Gardening Perennial Plants: The Basics

In the past decade there has been an explosion of interest in gardening using perennial plants. Some gardeners are attracted to perennials because they seem relatively easy to maintain compared to annuals. Others love the color and reliability of many perennial garden plants. And still others are impressed by the adaptiveness of different perennials to native environments, and the ease of landscaping even very shady areas using perennial garden plants.

Technically, perennial plants are plants that do not die after a single season's growth, but instead regrows each year without having to be replanted. Perennials cover a wide range of plant species. Most trees and shrubs are perennials, of course, but when people speak of garden perennials they are referring primarily to bulbs, several vegetables and flowers.

Most of these garden perennials are “herbaceous,” meaning that the stems of these plants tend to be green and pliable, unlike the brown and woody stems you find on trees and shrubs. The soft, green growth will usually die and disappear in the fall, but underground the roots will remain alive and well, and ready to bring forth new growth come spring.

A common misconception about gardening perennial plants is that they are maintenance free. Many beginning gardeners may mistakenly assume that once a perennial is planted there is little to do. However, most perennial garden plants need some care each year, including feeding, staking, dividing and cutting back after blooming.

Those interested in perennial flowers should also be aware that unlike annuals, most perennial garden flowers do not bloom throughout the season. Instead, perennial flowers tend to have a short, but often spectacular, flowering period.

Despite the effort involved, many find gardening perennial plants to be a very rewarding activity. I hope you find the information on this website of use to you in your perennial gardening endeavors. On the right sidebar you will find many links to articles that contain important information about gardening with perennial vegetables and flowers, ideas about how to create a shade perennial garden, and useful links and resources for the perennial gardener. Happy gardening!