Perennial Plant Identification
Here's where you can upload a picture of a flowering perennial plant and have it identified
Perennial Garden Flowers
For example, the thought of cottage garden plants inspire our gardening dreams and we all want one of those masterpiece gardens (see below for my take on those). When it comes to designing perennial beds, our gardening ancestors used simple plants with great effect. My understanding of the cottage garden is that anybody can grow one - you don't have to be a designer to succeed here.
Similarly, there are a great many misconceptions about how hard it is to garden with perennial or how easy it is. Great gardens are the product of a great deal of knee-work (yes, done on your knees) and the amount of work to create and maintain a large border can be monstrous
My best tip for anybody thinking of starting a perennial garden is to invest heavily in mulch. It does amazing things for the soil and plant growth but most importantly, several inches of mulch stops most weeds from starting. That's the primary reason every one of my perennial beds is mulched with 3-4 inches of bark or straw. I hate weeding and mulch is my friend.
Pulmonaria 'Diana Clare'
Doug's Favorite Perennials
A video about some of my favorite perennial flowers (my real favorite is the one I'm looking at that's in bloom) :-)
Cottage Garden Plants
Our gardening ancestors knew what a real cottage garden was - we've forgotten that but ...
Sun Loving Plants
Bush Clematis
Not many gardeners know Clematis come in perennial forms (that don't climb) but they are lovely plants
Growing Phlox
Growing garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) is easy and this long-blooming, fragrant plant is a must-grow for most gardens
Shasta Daisies
Shasta daisies are one of the easiest of the sun-loving perennials to grow and come in a wide range of sizes.
Lady's Mantle
Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla) grows in sun or part shade and has chartreuse flowers (one of the few perennials that do)
Aster Flowers
Asters are a fall blooming backbone plant (must have plant) that want a place in the full sun with good air circulation
butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush or Buddleja is a fragrant, late season bloomer that does indeed get covered in butterflies.
Hibiscus Flowers
Hibiscus flowers are among the largest in the fall garden and this plant is one of the last to start growing in the spring.
Shade Perennials
Bleeding Heart
Bleeding heart (Dicentra) is a classic perennial shade plant - ranging from the short blooming old-fashioned to the long-season blooming shorter speceis
Got a Problem with your Perennial Flowers?
If you have a question about perennial flower gardening, then feel free to ask it using this form.
Please check the articles above and then scroll down to the bottom of the page before asking your question - there is a listing of all questions asked there. You might save yourself some time if the question is already asked.
If you have a picture of the problem or situation, feel free to upload it here as well (keep the pic under 100K please for faster uploading)
See What Others Have Asked
Click below to see what other gardeners have asked about perennial flowers
Winterizing Pulmonaria Can I cut all the leaves off of a Pulmonaria plant, then mulch it with leaves for the winter? I live in Chicago - Zone 5. I am asking because I haven'...
Virginia Creeper as ground cover. I have a boulevard between my front sidewalk and the street that gets salt in the Winter and sun with foot traffic in the Summer. I've tried planting all ...
daylilies have buds but don't open i have a bed of daylilies that have lots of buds but seem to just be dormant - only one bud opened in the past 2 weeks. they get plenty of sunlight and ...
non-blooming daylilies
My daylilies grow great leaves but never seem to flower. I read that adding extra phosphorous would help. Is that true?
Doug says "nope". If your daylilies ...
Pruning Columbines after they bloom After the bloom falls off do I cut the stem low toward the bush of the plant or do I leave them as they are for more blooms in the future. Im not sure ...
pruning asters and daisies for more blooms my aster are tall I would like them to be in the shape of mums this fall..donot know what kind of aster they are....can I cut them back to 12 to14 inches ...
Bleeding heart rooting I am not sure how to plant the bleeding heart stems i purchased. I really cant tell what is up or down, there are no smaller roots to identify? Also can ...
Astilbe I have just purchased a "Gloria Purpurea" which is starting to sprout in the bag and likely cannot go outside for another 2 months. Can I plant it inside ...
When can I relocate the Dianthus Firewitch?
I live in the area of zone 5. I need to move my dianthus plant to a new location. When can I do it?
Doug says I prefer to move Dianthus in the spring ...
Over-wintering Foxglove I live in Ohio Z-5. I planted a whole package of Foxglove in 6-pack containers and I think every single one sprouted. Now in June I've transplanted to ...
sedum
i have a low growing sedum taking over my whole front yard how do i kill it or get rid of it.
Doug says you can "burn" it with an organic spray or start ...
question about identifying perennials at my workplace, we have acquired a greenhouse full of perennials. however, we are having trouble identifying what they are- at least until they bloom....
Iris Not Flowering With Right Color
I planted purple Iris in my garden and they flower yellow. What could cause this?
Doug says - not to put too fine a point on it but the tag on the ...
Foxgloves roots rotted
What could have cause the roots to rot on this plant?
Doug says that foxglove roots are interesting 'critters". Generally if you overfeed them, they ...
Goatsbeard blooms didn't open The blooms on my 3yr old goatsbeard didn't open. I moved it from a sunny(6hr/day), wet location to dappled shade under a weeping willow & next to a pond....
groundcover between perennials?
Hello!
I am new to gardening after buying a house in central Vermont. I have a lot of perennials but find the space between them unattractive. I have ...
plant division of Dianthus
how do I divide the plant Dianthus (Fire witch)?
Doug says - you don't. You take cuttings (see the propagation page) of Dianthus. That's the easy ...
grass has invaded, cleaning it out I have a mostly shady area by my house, I 've cleaned it out & added soil then planted some flowers a few years ago. It did have grass before I started....
