Perennial beds are most beautiful when they are in bloom. Therefore, you should choose your perennials so that your perennial bed blooms all year round if possible. You have two options: combine perennials with different flowering times or choose perennials with the longest possible flowering period - or both! Below you will find the most beautiful perennials with long and varied flowering times.
How do you design a perennial bed that blooms all year round?
To create a perennial bed that blooms all year round, combine perennials with different bloom times, especially spring, summer and fall bloomers. In addition, winter-flowering shrubs can be integrated to enjoy flowers all year round.
Perennials with a long flowering period
Perennials that bloom for months are particularly pleasing to the gardener's eye. The following perennials bloom for five months or even longer:
| Perennial | Flowering time | Flower color |
|---|---|---|
| Blood Cranesbill 'Nanum' | May to September | Pink |
| Evergreen | March to September | White, purple or bluish |
| Catnip | May to September | Violet |
| Catnip ‘Alba’ | May to September | White |
| Catnip ‘Superba’ | April to September | Violet |
| Sun Bride ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ | June to October | Yellow-orange-red |
| Scabious flower 'Mars Midget' | June to October | Ruby Red |
| Decorative strawberry pink | April to August | Pink |
Well combined with a perennial bed that blooms all year round
Most perennials bloom in summer, such as phlox, delphinium, sunflower etc. So if you plant common perennials in your perennial bed, you will be able to enjoy their blooms, especially in summer. To ensure that your perennial bed blooms all year round, you should combine the summer-flowering perennials with spring-blooming and fall-blooming plants. There are even a few perennials that bloom in winter!
Perennials that bloom very early
| Perennial | Flowering time | Flower color |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Rose | January to March | White |
| wood anemones | March to April | White |
| Spring Cyclamen | February to April | Violet or white |
| Hanging rosemary ‘Haifa’ | February to April | Light blue |
| Lenzrose | February to April | Red |
Perennials that still bloom in late autumn
| Perennial | Flowering time | Flower color |
|---|---|---|
| Ageratumaster ‘Asran’ | September to November | Violet |
| Aster ‘Snow Flurry’ | September to November | White |
| Sedum 'Red Cauli' | September to November | Pink |
| Autumn gentian | September to November | Blue |
| Myrtenaster ‘Pink Star’ | September to November | Pink |
Flowers in winter
Unfortunately, there are no perennials that bloom in winter, so a perennial bed that blooms all year round is not 100% possible. However, you can combine your perennial bed with winter-flowering shrubs and enjoy flowers in December too. Blooming in winter, for example:
| Shrub | Flowering time | Flower color |
|---|---|---|
| Winter heather (snow heather) | December to March | White, pink or red |
| Winter cherry | January to May | Pink, white |
| Winter snowball | December to March | Pink, white |
| Magic Haze | January to March (depending on variety) | Yellow or pink (depending on variety) |