The Ease and Beauty of Perennial Flowers

Perennial flowers are simply quite wonderful.  This is as, by coming back year after year, they are less maintenance.  However, this is not to say that they require no maintenance at all.  Here we’ll cover a few of the basic aspects of maintenance that you may find helpful for your garden.

Staking is important as often your plants –flowers or otherwise, will grow so long that they’ll begin to droop.  A few properly-placed stakes will bring the life back into your garden while simultaneously making everything seem livelier and healthier

Pruning is always important as excess makes for a garden that is simply too “busy.”  In fact, your yard may take on jungle-like characteristics if you don’t manicure your plants often enough.  Perennial flowers thrive on being cut, in fact, as it gives more energy to the roots and this will show in the flower itself.

“Deadheading,” while sounding like hippy kids touring around with the band the Grateful Dead is actually a gardening term for getting rid of the parts of perennial flowers that have withered and died and now are sitting about doing nothing but looking brown.  Deadheading is like spring cleaning of your plants, and always makes for a nicer garden.

Dividing is important simply due to overpopulation.  As the years roll by, perennial flowers are especially at risk of overcrowding from new growth.  While you could simply cut away and discard the excess buds and petals, I would recommend giving them to friends, or replanting these extra plants on your own property to give yet more color to your yard or garden.  Dividing is especially important, as without it, the existing perennial flowers will smother themselves and die or barely thrive.

Pest Control is always an important consideration.  Nobody likes seeing sickly brown webbing on the leaves or petals of their plants.  As well, large gaping holes that threaten to erase an entire plant or clump of plants is quite disheartening to see.  Whether they are moths, caterpillars, or snails, garden pests are the “black holes” of any garden and must be eliminated, lest the garden itself disappear or be turned to ruin.

A good solution to this can be found in the gardening section of your supermarket, hardware store, or garden store.  However, the sad fact is that when you add poison to the ground this stays in the ground for years, endangering you, your family, pets, and any other friendly creature that comes around.  A more environmentally conscious route is to put dish soap into water and spray this onto your perennial flowers.  If this is not enough, add lemon juice, vinegar, or even crushed garlic.  Get creative; your plants are worth it.

Lastly, to make your garden more cost-effective from the money that you’ve put into it, you will want to be able to see the blooms longer.  Thus, consider putting in numerous long and repeat blooming flowers.  Spring will stay with you all the longer.