Top Three Garden Staple Perennials

Creating a captivating front yard involves more than just a well-kept lawn. Choosing the right foliage provides dimension, charm and personality to a home’s exterior. A great investment in any outdoor design – reliably returning year after year – are known as perennials. Ideally suited for all garden settings, their lasting beauty is an important fundamental to a striking landscape.

Perennials can surround hardscape features or naturalized areas, act as borders and subtle accents. Their hardy lush blooms will withstand cold winters while boosting your properties’ curb appeal. The POE team is eager to share our top three choices as the best, most universal, easy to care for picks among these recurring “performers”.

Hydrangea (Hydrangea Macrophylla)
Coming in an array of colors such as white, pink, blue and purple, hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs known for lengthy flourishing periods from midsummer to late fall. Choose a location that receives morning sun followed by afternoon shade. Hydrangea don’t need special soil but require a draining moist area which is watered regularly during hot dry weather.

• After plants are spent for the season, to assist new growth, pruning should occur in late winter, early spring.

• Plants escalate to be very tall in size and will propagate by stem clipping and replanting.

• Embed along your home’s foundation or beside the front walkway to encourage a welcoming presentation that will supplement texture to your arrangements.

Russian Sage (Salvia Yangii)
Slender in shape with silvery foliage and lavender blue buds, this is a popular choice for encompassing butterfly gardens and attracting needed pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds. When initially sowed, be sure to water constantly during the first year till they become well-entrenched and hardy. This drought tolerant sage requires full sun and can survive even the hottest of summers.

• Removing spent blossoms, also called deadheading, will support continued growth throughout the seasons.

• If you want to promote bushier development, be certain to cut back the stems by a third.

• These make an excellent contrast adjacent to existing exterior stonework as they are light and airy in structure.

Peony (Paeonia)
Peonies make wonderful cut flowers, giving off a sweet aroma and often reappear for decades if adequately tended. Known for being the star of the show with voluminous petals, they come in shades of white, pink and red. An ideal placement is anywhere facing the sun, as they do thrive in direct sunlight. It’s recommended that soil be well drained, and flora set at no more than 1-2 inches below the ground surface.

• Peonies are top heavy, inclined to bend and break, so staking may be required to keep them upright.

• If possible, avoid external disturbance, so avoid positioning too close to walls and fences to provide good spacing and proper circulation.

• Lay along your siding with fresh mulch near annuals for a stunning vibrant landscape display.

Need help in the yard? Don’t know where to start? Give us a call for special expert advice on how to plan and design your dream space. We can make the process easy and hassle-free with proper guidance. Check out our portfolio of Softscape projects to get an idea of what we offer. Our team at POE will assist you every step of the way.