Best Perennials: Finding the Perfect Perennials for You
Sure, there are plenty of beautiful annuals, but perennials deliver the same beauty year after year. With this list of the best perennials, you can make sure to enjoy his beauty every year.
In this list of the best perennials, we detail 20 different but gorgeous perennials. With everything from ground cover to showy blossoms, the perennials on this list will provide you with years of enjoyment and satisfaction.
And thankfully, most of the perennials on this list are also low maintenance and easy to grow. This will ensure that even those with the blackest of thumbs can enjoy these beautiful plants year after year.
Also, for beauty, both inside and out, check out our lists of the best house plants and best gardens in the world. We detail some easy-to-grow house plants that will bring some life to your home. With just a few of the plants from these lists, you will be well on your way to creating an indoor and outdoor oasis!
Top 20 Perennials:
1. Speedwell Perennials
Highlights: Prove excellent ground cover, range from 10 inches to over 3 feet in height, and blooms from spring until fall.
About Perennial: Also known as Veronica, Speedwell comes in several color varieties. This spiky plant grows in clusters and blooms from spring until fall. The height will vary anywhere from approximately 10 inches to over 3 feet tall. Also, several Speedwell varieties make an excellent ground cover, which will allow you to have a colorful, carpeted outdoor retreat.
2. Peonies Perennials
Highlights: Beautiful blooms, grows in pretty much any climate, and can last up to decades.
About Perennial: The peony perennial produces large, showy, and drop-dead gorgeous blooms. It is also able to grow in almost any climate and is virtually carefree, making it the perfect plant for those who don’t have a lot of time on their hands. Peonies can also easily live for decades. So make sure to leave some room around your peony so that you can enjoy its beauty and fragrance for years to come.
3. Bugleweed Perennials
Highlights: Comes in a variety of colors, grows in most climates, and grows quickly.
About Perennial: Bugleweed comes in a variety of deep, rich colors and is a great groundcover evergreen perennial. Also, it can grow in almost any type of condition, including dry, shady conditions. This makes Bugleweed a good choice for areas where other plants may struggle to grow. A word of caution, though. Bugleweed is such a good grower, that if not maintained, it will creep into other areas of your garden.
4. Daylily Perennials
Highlights: Bloom in both spring and fall, easy to maintain year after year, and produces a large number of blooms each year.
About Perennial: The Daylily, or Hemerocallis, is a colorful and beautiful perennial. Most Daylilies bloom in both spring and fall. And, with no special maintenance required, you can enjoy blooms year after year without spending hours in care and maintenance. Many varieties of Daylilies also produce blooms of upwards of 800 flowers in a single summer. This is going to ensure that you get a big bang for your buck.
5. Yarrow Perennials
Highlights: Excellent for ground cover, hardy and maintenance-free, and flowers attract butterflies.
About Perennial: The Yarrow flower, or Achillea millefolium, is an excellent ground cover flower. It is native to North America and is hardy and maintenance-free. The Yarrow’s flowers may be yellow, red, pink, or any number of shades in between. And, as a bonus, the flower also attracts butterflies and is an aromatic herb.
6. Stonecrop Perennials
Highlights: Type of succulent, offers both tall flowers and mat-forming flowers, and some types can be drought tolerant.
About Perennial: Stonecrop is a type of succulent. It is a diverse group of flowers that includes tall flowers and mat-forming flowers. Depending on the variety of Stonecrops, or Sedum, they can be sun-loving or shade loving. They can also be drought tolerant or need watering regularly. So be sure to check the variety of Sedum that you are getting before planting.
7. Daffodil Perennials
Highlights: Blooms in early spring, typically yellow but also available in a variety of different color shades.
About Perennial: One of the more popular and well-known perennials. The Daffodil, or Narcissus, is a cheerful flower that blooms in early spring in temperate climates. Often blooming in clusters, the Daffodil is usually seen in its signature yellow color. However, with more than 50 species and hybrids, the Daffodil can be seen showing off a host of other shades.
8. Blanket Flowers
Highlights: Bloom early summer to early fall, feature shades of orange, red, and yellow, low maintenance, and hardy.
About Perennial: Similar in appearance to a Daisy, Blanket Flowers, or Gaillardia x Grandiflora, have a long season of bloom (early summer to early fall). Blanket flowers feature stunning shades of orange, red, and yellow. Low maintenance and hardy, the flowers also attract butterflies and have few insect or disease problems.
9. Shasta Daisy Perennials
Highlights: Can grow from just a few inches to over 3 feet in height, great for filling bare spots, and foliage can last year-round.
About Perennial: With the look of a traditional daisy, the Shasta Daisy also offers evergreen foliage that can last year-round in many locations. The Shasta Daisy, or Leucanthemum x superbum, is great for filling in bare spots in a garden. It also comes in a variety of sizes (from just a few inches tall to over 3 feet), making it a versatile flower that you can enjoy year after year.
10. Columbine Perennials
Highlights: Blooms from mid-spring to early summer, height ranges from a few inches to 3 feet.
About Perennial: The Columbine or Aquilegia, is an elegant flower. It is a mountain flower that also blooms well in meadows and gardens. This perennial blooms from mid-spring through early summer, and there are several varieties of the flower. Some of the varieties grow just a few inches tall, and others grow up to 3 feet. All Columbines, however, have spurs that resemble eagle claws, hence its scientific name (Aquila is Latin for eagle).
11. Alstroemeria Perennials
Highlights: Vibrant blooms, do well in pots or mixed with other plants.
About Perennial: Part of the Lily family, Alstroemeria are often seen at the florist. With varieties that are also well-suited to home gardens, Alstroemerias are a great perennial option. Dwarf options of the Alstroemeria are also a great option for home gardens. They have vibrant blooms and also work well in pots or mixed with other plants.
12. Garden Phlox Perennials
Highlights: Perfect for sunny borders, do best in cooler climates.
About Perennial: Tall and regal, Phlox paniculata, or Garden Phlox or Summer Phlox, is a great perennial perfect for sunny borders. Clusters of pink, purple, or white flowers make for great cuttings, while the hardy plants make for easy care. The flowers do tend to develop mildew in hot and humid climates, however, so they are better suited to cooler climates.
13. Jerusalem Sage Perennials
Highlights: Ideal for large spaces as it grows tall and spreads wide, does best in full sun.
About Perennial: These perennials are beautiful in all seasons. Phlomis russeliana or Jerusalem Sage (sometimes called Turkish Sage) is an aromatic plant with striking flowers. A quick grower, the flower grows tall (2-3 feet) and spreads wide, making it an ideal perennial for large spaces. While the flower is best in full sun, it can tolerate light shade, making it a great sunny border or wildflower plant.
14. Sea Holly Perennials
Highlights: Does well with salt spray, distinct and hardy.
About Perennial: Sea Holly, or Eryngium, are similar to globe thistles but have a more distinctive look. The Sea Holly does well with salt spray (hence the name) and handles dry conditions well. This makes it a great perennial for areas where many other plants can’t survive. If you are looking for a distinct and hardy, blue, and green plant, the Sea Holly is a great choice.
15. Forget-Me-Not Flowers
Highlights: Grows well in damp, shady areas, excellent perennial for ground cover.
About Perennial: The Forget-Me-Not flower, or Myosotis scorpioides, is a tall and colorful perennial. This pretty wildflower grows well in damp, shady areas. It is generally pink or blue and spreads easily by self-seeding, making this a great ground cover perennial. A colorful and charming addition to any garden, the Forget-Me-Not is a perennial every gardener should utilize.
16. Bleeding Heart Perennials
Highlights: Grows well in shade and moist soil, typically ranges between 6 inches and 2 feet in height.
About Perennial: With long arched stems full of delicate flowers, the Bleeding Heart perennial is a stunning plant. The Bleeding Heart grows well with ferns and other shade plants in moist soil. Depending on the variety, the plant can grow anywhere from 6 inches to 2 feet, making it a nice contrast to low-lying ground cover.
17. Russian Sage Perennials
Highlights: Drought tolerant, blooms midsummer to fall, and can grow up to 5 feet tall.
About Perennial: Russian Sage is a member of the mint family. It is drought tolerant and produces beautiful purple-grey flowers. A hardy plant, the Russian Sage can grow up to 5 feet tall and blooms from midsummer to fall. If you want a colorful plant that blends nicely with the rest of your garden, Russian Sage is a great choice.
18. Asters Perennials
Highlights: Does well in late summer, attracts butterflies.
About Perennial: A colorful, daisy-like perennial, Asters provide a nice jolt of color to a garden. They do especially well in late summer when many flowers have stopped blooming. Asters also attract butterflies, so if you are planting a butterfly garden, Asters should be high on your list.
19. Winter Glow Perennials
Highlights: Excellent ground cover, grows in all seasons.
About Perennial: This pretty ground-covering perennial boasts large leaves that grow through the seasons. In winter, the leaves take on a deep reddish-purple color, providing a nice contrast to usually bleak surroundings. For an all-season ground cover, Winter Glow or Bergenia is tough to beat.
20. Coneflower Perennials
Highlights: Drought tolerant, typically grows to a height of 2 feet.
About Perennial: Another daisy lookalike, the Coneflower is an easy-to-care-for, drought-tolerant perennial. Some varieties are also used in herbal remedies. Most grow around 2 feet tall, making them a good choice for a varied landscape.
Best Perennials Conclusion
Sometimes gardens can be a lot of work, especially if you have to plant new flowers every year. That is why we decided to come up with a list of perennials that could highlight your garden from year to year without a ton of effort.
The great thing about perennials is that they can also be used as the base for your garden. This will allow you to be able to also include some annual flowers each year as well to mix things up in your garden.
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