Planting a Perennial Garden

A Beautiful Garden Made Easy

Perennials encompass a wide variety of hardy, beautiful and visually interesting plants. Dependable when it comes to planting and transplanting, they're a perfect choice if you're new to gardening or are simply looking for a landscape with year-round interest. Learn how to create your perennial garden with the tips below.

Select Your Perennial Varieties

Choose flowers with a reputation for being sturdy and dependable. Coneflowers, astilbes, coreopsis, creeping phlox, veronica and black-eyed Susans are beautiful flowers you can count on. Select a mix of tall and short plants. Plant tall ones in the back and short ones in front and along the sides of your garden bed.

Decide Where to Plant

Most people put their perennial gardens against a backdrop like fences and garden walls. Try to pick a spot that provides at least 6 hours a day of sunlight for your sun-loving plants. If you area is more shady, plant shade-lovers, such as hostas and bleeding hearts.

Get Your Soil Ready

Many perennials need soil with good drainage. Where your soil stays wet, plant cardinal flowers and other dampness-loving varieties. Enrich your soil with organic materials like compost or amend with Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil All Purpose 0.09 - 0.05 - 0.07.

Get Planting

Perennials are tough plants. They're less fussy about when you plant them or move them. Most perennials can be planted any time from the last winter frost through autumn. When planting or transplanting, dig a hole that's twice as wide and no deeper than the container, then backfill the hole with soil. Make watering easier by grouping plants with similar water requirements together.

Water and Feed Your Perennials

Young perennial plants may be hardy, but they still need plenty of water and nutrients to get established in the soil. You can easily water and feed at the same time with Miracle-Gro® Liquafeed®. When watering, avoid perennials' leaves to prevent disease, and aim for a soil consistency that is neither too wet nor too dry.

Care for Your Perennials

Deadhead your flowers by removing spent or misshapen blooms. This will encourage more flowers to grow. Then, spread 8 cm (3") of mulch around the plants, which will also help prevent weeds by blocking access to sunlight and keep soil moist. When your mature perennials are not in bloom, you can divide them and create starter plants to plant elsewhere.