Perennials may seem perilous. Plant in spring, and you’re sowing blind. Bloom color might not be known for months or years.
Fear not, experts say. Perennials can be easier than you imagine.
Choose a few outstanding performers, plan a color scheme and organize by height to put together a spring-through-fall flower bed, said Holcomb Garden Center nursery manager Craig Walker.
Start by picking plants apt to thrive. An experienced nursery staff member can help you select good performers.
Craig Walker’s plan features sun-loving perennials in cool blue, with accent colors of pink, yellow and dazzling white. Here are his placement choices.
Back of the bed
* New England aster English Countryside, zones 3-8, lavender blooms in September-October. Grows to 4-feet tall, 4-feet wide.
* Shasta daisy Becky, zones 4-9, white blooms May-September with deadheading. Grows to 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide.
* Salvia guaranitica Black and Blue, zones 8-10 (has survived several zone 6-7 winters, nursery experts report). Blue blooms April through summer with deadheading. Grows to 6 feet tall, 2 feet wide.
Middle of bed
* Echinacea Sunrise, zones 4-9, yellow blooms May-September with deadheading. To 3 feet tall, 2 feet wide.
* Catmint Walker’s Low, zones 3-9, blue blooms all summer. Grows to 10 inches tall, 24 inches wide.
* Geranium Rozanne, zones 5-8, violet-blue blooms May to September. Grows to 20 inches tall, 24 inches wide.
Front of bed
* Echinacea Pink Double Delight, zones 4-9, pink blooms May to September with deadheading. Grows to 16 inches tall, 12 inches wide.
* Veronica Georgia Blue, zones 5-8, blue blooms May-June, 6 inches tall, 2 feet wide.
— Kathy Gilbert
Web sites such as Perennial Plant of the Year (www.perennialplant.org), All-America Selections winners (www.all-americaselections.org) and Georgia Native Plant Society (www.gnps.org) offer recommendations. Perennials listed as “plant of the year” or “award winning” generally thrive in a wide range of conditions.
Next, think about color scheme. Combine a favorite main color with complementary accents — yellow accents for blues and purples, red accents for green — tied together with green, blue or gray foliage or silver and white blooms.
Shasta daisy Becky, for example, “can cool the eye between a hot red and a hot yellow,” said Mr. Walker.
Next, site your location. Choose plants suited to your conditions — sun, part or deep shade, wet or dry.
Some perennials for sun and average-to-dry moisture levels include the Big Sky echinaceas. Sunrise, Twilight and Sundown are especially good, Mr. Walker said. Pink Double Delight and Coconut Lime create a snazzy double-flowered wow effect, he explained.
A native aster called English Countryside, originally found near the Ocoee River, should be unstoppable, Mr. Walker added.
A Steppable (the brand name of a set of tough groundcovers) called Veronica Georgia Blue “is performing spectacularly,” Mr. Walker said. For those with dappled shade, Columbine Texas Gold blooms from early spring through summer (with deadheading) and it’s a “tall, gorgeous plant,” Mr. Walker said.
For hummingbird appeal, the tender zone 8-10 salvia guaranitica Black and Blue draws the tiny winged creatures as well as any red bloom.
about zones
Hardiness zones predict where a plant may safely grow without being killed over the winter. Most North Georgia, Eastern Alabama and Chattanooga valley areas lie in zones 7b-8a. Area mountain dwellers fall in zones 6b-7a.
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