baptisia australis is a North American native that, when mature, it really the size of a small bush.
◊ Plant in full sun and well-draining soil.
◊ False indigo has a long taproot which means it is drought tolerant once established but it also means it doesn’t like to be moved.
◊ Flowers in late Spring.
◊ Insect and deer resistant.
◊ Baptisia grows to about 36″ tall. Plant them in the back of a mixed border.
◊ Leave the spent flowers on the plant so the seedpods can develop. They eventually turn black and give the plant a whole new look.
◊ There are several new cultivars with flowers that are white, smoky purple, orange or yellow. Personally I love the violet flowers of the species but it’s nice to know there are options available.
◊ Hardy in zones 3 – 9.
Coreopsis verticillata (Tickseed)
photo courtesy of White Flower Farm
◊ Plant in full sun to partial shade. You’ll get more flowers with more sun.
◊ Coreopsis prefer well-drained soil although some do tolerate dry, lean soil. They don’t like to have wet feet, especially in the winter.
◊ Flowers from early summer through fall. You can find coreopsis with flowers that are yellow, white, pink, peach, red, …
◊ There are many varieties and cultivars available but most grow to about 18″ – 24″ tall. Plant coreopsis in the front or middle of a flower border.
◊ They attract butterflies and bees and are deer resistant.
◊ Hardy in zones 3 – 8 (hardiness may vary depending on the cultivar).
Echinacea purpurea (Purple cone flower)
◊ Echinacea purpurea is a North American native and is great for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your garden.
◊ Drought tolerant once established (after the first year or two).
◊ Plant in full sun in a spot with well-draining soil. Wet or soggy soil can kill cone flowers.
◊ Flowers from mid-summer through fall.
◊ There are many, many, many cultivars of coneflowers available with a rainbow of flower colors – from white to magenta to green to orange. Many of these new cultivars can be finicky to grow. Do yourself a favor and stick with the species (Echinacea purpurea), it will be much easier to grow.
◊ Purple cone flower grows to about 30″ tall. Plant in the middle of a mixed border.
◊ Leave the spent flowers on the plant through the fall and winter. You’ll be amazed at the birds to visit to fee on the seeds.
◊ Hardy in zones 4 – 8.
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
◊ Think of ‘Rozanne’ as the friendly neighbor of your flower bed, she likes to weave among her nearby neighbors but she’s never aggressive.
◊ Violet blue flowers from May – October and red fall foliage make ‘Rozanne’ a great plant for adding several seasons of interest to your garden.
◊ Plant in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
◊ ‘Rozanne’ grows to 18″ and 30″ wide. She is ideal for the front of your border.
◊ I find deer leave ‘Rozanne’ alone in my garden but they do seem to like some of my other perennial geraniums, so keep that in mind.
◊ Hardy in zones 5 – 8.
Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)
◊ Bright yellow flowers from late summer into fall.
◊ This North American native perennial is another bee and butterfly favorite.
◊ Use black-eyed Susan in the middle of your border since she generally grows to about 36″ tall.
◊ Grow in full sun and well-draining soil.
◊ Not reliably deer-resistant but the rabbits do seem to leave it alone.
◊ Hardy in zones 3 – 8.
Which perennials top your ‘easy-to-grow’ list?
All lovely basics. Tickseed was a challenge for me though. Moonbeam and the other marketed cultivars (Limerock Ruby, etc.) either faded away or just outright died, and I tried them several times in good, well drained soil. Not impressed. But the tall bright yellow wild ones growing in the meadow did well when I dug them up and put them in the garden. They have survived beautifully!
Laurrie, I’ve had bad luck with the non-yellow ones, too. But I do have several cultivars of the yellow – including Moonbeam – and they seem to be OK. Like everything else in gardening, there are so many unknowns that it’s sometimes amazing anything survives.
Perfect basics to make any garden lovely, critter and earth friendly, and easy to maintain!!
Donna, Somehow keeping it simple does seem to meet all those requirements of a good garden, doesn’t it?
Very pretty post, I agree!
Debbie, Yes, I agree that these are all great workhorses in the garden. I would like to say that I did have to dig up a Baptisia and re-plant in another location and it survived. I must have dug really deep to get that tap root! Also, I completely agree on the Echinacea purpurea. I have tried to grow many other varieties of Echinacea, and they do OK, but they do not multiply and bloom as well as the species. I just don’t think I will ever get tired of having my rudbeckia and echinacea purpurea combinations during the heat of summer. And my butterflies love them too!
Valerie, I’ve been forced to dig up my baptisia too and it seemed to be OK with the move. And I couldn’t agree more that rudbeckia & echinacea are the cornerstones of my butterfly garden, too.
I think I will try the Baptisia this year. Thanks for the tip. The perennial I could not do without is Acanthus. I have both mollis and spinosa and they both do extremely well with little or no special treatment…easy, but exotic looking: what a package.
Ricki, I don’t have any acanthus but I do love those leaves. It’s marginally hardy here but I did see some plants in a local IGC last spring. wonder if they survived in the garden of who ever brought them home??
Good selections, and all (other than Baptisia) were plants I incorporated when I first made my garden. The coreopsis (not a nice variety like moonbeam) almost killed me though and it spread so readily and with such abandon that I quickly tired of it and swore off all yellow plants for about 7 years.
The Baptisia is tough only for the reason that you mention about it not wanting to be moved. I’m not sure any plant that I started with is still in the same location I still planted it in and knowing me I would have put Baptisia in a totally inappropriate place.
Erin, My plants never seem to stay in the same spot for long either. My resolution last season was to leave them alone for a few years and let them put down root and really grow. I confess I didn’t leave the mall alone but I did think twice before getting out my shovel.
Great selections! I bought my first BAptisia a few years ago, I had NO CLUE how HUGE that thing would get! Good thing it has room.
Christina, When they say ‘small shrub’ they really means it. Mine are still babies so I can’t wait until they become bigger and bigger…
Great suggestions. Echinacea is my absolute fav. I couldn’t agree more that you should stick with Echinacea purpurea, as I have spent time and money (lots!) trying to grow the others. Some do OK, but in general they are higher maintenance and expensive.
Great suggestions for the new gardener. Hard to go wrong with these.
Also, of all the Geraniums, Rozanne is probably my favorite for the garden.