Beth's Perennials Page

    A perennial is a plant that grows year after year, and often takes several years to reach maturity.  Almost all woody plants are perennials, such as fruit trees or ornamental shrubs.
Hardy bulbs, lawn grasses and many vegetables (such as rhubarb, asparagus, and berry plants) are also perennials.
 
 

    The above perennial (yellow) is known as Achillea ‘Moonshine’ or more commonly as Yarrow.  This plant bears pretty flattened heads of pale sulfur yellow to bright yellow flowers throughout summer. It is a good species for cut flowers. It has delicate, feathery, silvery gray leaves and an upright habit, reaching a height of 24 in.
 

Anemone hupehensis 'September Charm'
Common Name: Japanese wind flower

    A perennial with fibrous roots, this species from central and western China (long cultivated in Japan), can be almost evergreen in milder climates where, if conditions are to its liking it may spread and provide good ground cover to knee height, producing its single white to mauve flowers on tall, openly-branched stems during the early fall (autumn). ‘September Charm’ has large pale pink flowers with 5–6 petals, while Anemone h. var. japonica is the Japanese cultivated race, taller and with more petals than the wild Chinese plants. The cultivar ‘Hadspen Abundance’ has deep pink petals edged with pale pink to almost white.

Aquilegia x hybrida 'Music Series'
Common Name: Columbine

    The common name comes from the Latin for dove, as the flowers were thought to resemble a cluster of doves. These graceful, clump-forming perennials are native to Europe, North America and temperate regions of Asia. They are grown for their spurred, bell-shaped—single and double forms—flowers in a varied color range, and for their fern-like foliage. They flower mostly in late spring and early summer, and look best in bold clumps with a foreground planting of annuals. Desirable features of the Music Series hybrids include larger flowers with extra-long spurs that add even more grace to each blossom, a compact and neat appearance, and a mix of colors that includes intense hues as well as pastels.
 

Brunnera macrophylla
Common Name: Siberian bugloss

The small but intensely blue flowers of this species show their relationship to the forget-me-nots; they are held on slender stems 18–24 in (45–60 cm) tall above the bold mounds of heart-shaped leaves. When the flowers appear the new leaves grow to their full length of 4–6 in (10–15 cm). Clumps spread slowly underground but self-seed readily, making an excellent ground cover under trees and large shrubs. ‘Hadspen Cream’ has paler green leaves prettily edged with cream, and paler blue flowers.

Delphinium 'Magic Fountains'
Common Name: Chinese Delphinium

Native to China, Siberia, Japan and Mongolia, this tufted perennial grows to a height of 18 in (45 cm) and a spread of 12 in (30 cm), the leaf segments further divided into narrow lobes. It has large bright blue flowers with the long spurs finely warted, giving them a curious rubbery appearance. It blooms over a long period in summer, and is fully frost hardy. Treat as an annual in mild winter climates. d. grandifloria ‘Azure Fairy’ is a pale blue-flowering form; 'Blue Butterfly’ has bright blue flowers. d. grandifloria 'Blue Mirror' grows 18 to 24 inches and never needs staking, is less prone to diseases and performs reliably in the South. 'Magic Fountains' hybrid is the best of the dwarfs and never needs staking, standing only 24" tall. Available in a variety of colors.
 
 

    Above are just a few of my favorite perennials.  I did not even touch on trees or shrubs which is a whole other world of plants.  To find out more about perennials and horticulture, I have placed a few links to my favorite horticulture related web sites.
 
 
 

 
  Created by Beth Mayer
10/5/99 Special thanks to Horticopia.  They provided much of the information found herein.