subject: Gardening Information - Choosing Perenials For Color [print this page] Choosing and Planting Perennials Choosing and Planting Perennials
As opposed to a vegetable garden a flower garden can be much more appealing to the eye though not to the palate. Perennial flowers may be a great way for you to liven up your garden without too much extra work. Since perennials are strong plants that come back every year..(hm.. can you say weed?) you can get a degree of respite from working and still get the enjoyment of mass blossoms.
During the off season the perennials dye back and you may want to prune away any ugly brown spears that remain, it's okay to cut these babies to the soil line
no problem. Next season the new plants return like magic..er...weeds.
Perennials need ample drainage so if you soil stays saturated for long periods you should use a raised flower bed. If you'd like to see how your soil drained just dig a hole two feet by two feet by two feet deep and fill it with water. The next day fill it up again if all the water isn't gone within about ten hours you need to go with a raised flower bed.
Perennials give you a wonderful chance to express yourself with color throughout most of the year. You can look at your garden as a palette and with some research you can find the flowers that you like which bloom in early spring, spring, summer and fall. You will have fresh beautiful flowers coming on most the year and you can always move some out to a new area and replant with a different color or variety whenever you get struck by the gardening itch. Cool!
Thanks to the internet you can get most of the research done for you for free by ordering seed packs on line. The greenhouses and seed producers have already done the work for you. All you need to do is punch in the area that you live in and browse selections of seeds/plants for your area and have them delivered to your door. If you don't see a mix for your area just send in a support ticket and presto , they send you back suggestions. WhoHaa! This is getting good don't you think?
Mulching will reduce work and return more blossoms and lush foliage by reducing weeds and therefore competition for nutrients as well as increasing water retention without saturation problems. If your using premixed potting soil when you plant you won't need to fertilize right away however if you soil is not in the best of shape you may want to give the plants a shot early on.
Be sure to follow all directions on fertilizer,herbicide and pesticide labels for safety and so you don't fry your plants as I have done. Once my buddy asked me to spray his trees when I was doing mine and I miss mixed the solution, his trees were yellow and sickly most of that year, we thought I had killed them but they shook it off...eventually...towards fall.
As I write this I am visiting Rolla Mo., the weather is so beautiful and I see many folks preparing the garden area as I travel the country roads. Hope the weather is good where you are and I wish you the happiest of garden adventures.
