Why I Love a Perennial Garden

Spring may be a favorite time of year simply because of the perennial garden surprises. Each year I can’t wait to see all of the new life that just reappears all because thoughtfully planted plants in previous years spring back to life. Today as I look at the flowers, shrubs and herbs that have returned to my perennial garden, I am thinking of more that I need to add for next year.

Perennials are those that will do well for the zone you live in and come back each summer to greet you. How perfect is that?

So, why do I love my perennial garden?

Why I love the perennials this time of year is for bouquets for my home, table and even for a picnic. Before annuals are tucked in, gatherings of perennials are treasured for their often brief moments in the landscape and additions to bouquets. Other perennials begin early in spring and linger until first frosts.

Sunday a glorious Jane Austen picnic showcased those perennials.

Do you have wonderful farms in your area that host the best events?

Across my facebook feed came an event that I simply couldn’t resist.

A Jane Austen picnic at FeatherStone Farm. Packing a picnic lunch to suit the theme was a joy. Even my husband was all in.

Into the basket went wrapped sandwiches, fruit and sweet tea with napkins and a small table covering and off we went.

They invited you to enjoy the barn viewing of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” and “Little Women”.

We were guided to shop among the vendors.

More perennials were found inside their gift shop with Tulip Lane.

Her selection of peonies and little vases of anemones and fresh flowers were simply gorgeous. One had to come home with me in the sweetest of vases!

The Feather Stone Farm owner invited us to stroll through the trails and view animals and their “glamping” offerings.

There were delicious macarons- strawberries and cream and birthday cake ones- that we tucked into our picnic basket from Karen’s Cake Creations. They were both beautiful and delicious!

Settings of tables with Jane Austen books and tables with chairs for picnics were scattered among the lawn and down a trail…at the end of which we found our low table with rugs to set up our picnic.

It was delightful to have our feet under that table!

And another reason that I love my perennial flower garden this time of year?

It was easy to snip a small arrangement for the picnic from the perennials blooming in my flower garden. An iris, peony bud, drift roses, hydrangea, lavender, mint, lemon balm, dianthus and oregano added to a jar were the perfect picnic centerpiece in that cool forest setting.

So, what perennials are in my garden you ask?

Peonies

I have shared with you before that I have Aunt Helen’s peonies shared from her garden. They are white with a deep pink color in the centers. This year we added supports to keep them off of the ground and they have been the most lovely and enjoyed of all of the years I have them…and that would be over twenty now.

Iris

Another Aunt Helen’s gift to our garden and they bloom each year in glorious purple royalty.

Hostas

Many hostas from Aunt Helen’s garden have been divided and transplanted over the years and as long as we keep deer repellent on them so they don’t provide a salad buffet for the deer, they are the most enjoyed of all since they arrive early in the spring and stay until the frost ends their season.

I love that hostas love to be planted in planters and fill those planters with beauty with no assistance from me each spring. I allow the blooms to extend to attract the hummingbirds and butterflies in the garden, too.
Hostas line our deck, surround crepe myrtles and dogwoods and then grace our deck in planters. They love the shade, but can handle a bit of sun at times without too much burning.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea are one of my very favorite perennials in the garden. A blue hydrangea was given to me for Mother’s Day one year and it has thrived and gloriously bloomed each year. This one gets primarily shade and it just never disappoints.

A couple of years ago I added limelight hydrangeas to the front yard landscaping and last year a petite white bobo hydrangea was added to the landscape around our screened porch. I am love with all of them.

This year we found a lime fusion hydrangea that I am moving around trying to place it in the best location. I love that it starts out lime green and then adds a deep pink color as it blooms. Isn’t it lovely?

Truly hydrangea are one of my favorite perennials in the flower garden.

Then there is another favorite that I added last year. I know many of you have them, but with our deer population, I was truly concerned that they wouldn’t be a wise investment. I sprung for them last year and I have been so delighted. What are they, you ask?

Roses

Petite Red Knockout Roses to be exact…with that white drift rose peeking out in the corner.

That white drift rose bush has been stunning.

Because roses are also an edible flower, I have added them to cakes, as well as, mixed them into sweet vases for bedside tables for guests and arrangements for the dining room table.

Ferns

I’m not even sure what type of ferns these actually are. They were gifted by a friend from her farm and you have seen me actually press these for my home. They simply come up on the edge of our woods where we planted them years ago and we are all in awe of how much beauty they add to the garden.

Canna

My husband found red canna years ago and they have flourished along the side of the garage growing to the edge of the gutters. They are one of our favorites…the hummingbirds love them, too. This year we gifted some of the tubers to workers helping with the renovation. So glad to share something we love. They are just coming up now—and I can’t wait to see their gorgeous red blooms tower above our heads.

Dianthus

Last year I was gifted some dianthus plants from a local school greenhouse and wasn’t sure that I loved them…however, this year they returned to the planter beneath our mailbox and on concrete one on our patio beautifully. I am a fan! I think they are much prettier this year than last.

There are more perennial herbs in the garden, too.

The most beautiful herbs that come back each year are the following:

• Mint
• Chocolate Mint
• Sage
• Parsley
• Chives
• Lavender
• Oregano
• Lemon Balm
• Thyme

Some years I have good luck with rosemary returning and other years they don’t make it through the winter.

Perennial Garden Beauty!

See what I mean?

What are your favorite perennials in your garden? I’d love to know in the comments so I can add more perennials to mine.

I love annuals and have already planted ferns, geraniums, lobella, snowflake, marigold, zinnias, and verbena…

But, seriously?

What a joy to make an investment with perennial flowers and herbs and see them return without planting for years to come.

Do you know what’s now happening to that garden plan???

Yep. More perennials are being added to the garden.

For more May inspiration…

Thank you to Carol at Blue Sky at Home who is hosting a gathering for more May inspiration.

 

Click on the name to find out all of the great inspiration that each of my friends is sharing today!!

Happy Thursday, friends!