Choosing a colorful mix of perennials for the garden

Perennials have always been a favorite among beginning and experienced gardeners alike. The idea of planting once and enjoying season after season of beautiful blooms is certainly appealing, and the sheer variety of colors, shapes, sizes and textures makes perennials difficult to beat. So whether you already have a green thumb, or you are just getting started, you owe it to yourself to check out the many perennials that can provide vibrant color and long lasting beauty season after season. Since perennials come in so many different colors, however, it is important to plan your flower be carefully to take advantage of those color combinations. With the right mixture of perennials, you can have a vibrant, colorful garden from the earliest days of spring right through the latest days of fall. The main goal of a bed of perennials is to provide long lasting color, and a variety of different shapes and textures, year after year and season after season. That is because unlike annuals, perennials do not have to be replanted every year. Even though perennials have the ability to come back year after year, their actual blooming season is often relatively short, and for that reason it is best to plant a variety of perennials, which bloom at different times. This is the best way to provide a season full of beautiful blooms. The right combination of perennial plants will ensure that something in your garden will always be blooming, and combining colors carefully will help ensure that those blooms will be stunning and beautiful. Some gardeners prefer to use spring flowering bulbs such as crocus, hyacinth, daffodils and tulips to start the growing season off right. In addition, other plants that bloom at the same time, like rock cress, bluebells, and bleeding hearts can provide a striking contrast in the garden bed. For late spring color, many people like to add some false indigo, columbine, candytuft, leopard's bane, bellflower, peonies and oriental poppies. These flowers provide some gorgeous blooms in the late spring, and they often last into the summer months as well. For mid to late summer blooms, try some mountain bluet, yarrow, snow-in-summer, garden lilies, violet sage and stonecrop. These flowers are great replacements for the faded spring and early summer flowers. The late summer and fall seasons bring perennials like aster, boltonia, blue leadwort, mums, purple coneflower and plantain lily. Other great fall perennials include black eyed susans and goldenrod. As you can see by the above list, it is possible to use a clever combination of perennials to provide striking color and contrast throughout the entire growing season. There is no wonder that perennials remain so popular with all kinds of gardeners.