Perennials for year-round interest

Creating a garden that offers year-round interest can be a delightful yet challenging task. The key lies in selecting the right perennials that can provide colour and texture throughout the seasons. From May to September, maintaining a continuous display often involves a careful choice of plants that bloom in succession. However, with the right selection of perennials, you can ensure your garden remains vibrant and engaging throughout the year.

Top 5 Perennials for Year-Round Interest

At Elmwood Nursery & Garden Centre, we recommend these top five perennials to keep your garden looking its best year-round:

1. Echinacea (Coneflower): Echinacea is a robust perennial that offers vibrant flowers from mid-summer through to autumn. Its daisy-like blooms come in shades of pink, purple, and white, attracting pollinators and adding a splash of colour to your garden.
2. Sedum (Stonecrop): Sedum is a hardy plant known for its succulent leaves and late-season blooms. In the autumn, its clusters of star-shaped flowers, typically pink or red, provide a valuable source of nectar for bees and butterflies.
3. Helleborus (Hellebore): Also known as the Christmas rose, Helleborus flowers in late winter to early spring, bringing much-needed colour to the garden when little else is in bloom. Its evergreen foliage ensures it remains attractive even after flowering.
4. Phlox Paniculata (Garden Phlox): This cottage garden favourite blooms from midsummer to early autumn, offering large clusters of fragrant flowers in a range of colours, from white to deep pinks and purples. It is a great choice for borders and attracts plenty of butterflies.
5. Heuchera (Coral Bells): Heuchera is prized for its colourful, ruffled foliage that comes in various shades, from deep purples to vibrant greens and reds. Its small, delicate flowers appear in late spring to early summer, adding a subtle charm to your garden beds.

Extending Bloom Times with the Chelsea Chop

One technique to help extend the blooming period of your perennials is the Chelsea chop. Performed around the end of May, this method involves cutting back certain perennials by a third to a half, delaying their flowering. This simple trick can result in a more staggered display, ensuring your garden remains colourful for a longer period. Plants such as echinacea, sedums, and Phlox paniculata respond particularly well to this technique, resulting in sturdier, less leggy growth and reducing the need for staking.

Expert Advice at Elmwood Nursery & Garden Centre

Selecting the right perennials and employing techniques like the Chelsea chop can make all the difference in creating a garden that shines throughout the year. At Elmwood Nursery & Garden Centre, our knowledgeable staff are always on hand to offer advice and guidance. Whether you need help choosing the best perennials for your garden or tips on how to care for them, we’re here to support you in making your garden a year-round haven of beauty and interest.