If you'll be starting a perennial flower garden this year, start with the Dianthus – Pinks.
They are garden classics, appearing in many shapes and colors. Their flowers are abundant and long blooming making them perfect for small bouquets. Many are fragrant. A cottage garden is not complete without several types of perennial Dianthus.
Perennial Geraniums are usually ignored by deer and rabbits and some offer attractive foliage too. Standouts include Rosanne, which blooms from June to frost with lavender blue flowers, and Dragonheart, which blooms all summer with purple flowers.
The award-winning Obsession Floribunda rose has scarlet blooms that are 4 inches wide. It was the 2015 Rose of the Year. Available at jacksonandperkins.com.
Perennial flowers don't get much easier to grow than Day Lilies. They bloom in shades of purple, red, pink, peach, cream, yellow, and orange. Though each individual flower lasts just a day, the plants produce lots of them.
Get a little extra bang for your garden by growing rebloomers. They produce summertime flowers in two or three waves instead of just once. Sunday lilies are enticingly fragrant.
Blanket flower is a tough midwestern plant that blooms all summer. Its daisy-shaped blooms come in shades of red, yellow, and orange, and are a sure-fire way to attract butterflies. Once established, it will resist hot, dry conditions.
Yarrow is a perfect companion to Blanket Flower. Both stand up to heat and drought and bear tons of blooms over the summer. Yarrow flowers can be white, yellow, orange, red, and pink.
For shaded gardens you can't beat hostas. These are really grown more for their leaves. Which come in shades of green, blue, and gold, and variegated.
Phlox is a perennial that adds sweet fragrance to the garden in late summer. It shows off blooms in shades of purple, pink, orange, red, and white, grows two to four feet tall and attracts lots of birds and butterflies.
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