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Many gardeners choose perennials not only for their looks, but because they can save time and money. These plants live beyond one growing season and come back year after year—no replanting required. Plus, many perennials are fairly low-maintenance; they can thrive in less-than-ideal soil and don’t require tons of water, but they still produce gorgeous greenery and flowers. Even better, there are certain types that have a longer blooming cycle, giving you more bang for your buck. More flowers, less work? What could be better?!
We asked Elizabeth Brown, author of The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Nourish, and Create Bliss Year-Round and owner of Foxglove Farmhouse, a cut flower garden in York, Maine, to share a few of her favorite long-blooming perennials. These are her top picks if you want to fill your garden with color for months and months.
Tickseed
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These hardy plants typically come into bloom in mid- to late-summer and after that, the daisy-like flowers will just keep on coming well into the fall. “Like most long-blooming things, make sure you deadhead as you go,” says Brown. “They also tend to get pretty big. In my experience, when I planted them too close together early on, in subsequent years, I’d have to move them and space them out.” There are dozens of varieties of tickseed. Petal colors include gold with deep red centers to white with pink centers to solid yellow.
Salvia
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Salvia produces tall, boldly colored flowers and is a good choice if you’re looking for something easy to grow that will take up space and not require a lot of water. Brown says it’s so reliable that you can plant it and forget about it. Best of all, it blooms from spring to fall (depending on the variety) and is a magnet for pollinators.
Yarrow
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Native to most of America, yarrow has fern-like leaves and clusters of tiny blooms that are most common in yellow or white, but they can also be pink or purple. “It can flower for a long period of time, you can leave the plant to grow as-is or cut from it when it’s first blooming, and you’ll usually get a second flush later in the season,” says Brown.
Black-Eyed Susan
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This sun-loving plant self-seeds, which means you’ll get bunches of blooms year after year. “I think that’s why they’re in everybody’s gardens. They last all summer long,” Brown says. And while black-eyed Susans are loved by pollinators (especially butterflies), deer aren’t interested in them at all—a plus for gardeners in rural areas.
Hydrangea
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With their poofy flowers and deep green foliage, hydrangeas are a popular shrub in gardens across the country. Some, but not all, types are also great at attracting pollinators; look for oakleaf, mountain, and smooth varieties. When the shrubs grow to a substantial size, you’ll have ample flowers for cut arrangements. Brown says, “They’re hardy if you get them in the right spot, and will give you some blossoms all season long.”
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