Perennial and Biennial Easy to Maintain Plants and Flowers
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25 Best Perennial Flowers and Plants to Make Any Yard Beautiful
It's the ultimate gardening hack—fill your garden with plants that come back year after year.
Martin Wahlborg
Perennials are the backbone of any garden! While annuals provide quick color for the whole season, they live for only one year. Perennials come back for many years, so they're a great investment to get the most out of your garden budget. They also bloom for a shorter period of time early, mid-season or later in the season, with their flowering period lasting for a few weeks or so. They typically take a few years to get established, too, so don't fret if they seem lackluster the first year or two. They're setting down a root system to return bigger and better each year.
When planning your garden, make sure to read the plant tag or description to check their USDA Hardiness zone (find yours here), so they will survive winters in your region. Also, plant perennials where they'll get the correct amount of sunlight: Full sun means 6 or more hours per day, while part sun is about half that. Shade means no direct sunlight. You can plant perennials pretty much any time of year, as long as you keep them watered as they get established. Now prepare to fall in love with our favorite perennial plants and flowers to add color and beauty to your garden for many years.
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Black-Eyed Susan
Your garden needs these pretty blooms, which appear from mid-summer to fall. Read the tag because some are perennial, and some only last two years (which is called "biennial") so they're treated as annuals and replanted every year. Give them full sun.
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Amsonia
Clusters of starry blue flowers cover this plant in spring to early summer. It looks best planted in masses. It likes part to full sun.
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Baptisia
This lesser-known perennial, also called false indigo, has beautiful spikes of indigo blue, pink, yellow, white or purple-black flowers that become attractive seedpods in the fall. Pollinators like it too! Give it full sun.
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Astrantia
Here's a perennial that's always been a cottage garden favorite but is not as well-known these days. But it deserves a space in your garden! Its beautiful flowers bloom for a long time from early summer to early fall. Pollinators adore it, and the flowers are lovely in a cutting garden or dried.
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Sedum
Sedum has fleshy leaves, so it's drought-hardy and sturdy. It comes in an astonishing number of forms. Look for low-growing or creeping types, as well as more upright varieties, which make long-lasting cut flowers. Give it full sun.
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Daylily
If you have trouble growing anything in your soil, give daylilies a try. They multiply year after year. Each bloom only lasts one day (thus, the name!), but they flower profusely. Make sure they are in full sun for best blooms.
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Foxglove
No cottage garden is complete without the tall, stately blooms of foxglove. Hummingbirds and butterflies adore it!
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Salvia
These spiky blooms belong at the back of your border in full sun. They're drought tolerant once established and bloom mid to late summer for several weeks. Trouble with deer? They usually don't bother salvia. Pollinators such as hummingbirds love salvia!
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Coneflower
Coneflowers come in almost every shade of the rainbow! They need full sun and range in height from 12 to 36 inches tall, so read the tag so you plant them accordingly in your mixed border.
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Lavender
Lavender blooms for weeks throughout the summer, depending on the type. Make sure you choose a variety that's hardy to your USDA planting zone. Harvest the dried buds for teas, scones, or scented sachets.
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Hellebore
Add these beauties to the garden for winter blooms--yes, winter! They're also called Lenten roses because they typically bloom around Lent, in mid to late winter. They prefer shade.
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Asters
When everything else has faded for the season, asters begin their show in late fall. They come in shades of lavender, blue, pink, and purple. Some will even survive a light frost. They need full sun, and pollinators love them!
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Peony
Peonies bloom in late spring to early summer, and the plants get bigger and better every year. Give them plenty of full sun and space to grow because they don't like being moved (they tend not to bloom the next year), and they don't like being crowded! The ants you see are just coming to sip nectar; they don't harm the plant.
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Catmint
If you want a perennial that blooms most of the summer, plant catmint! The leaves are grey-green and have a pleasantly spicy scent, while the purple spikes attract tons of pollinators. Give it full sun.
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Penstemon
Penstemon, also called beardtongue, has tall upright spikes of flowers in pink or purple with green or burgundy foliage. The leaves stay bright all season long, even after the plant is done flowering. Give it full sun.
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Bee Balm
As the name says, bees (and pollinators of all kinds!) love this plant. Its fringed flowers come in pinks, reds, and purples. Plant it in full sun in huge swaths for the best impact.
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Tradescantia
Also known as spiderwort, this perennial has pretty grassy foliage and bright purple flowers. It's easy to grow! It doesn't mind different kinds of soils but does best in moist, well-drained areas. Give it full sun.
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Thrift
The grassy foliage of this plant is attractive all season long, but the tiny ball-shaped flowers that pop up in late spring and early summer are the reason to plant this adorable perennial. Thrift likes part to full sun.
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Lamb's Ear
Lamb's ear has fuzzy silver foliage and unusual pink or purple flowers on long spikes. The velvety leaves are fun to touch, because they resemble lamb's ears, of course! It prefers full sun but can handle some shade.
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Astilbe
This underrated perennial should be part of any shade garden. The feathery plumes come in many different colors from pinkish-white to hot pink. Butterflies love it!
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Thyme
You might not think of this herb as ornamental, but planted en masse, it's quite striking! Many different varieties exist, but they're all hardy, drought-tolerant, and don't mind poor soil. Plant it on a hillside for erosion control. It needs full sun but will tolerate some shade.
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Dianthus
Dianthus comes in many forms from creeping to upright. Some are sweetly-scented. It has fringed petals and comes in every color including pink, white, coral and peach. Give it full sun.
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Coral Bells
Coral bells, also called heuchera, has ruffled leaves and comes in an array of colors from peach to chartreuse to silver to burgundy. It's grown mostly for its beautiful foliage, which holds its color all season long, rather than its insignificant spikes of flowers. It takes sun or shade, depending on the variety.
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Roman Chamomile
Yes, you can make tea from these dried flowers! Make sure to plant Roman chamomile, a low-growing perennial, and not the annual, called German chamomile. It likes full sun.
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Chrysanthemums
Nothing says fall like mums! They're perennial if you get them in the ground early in the season (spring through mid-summer) so that their roots can get established. If you plant them too late in fall, they may not have enough time to get settled before winter so they're treated as annuals. Plant some in every color!
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Arricca Elin Sansone Arricca SanSone has written about health and lifestyle topics for Prevention, Country Living, Woman's Day, and more.
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