This book combines in-depth information on using, selecting, and growing perennials with inspiring photographs in one easy-to-navigate package. From start to finish, this is the handbook on creating beautiful perennial beds• Design inspiration• Colorful garden plans • In-depth care instructionsAt-a-glance charts simplify buying decisions• Plants by size and shape• Flower color and bloom season• Materials for mulchingAn all-new edition written for gardeners from novice to e (more…)

From Publishers Weekly

Just in time for planting season, two sources arrive from Firefly that include more than 1,000 photographs identifying and cataloguing almost all flowering plants. Annuals are “plants that germinate, flower, set seed and die all within a single year while biennials germinate one year and usually flower the next after spending a dormant winter.” Perennials produce seed for future generations and bloom year after year. The nature photographers and hort (more…)

Review

“Perennials for Every Purpose is the next best thing to having a friendly expert whispering in your ear as you plan, plant, and perfect your perennial garden. This book is a treasure!”– Susan McClure, author of Easy-Care Perennial Gardens and The Free-Spirited Garden “This book is packed with lots of useful information for the beginning gardener, and it’s a great refresher for the experienced gardener as well. Perennials for Every Purpose is certainly a welcome addition t (more…)

Amazon.com Review

Jeff Cox provides the information new gardeners want in Perennial All-Stars: how to produce a garden full of healthy, attractive, low-maintenance plants. Cox, the enthusiastic host of HGTV’s &Grow It!, has selected 150 perennials, both flowers and grasses, that grow well in North American climates. Each double-page plant entry tells how and where to grow the plant, how to propagate it, and a list of ideal planting partners. In addition, each entry displa (more…)

Amazon.com Review

Perennials are the most challenging and rewarding of all garden plants, and most gardeners need all the help they can get to grow them well. Perennials emerge from the ground in early spring, grow to full height, bloom, bear fruit, and then disappear with the first frost, only to do the same thing the following year and again the next. Add this to the fact that for the first year or two, perennials don’t do much above the ground (they are growing their roo (more…)

From Booklist

The gardening world is constantly being invigorated by plant introductions, and the Pacific Northwest is arguably one of the premier horticultural landscapes. Hailing from Seattle, the expert authors are perfectly placed to guide novices, professionals, and hopeless hortoholics looking for hot new plants. This appealing compendium of nearly 3,000 plant entries offers engrossing, high-spirited commentary to help in selecting and caring for vast arrays of species and (more…)

Before we look at the different aspects of maintaining a healthy perennial garden, just a few words about the importance of careful planting. The greater the care taken with soil preparation, selection of healthy plants and adequate watering at the very outset, the less work you will have further down the line. You will be able to spend more time relaxing in your garden enjoying the wonderful display if, initially, you have given your perennials the optimum growing conditions in which to thrive.

Both feeding and watering established plants in your perennial garden should definitely not be time-consuming chores. Established perennials, grown on well-cultivated land and well-watered when first planted, require little in the way of feeding and watering. An annual application in the spring of general purpose granular fertilizer or blood, fish and bonemeal should supply all the nutrients your plants will need. Care should be taken to avoid scorching leaves, flowers and stems when applying the fertilizer.

Watering of mature plants should be minimal. Not only does this make sense in terms of conserving precious water, but also in saving you hours of work. Of course, prolonged periods of drought might call for some watering of your perennial garden. Try, though, to use “grey”, recycled water or rainwater collected in a water-butt. Remember, too, when you do need to water do so later in the day and direct the water down into the roots. As with fertilizer, keep water away from the foliage: water droplets on leaves evaporate under an intense sun to leave brown scorch marks.

From watering to the dreaded weeding – an audible groan immediately goes up for this onerous chore! But is this really so bad? Why not uproot weeds when they’re small? This way you make the job easier and, importantly, avoid disturbing your plants’ roots. Better still, why not apply an organic mulch in spring or summer when the soil is moist? You’ll suppress weeds while, at the same time, you’ll also be helping to retain the soil’s moisture and improve its structure. Shredded bark and stone chips make a good, decorative, weed-suppressing soil covering.

Perhaps, though, from a plantsman’s point of view, the best solution to weed suppression is planting. Columbine, for example, is a natural colonizer and self-seeder: if allowed to spread quite freely weeds are naturally suppressed. Low-growing, creeping perennials, like catmint, fulfil the same function. A luxuriant, naturalistic planting scheme in a perennial garden is the best weed-suppressant of all; easy on the eye and easy on the back!

Of course, there is a difference between luxuriant growth and congested growth. Foliage and flowering displays can be improved by:

1.Thinning or picking out shoots: delphiniums, lupins, and michaelmas daisies benefit from this treatment.

2.Cutting back old flowered stems to promote regrowth: delphiniums, catmint and salvias
respond well and will give a second display.

3.Deadheading, or removing, flowerheads as they fade: chrysanthemums, phlox, lupins, and panstemons will produce a second flush of flowers.

4.Dividing vigorous perennials every three to five years e.g sedums, irises and bergenias. Replant the healthiest, newest sections.

All the above are hardly arduous jobs and, in the case of division, infrequent. These gentle tasks, carried out regularly throughout the summer, exemplify the more relaxing and enjoyable aspects of maintaining a healthy, aesthetically-pleasing perennial garden. “Little and often” is the key.

Staking perennials is, for many, as much a chore as weeding. Different types of perennials have different requirements:

1.Delphiniums and other tall-stemmed perennials should be tied loosely to a cane when 8-9 ins. tall.

2.Clumps of perennials, tall asters and astilbes for instance, bebefit from link of ring
stakes which can be raised as the plant grows.

But, as with weeding so with staking: why not obviate the need for staking in the first place by choosing free-standing perennials such as hardy geraniums, day lilies and columbine? Alternatively, look out for the newer, more compact versions of old favorites like delphiniums and asters which, when used together with free-standing plants, will still provide you with a wonderful display but little work.

Finally, when plants have finished their display, the dead foliage and stems need tidying up and cutting back to the base. But is this all strictly necessary in the fall? Why not leave attractive stems and flowerheads to overwinter in the garden? The rimed forms of asters, sedums and phlomis look truly spectacular in a winter landscape as do the tough plumes and spikelets of grasses. If given a little protection, grasses, like miscanthus offer a welcome sight of warm beiges and browns while the yellow-striped carex and red-tinged hakonechloa persist throughout the winter. In keeping with the principle “little and often”, finish tidying up before new shoots appear. That’s not too bad, is it?

So, to sum up: plant with care and choose your plants with care. In this way you will enjoy a perennial garden that offers the best of both worlds: maintenance-lite but still offering a visual delight even in the depths of winter.

The most comprehensive illustrated A-Z guide to today’s most popular garden plants produced in conjunction with the AHS, America’s premier gardening authority. Full horticultural information for over 5,000 plants produced by a team of over 40 experts. Full-color photographs of suggested planting ideas show you how to combine perennials in your garden. Special “Gardeners’ Notes” panels offer expert planting advice, useful tips and fascinating facts. Published in conjunction with (more…)