Caring for Your Perennial Garden

For those of you who enjoy getting dirty out in the yard, putting in new plants and moving pre-existing flowers or shrubs to better locations, a perennial garden is probably for you.

This is not to say that only perennials (plants that need not be replanted each year, but rather survive to come to bloom again in the spring) should be in your yard, but merely that a good percentage of your yard could be inhabited by these hardy wonders of nature.  By maintaining a garden this is primarily a perennial garden, you will have less work to do, and more time to sit and talk with friends about this flower or that plant.

Of course, as with other types of plants, perennials do require maintenance.  One task that every gardener is familiar with is weeding.  Weeds get in the way of the beauty, drowning out the colors of flowers in a sea of green and allowing little contrast.  Further, the weeds tend to strangle your plants of much needed sunlight and carbon dioxide.

A similar problem to weeds, but particular to the perennial garden is the overgrowth of your perennials.  As they survive the winter months, each successive spring new shoots will come up and slowly encroach upon the breathing space of their parent plants.  For this reason, it is necessary to separate these plants every few years, yet is nice as, for no additional money, you now possess more plants than just a few years before.

When planting, ensure that the soil has proper drainage by the numerous means that exist (porous soil mixing, mulching, raised plants, etc.), and fertilize when desired, avoiding fertilizer contact with any new shoots as they are easily burnt.  It should also be noted that there are numerous types of plants in your perennial garden that will not bloom the first year, such as peonies. 

A few years after planting your perennial garden, after the blooms have died, cut back the plants to promote leaf growth at the base of the plant.  This will also ensure a greater supply of Carbon Dioxide and so further growth in general.

Of course, in addition to weeds, the plants in your perennial garden are attacked by other forces.  Wind and rain, for instance, necessitate the use of stakes.  By putting stakes within half on an inch of the plant (ensuring that you don’t puncture the roots of larger plants), and then wrapping string around the stalk of the plant and the stake, the plants will be able to grow taller and healthier without dipping or breaking.  Eventually they will grow taller than the stakes themselves.

With the proper amount of love and attention, your perennial garden will provide you with perennial pleasure.  Investigate the numerous species that you can plant, as they exist in a vast range of colors, scents, and other points of interest, some species which surprisingly survive even the coldest of climates.