Mar 23 2009
Perennial Gardening Is Booming
Gardeners across the country are discovering the promise of planting those hardy,
year after year returning plants that take the edge off of digging yourself into a
back brace each spring. They reduce the springtime work of getting the beds all
primed and planted, by just showing up and blooming! Is it really that easy?:
Well, lets discuss it a bit.
The average perennial only blooms three weeks out of the year. But there are the
not-so-average that takes the sting out of that reality. What is the perfect
perennial? It would be in bloom from March to October, never need dividing or
deadheading, the foliage would be attractive and ornamental as well. You would
never have to stake an errant plant straight, or worry about it chasing out the
neighbors. A hard winter wouldn’t phase it and if a drought persisted, it would
patiently wait for a drink. What is that perfect perennial? There isn’t such a
horticultural miracle.
No one perennial choice would fit all the spots you had to fill or perform to your
gardening expectations. But some perennials come pretty close. Each area of the
country, due to specific soil conditions and weather, has their bragging rights.
First of all, know exactly what your growing conditions are. Is it the acid, humusy
soils of the northeast or the arid, not-so-humusy alkaline soils of the southwest.
Is it lots of rain, little rainfall, are you planting in full sun or are you wishing
for a mossy, woodland garden? Each of these conditions narrows the field, but
certainly not the possibilities of color, hardiness and creating your own little
Eden.
Don’t begin your quest by thumbing through a non-specific nursery catalog. Too many
offerings that need specific growing conditions that you can’t duplicate no matter
how hard you try will bring discouragement soon. Instead, your journey should take
you to the local extension office, a Master Gardener or even just a neighbor that
has a landscape to die for. Visit nearby botanical gardens, zoos or a local garden
center/nursery. Choose native plants that have adapted well to local conditions,
those plants you see over and over again, used in many different ways. As you gain
gardening experience, you may want to expand your selections to include the
challenging or rare plants that may demand an intensive nurturing.
In my two acre landscape on the Great High Plains, forty nine years in the dirt have
taught me that every area has their bragging rights. Quit wishing for something you
will never have and work with what you have. There are flowers galore waiting to be
discovered. No, I can’t grow an azalea or a rhody but the lilacs are about to burst
forth with a spring strutt of their own and it sure makes me forget the stuff that
won’t grow no matter how hard I try.
