How to Plant a Perennial Garden
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This bee balm and the white obedience grow 36 inches tall.
Make a plan for your garden, even if you won't finish filling it for several years. Know your goals so you can purchase plants that will grow large enough to propagate for the final garden. Plan tall plants for the back and small edging plants for the front. Use odd numbers of plants--no less than three--for each grouping. Make note of soil and cultural requirements for each plant, and place plants in places where they get enough sun (most flowering perennials like sun) or shade to thrive. Define a color palette so your garden will have a unified effect. - 2
Autum mums bloom among dormant spring iris.
Establish a "succession of bloom" so that something's always in bloom in your garden. Perennials each bloom for a week or two. Arrange them so that your garden blooms in waves, from the first crocus to the last mum. Early narcissus may give way to tulips, then to iris and peonies, then to daisies, lilies, daylilies, bee balm and hollyhock, and finally to asters and chrysanthemums that bloom until the first freeze. If you want bright colors in the spring and softer colors in the late summer, choose plants from those color groups that bloom at the same time or over a period of weeks. - 3
Daylilies are not picky, but they thrive in slightly acidic soil.
Turn the soil and add compost to the garden several weeks before planting. Have your soil tested to see if it needs amendments. Most perennials prefer slightly acid soil with a pH of approximately 6.5 (7.0 is neutral). Soils that are too acid will need garden "lime," and acid that is too alkaline (i.e., pH above 7.0) should be modified with sulfur, often combined with compost, manure or other acidic organic matter. Add peat moss to heavy soil to improve drainage. Water well for several days before planting. - 4
Hostas fill shady corners.
Lay out your plot and plant, giving each plant a square foot of space, more for spreading plants such as hostas and daylilies. Plant potted nursery plants at the same level as they sit in their nursery pots. Plant divisions by putting a mound of soft earth in the bottom of the hole and spreading the plant's roots on top of it before filling it in. Dig "a hole and a half" for each plant so that the soil surrounding the roots is soft and inviting to root expansion. Finish by watering gently but well to fill all the air that's been worked into the soil around the roots. - 5
A border of delphinium, purple coneflower, daylilies, lilies, columbine and mums will have blooms all summer.
Finish your perennial garden by mulching with garden compost, wood chips, pine needles or other organic matter that is loose enough to allow water to permeate but thick enough to insulate roots and help retard weeds. Allow for some un-mulched space around each plant's stem as a basin to catch water.
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