Reviewed by David McKinney
Credit: Blaine Moats
Imagine a garden with a succession of perennial flowers that bloom from spring to fall—you’ll have color, scent, and beauty throughout the growing season. Here are our recommendations for long-lasting perennials to plant in containers, window boxes, flower borders, and more, including the fragrant blooms of deep-pink peonies and the sunny hues of black-eyed Susans.
We’ve listed them sequentially by bloom time to simplify your gardening plans. All these easy-to-grow plants will return yearly for a gorgeous show in your yard.
Related: 21 Hardy Perennials That Promise Unstoppable Color Every Year
01 of 16
Hellebore
Credit: Carson Downing
What a tough beauty! Hellebores are one of the earliest perennials to bloom from spring to fall. The large bowl- or saucer-shaped flowers are delicate and lovely. Flowers bloom in white with splashy pink, yellow, or maroon markings. Hellebores are cold-hardy and deer-resistant and do best in lightly shaded locations.
Season of Bloom: Winter/early spring
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 4-9
02 of 16
Virginia Bluebells
Credit: Bob Stefko
Virginia bluebells create a sea of bell-like blue flowers in spring, perfect for brightening up woodland gardens. After blooming, these plants virtually disappear, so place other perennials around them for continued color after they fade. They make ideal companions for daffodils and other spring-blooming bulbs.
Season of Bloom: Mid- to late spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in consistently moist soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
03 of 16
Viola
Credit: Karla Conrad
This smaller cousin to the pansy offers masses of tiny, delicate perennial flowers that bloom from spring to fall under the right circumstances. Violas bloom in various colors, including white, blue, purple, yellow, and many color mixes. They add perky color to spring container gardens and window boxes.
Violas are best planted in a spot shaded from the afternoon sun because excessive heat will kill them. Their blooms are edible and make a colorful addition to a salad.
Season of Bloom: Early to late spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 2-11
04 of 16
Peony
Credit: Kindra Clineff
One of the most-loved spring flowers, this bushy perennial produces big, round buds that open to large, fragrant blooms. Peonies offer a variety of flower types: petal-packed doubles, semi-doubles, anemone-centered, and singles.
Flowers come in bright and pastel shades: Red, rose, pink, salmon, white, and yellow. Peony plants are famously long-lived and can bloom happily for decades with little care.
Season of Bloom: Spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
05 of 16
Nepeta
Credit: Carson Downing
The soft purplish-blue blossoms of catmint, a perennial flower that blooms from spring to fall, add color throughout the seasons. The gray-green foliage is pretty, too. If you shear back plants when their blooms wane, you can encourage another flush of bloom. Catmint tolerates hot weather and can grow through times of drought.
There’s a type of catmint for every garden: short varieties that make excellent edging plants and taller types that can add color to a flower border or mixed shrub landscape plan. Plus, bees and butterflies love it!
Season of Bloom: Spring and summer
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
06 of 16
Iris
Credit: Carson Downing
The delicate crepe-paper petals and intricate bloom of the iris make it a must-have in mixed flower borders. This easy-to-grow perennial produces spear-like foliage and long stems topped with fabulous flowers.
Siberian iris blooms in spring. Classic bearded iris blooms in early summer (some varieties, such as ‘Peach Jam’ can rebloom later in the season, too). Flower colors include white, blue, purple, orange, yellow, and pink.
Season of Bloom: Late spring into summer
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
07 of 16
Baptisia
Credit: Blaine Moats
This native prairie plant looks stunning when in full bloom. Also called false indigo, baptisia plants are hefty; they measure 3 to 4 feet tall and wide.
In the spring, the plants send up sturdy spires of blue, white, yellow, or bicolor pea-like blooms. They make elegant additions to cut flower arrangements. Baptisia is drought-tolerant and takes very little care to bloom for years.
Season of Bloom: Late spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 4 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
Related: How to Plant a Cut Flower Garden for Filling Your Vases All Season
08 of 16
Perennial Geranium
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Hardy perennial geraniums are different from the annual plant with the same name. The flowers of perennial geranium continue blooming in shades of pink, purple, blue, and white for several weeks, making them a colorful addition to the front of perennial borders.
Plus, the foliage forms tidy, low-growing mounds, making these perennials ideal bed-edging plants. Perennial geraniums often take on pretty fall color and are generally easy to grow.
Season of Bloom: Summer
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 18 inches tall
Zones: 5-9
Related: This Colorful Border Garden Plan Has Something Blooming for Three Seasons
09 of 16
Black-Eyed Susan
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
Black-eyed Susan is a perennial flower that blooms from spring to fall and offers beautiful sunny hues (yellow or orange flowers, depending on the variety) for beds and borders. Plus, they make long-lasting cut flowers for bouquets. These prairie natives are easy-care, drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and pollinator-friendly plants.
Season of Bloom: Summer into fall
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-11
10 of 16
Coreopsis
Credit: Lynn Karlin
Airy, sunny coreopsis is one of the easiest-care perennials that bloom from spring to fall in the garden. The plants bloom for quite a while, starting in summer and continuing through autumn.
The daisy-like flowers bloom in bright yellow, but there are also varieties with pale yellow, pink, or bicolor blooms. Deadhead flowers to encourage additional blooms.
Season of Bloom: Summer into fall
Growing Condition: Full sun in well-drained, slightly dry soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
11 of 16
Echinacea
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
Purple coneflower is a hardy, sturdy prairie native and a wildlife magnet. Originally, coneflower came in pinkish purple or white, but recent hybrids have produced flowers in a rainbow of colors: yellow, orange, burgundy, cream, and other shades. Coneflower is also nearly pest and disease-free. Plus, it makes a lovely and long-lasting cut flower.
Season of Bloom: Summer
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
12 of 16
Phlox
Credit: Blaine Moats
By growing several different types of phlox, you can have something in bloom for months. Garden and meadow phlox produce large flower heads in summer in white, pink, lavender, purple, and red. These taller beauties are ideal toward the back of mixed borders.
Lower-growing types, such as creeping phlox and woodland phlox, make colorful groundcovers and bloom in spring.
Season of Bloom: Spring or summer (depending on type)
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 4 feet tall
Zones: 4-8
13 of 16
Foxglove
Credit: Kindra Clineff
Try foxglove if you’re looking for a tall, showy plant for your back border. The tall spires are covered with a mass of blooms. Most foxgloves are biennials (they need two years to bloom and then die in the fall). But once you get foxglove established, they reseed, so they seem like perennials. If plants are in an open area, the tall spires may need staking to protect them from wind gusts.
Season of Bloom: Summer
Growing Conditions: Full to part shade in well-drained, evenly moist soil
Size: Up to 6 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
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‘Autumn Joy’ Sedum
Credit: Bob Stefko
Add russet hues to your fall garden with lovely ‘Autumn Joy’ flowers. This large sedum grows 2 feet tall. The gray-green succulent leaves look stunning all summer.
In late summer, they bear large, green-budded heads that open pink and turn russet red in autumn. Pollinators will flock to the blooms. Because it’s a succulent, ‘Autumn Joy’ doesn’t mind drought or heat.
Season of Bloom: Late summer into fall
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
Related: 25 Perennials That Add a Burst of Color to Your Fall Garden
15 of 16
Russian Sage
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Russian sage offers wispy wands of lavender or blue flowers surrounded by silvery foliage. This large, shrubby perennial offers color when you need it most, in late summer and autumn when other perennials are done blooming.
The foot-long flowers stay in bloom for weeks. Plant in drifts to enjoy the intense color; close planting helps avoid staking because these tall plants are prone to flopping over.
Season of Bloom: Summer into fall
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Size: Up to 5 feet tall
Zones: 4-9
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Asters
Credit: Bob Stefko
The star-like flowers of asters are the grand finale of perennial flowers that bloom from spring to fall, almost completely covered in blooms late in the summer and often lasting until the first frost. Asters typically flower in deep purple and lush lavender, but there are also white and pink varieties.
Plants can reach up to 6 feet tall, but there are also compact versions, some of which can grow in containers or window boxes. Bees and butterflies love asters, sipping up nectar as one of the garden’s last big meals.
Season of Bloom: Late summer into fall
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in well-drained, evenly moist soil
Size: Up to 6 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
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