Care & Guidance
Whilst you enjoy your perennials for their fantastic foliage or beautiful blooms, it's really the roots you're buying - because the roots allow the plants to come back every year. Use these tips to make sure your perennials get off to the right start.
Container grown perennials are easy to plant and commonly available. Start digging a hole that's a little wider but no deeper than the pot your new perennial came in. Loosen the roots, and spread them out if the plant has become rootbound* (*when roots start to grow in circles around the edge of the pot). Then firm the soil in around the roots and water well.
Planting Tips: water your perennials well after you plant them. Then lay a 2-3 inch deep layer of mulch over the soil around your new plants. The mulch will help the soil hold moisture and prevent weeds from growing. Give taller perennials such as delphiniums, holihocks and peonies support by staking them. Anchor single stems by inserting a rod or sturdy stick into the ground and tying the stem to it. Keep clump forming plants with multiple stems standing, by growing through a hoop. Regularly deadhead and divide your perennials to keep them healthy and looking beautiful.
Deadheading: simply means cutting the faded flowers off your plants. It makes your plants look better and it prevents them from setting seed so you don't have a mass of seedlings popping up in your garden.
Dividing: One of the best things about perennials is that they grow bigger and better each year. But many start to crowd themselves out if they get too big. Keep them performing well by digging them out of the ground and splitting them into smaller chunks every 3 or 4 years. Early spring and autumn are the best times to divide most perennials. A couple of exceptions include bearded iris and hosta: split these perennials in summer.
Watering: There's no one-size fits all rule for watering perennials. Some varieties stand up to drought and others need to be kept moist all the time. Keep your plants healthier and make watering a breeze by grouping plants in acccordance with their watering needs. No matter what perennials you're growing, be sure to keep them all well watered in the first year - that allows them to become well established.
Feeding: If you have rich soil or improve it with garden compost or other forms of organic matter on a regular basis, you probably won't need to feed your plants, But if you're burdened with poor soil, fertilising can be helpful. Take care not to over fertilise - this may make your plants flower less, suffer root injury, or even kill your perennials.
Winter Care: Perennials that are reliably cold hardy in your region shouldn't need any special winter care. But spreading a layer of mulch over them after the soil freezes can help prevent winter damage during an especially cold season. Many gardeners like to leave the dead stems of their perennials standing all winter, providing food for birds. Perennials can help to catch snow, which is one of the best winter mulches.
Meadow Rue. Tall, herbaceous perennial with lacy foliage and upright, near-black stems to 2m bearing generous sprays of fluffy, bright purplish-pink flowers in mid- to late summer.
Meadow Rue. An erect clump-forming perennial with dainty leaves and white flowers with yellow stamens in early summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Meadow Rue. An erect clump-forming perennial with dainty leaves and double lilac-mauve flowers in summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A trailing habit where numerous branches carry heart shaped green leaves with a dark centre. Elegant stems trail with white, foamy flowers in the spring. Ideal Conditions: Prefers partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Use it in a container, or hanging basket. When finished use in the container it can be planted into the bed or border for groundcover.
Foam Flower. Large, deeply-cut green leaves with beet-red stripes in the middle, forming a star pattern. Spikes of soft-pink buds open into fragrant white flowers in late spring.
We are confident enough to say that this is the best Tiarella in the world to date with large, fragrant flowers over contrasting, well-cut, bronzed foliage. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Traditionally a border plant, but we would recommend this plant for the container. Put it with other Tiarellas, Heucheras or even summer foliage and flowering plants.
Foam Flower. Attractive deeply divided leaves, chocolate maroon centre, purple-black in winter. Spikes of cream flowers in late spring or early summer. Height 25cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Semi-evergreen. Hardy. Great ground cover or for trailing over walls.
Forms a low, evergreen mound of green maple-shaped leaves, dappled all over with white speckles and with a central star-shaped pattern of deep beet red. Sprays of fragrant white flowers appear in mid to late spring.
Dissected Maple-like leaves, engraved with dark chocolate central blotches, produce a lush shiny green mound. “Skyrocketing” on tall sturdy stems, spires are studded with round rosy buds and frothy pink and white star-shaped flowers. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Traditionally a border plant, but we would recommend this plant for the container. Put it with other Tiarellas, Heucheras or even summer foliage and flowering plants.
'Spring Symphony' is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial, to about 30cm, with deeply-lobed, green leaves marked with dark purple along the midribs. Upright stems carry spires of small, starry, creamy-white flowers, opening from pale pink buds, in late spring and early summer.
Foam Flower. Attractive leaves, chocolate maroon centre, purple-black in winter. Spikes of pink flowers in late spring or early summer. Height 25cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from May to June. Semi-evergreen. Hardy. Great flowering variety with slight fragrance.
Foam Flower. vigorous, glossy, and beautifully marked leaves. It makes a great ground cover or use in hanging baskets. A great non-climbing Ivy replacement! Delicate whorls of soft starry white flowers in spring. Height 30cm. Spread 35cm. Well drained soil. Partial shade/shade.
Foam Flower. A spreading perennial with attractive maroon-tinted pale green leaves. White flowers sometimes pink tinged in late spring or early summer. Height 20cm. Spread 15cm. Flowers from May to June. Herbaceous.
Dazzling red-orange tripartite flowers Jul-Nov, 50cm. Moist free-draining soil. Perennial from bulbs and will take frost maybe hardier.
A clump-forming perennial with yellow green leaves and purple flowers.
Not a completely new variety, but brought a new lease of life. This Tradescantia has fairly succulent, large, broad, purple leaves with pink flowers emerging in summer. Ideal Conditions: Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Most frequently seen as a house plant, but we see no reason that it shouldn't be used in patio containers, or even in the border as often seen in the tropics.
Triangular red violet flowers with fuzzy magenta stamens tipped with golden yellow pollen. It is a bright addition to the part shade garden for summer and blooms all season long.
A mound of grassy-looking leaves of a bright golden-yellow to chartreuse shade. Lovely mauve-purple triangular flowers appear in early summer for several weeks, standing out well against the bright foliage. Plants should be trimmed back hard when blooming ends, to rejuvenate the foliage.
An erect arching perennial with narrow green leaves. Height 60cm. Spread 50cm. Flowers from June to September. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Captivating exotic flowers rise above foliage on long, arching stems. Great color. Outstanding in a woodland garden on for shaded sites along a walkway or path. Attracts butterflies.
Toad Lily. An erect perennial with softly hairy stems and glossy dark green leaves. Upward-facing star-shaped pink freckled flowers. Spotted inside early autumn. Height 80cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from September to October. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Toad Lily. An erect perennial with softly hairy stems and glossy dark green leaves. Upward-facing star-shaped dark purple freckled flowers. Spotted inside early autumn. Height 80cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from September to October. Herbaceous. Great in sun or shade.
Empress is an herbaceous perennial with ovate leaves and in summer and autumn, on red wiry stems, it bears large white, orchid-like, star-shaped flowers with dark-maroon speckling.
Tricyrtis in general are autumn flowering plants. This variety is notable - not only for its early flowering summer nature, but also its particularly good, compact habit. Flowers are star shaped, lilac-white with exotic fine burgundy spots. Ideal Conditions: Prefers partial shade with free-draining soil or compost. Possible Situation: Perfect for those spots in the garden which receive morning or evening sun, either in a pot, raised bed or border.
This is an unusual and quite lovely plant to bring the late summer garden to life. The exotic looking star shaped spotted blooms are borne on arching stems. It deserves to be planted somewhere such that the intricate flowers can be viewed up close and also makes a lovely cut flower.
Toad Lily. An erect perennial with hairy pale green leaves. Funnel-shaped, purple-spotted, white flowers from late summer to mid-autumn. Height 80cm. Spread 60cm. Flowers from August to October. Herbaceous. Hardy. Sheltered Site.
Rich, burgundy-red leaves with chartreuse centres and produces reddish-pink clover flowers from late spring. Prefers full sun, or partial shade with free-draining soil or compost.
Globeflower. Unique creamy white flowers in mid-spring to late spring. Compact short growing habit, very good for container production.
Globeflower. A clump-forming perennial with open. deep yellow flowers with a central tuft of rich orange in mid-summer. Height 90cm. Spread 45cm. Flowers from July to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Globeflower. A clump-forming perennial with glossy deeply divided leaves. Clear yellow flowers in mid-spring. Height 50cm. Spread 40cm. Flowers from April to May. Herbaceous. Hardy.
A clump-forming perennial with narrow greyish green leaves. Fragrant lilac flowers from mid-summer to early autumn. Height 45-60cm. Spread 25cm. Flower colour Lilac. Flowers from July to September. Herbaceous. Foliage colour Grey. Green. Frost hardy.
Valerian. An upright perennial with soft yellow leaves in spring turning lime-green in summer. Branched stems bear clusters of white flowers in early summer. Height 1.5m. Spread 60cm. Flowers from June to July. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Common Valerian. All Heal. An upright perennial with bright green leaves. Branched stems bear clusters of pink or white flowers throughout the summer. Height 1.2m. Spread 40cm. Flowers from June to August. Herbaceous. Hardy.
Very short habit with large felted gray leaves in a rosette and cone shaped spikes of large, creamy yellow flowers with large maroon centers. Wonderful in front of a sunny border!
Mullein. A semi-evergreen perennial with rosettes of downy, grey-green leaves. Erect spikes of saucer-shaped light pinkish brown flowers with a purple eye in summer. Height 90cm. Spread 30cm. Flowers from June to August. Evergreen. Hardy.
A short plant with spires of open, rose-lilac flowers all the way up. At the base is a rosette of mid-green leaves. Good in a pot.
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