A Perennial Progression

Well, the May Long Weekend is behind us and hopefully most of you have gotten all your annuals and vegetables and are either done or well on your way to getting them planted. No worries if you’ve just gotten started, we have a good supply of most things still in store. As our summer progresses, most gardeners will turn their attention past the annual containers and pretty flower beds, and the race to get the vegetable garden in early enough to embellishing the rest of the yard. As June is Perennial Gardening month in the horticulture industry, it is a great time to fill in the gaps of your garden and not only the empty holes, but also the bloom period of existing perennial collections.

 

Planning for season long bloom with perennials takes a little thought and research as they all have a specific bloom period; from early spring to late fall, you can create a succession of perennial colour throughout the season. Playing with textures and leaf colours will also add extra interest to your garden. Create height with tall perennials, fill in with medium to mid-height plants and the border or foreground with groundcovers and other low growing plants. Annual flowers are a great complement to perennials to help fill in the gaps of seasonal colour. Adding shrubs and trees creates a beautiful mixed border for your landscape and by no means should be missed out on during early summer planting. Once again, this year, tree and shrub supply could be limited so don’t wait too long to make up your mind.

 

When researching perennial information, also always consider ‘The Right Plant, for The Right Place’. Knowing your plants preference for sun or shade and what type of soil and moisture that they will thrive in will get you going in the right direction for garden success. Be cautious with most perennials that have ‘weed’ in its common name and be a little wary of all those excess plants that are available at local plant swap events. Garden catalogues, Google, gardening books, perennial design magazines, garden clubs, botanic gardens, neighbours, and your favourite local garden centres are all great resources to create your perennial wish lists and the fun is in the trying. Remember to choose perennials from growing zone 4 and lower for our gardening area to ensure your perennials will survive.

 

Happy June and Happy Perennial Gardening Month!