Perennials
Perennials return year after year from the same root system, making them the backbone of a garden that only gets fuller and more established over time rather than needing to be replanted from scratch each season.
A Longer-Term Investment
Unlike annuals, most perennials take a season or two to reach their full size and best bloom — a common rule of thumb is that a perennial "sleeps, creeps, then leaps" over its first three years. Patience in those early seasons pays off with a much fuller, more established planting later.
Many perennials also benefit from division every few years, which keeps them vigorous and gives you free plants to fill in other parts of the garden.
Choose perennials rated for a zone or two colder than your own — plants pushed to their absolute hardiness limit are more vulnerable in an unusually harsh winter.
Extending the Bloom Season
Since most individual perennials bloom for only a few weeks, combining varieties with staggered bloom times — spring, summer, and fall bloomers together — keeps a perennial bed interesting throughout the growing season rather than peaking all at once.
