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While we love to spent the winter months planning our spring garden, it can be a bit of a hassle to have to think the whole thing up from scratch year after year. That's why we love to include a handful of perennial flowers and plants that we know will be there, and that we can plant our favorite annuals around.
Related: What's the Big Difference Between Annual vs Perennial Plants?
Perennials are about the long game and a budget-friendly choice. Once they're established, you'll have a low-maintenance garden with flowers and foliage that come back every year.
If you’re a garden novice, the options might seem overwhelming. This list of our favorite perennials, including spring, summer, fall, and, yes, even winter bloomers is a great place to begin.
Here are some tips to make sure you get off on the right foot:
- Be patient. Perennials can take a few years to take off, so don't fret if they seem lackluster the first year or two.
- Read the plant tag or description. That's where you'll find the plant's USDA Hardiness Zone, which indicates if the plant will survive winters in your region (find your zone here). Your local extension service can provide even more info about which perennials are suited for your climate.
- Plant where they'll get the right amount of sunlight: Full sun means 6 or more hours per day, while part sun is about half that. Shade means no direct sunlight.
- Keep perennials watered as they get established. If you've chosen ones that are adapted to your climate, they should be able to subsist on rainwater after that. After all: the best part about perennials is that they're low maintenance!
When everything else has faded in late fall, asters are just beginning their show.
They come in shades of lavender, blue, pink, and purple. Some will even survive a light frost. They need full sun, and pollinators love them!
Your garden will glow with these sunny yellow blooms, which appear from mid-summer to fall.
The foliage has a low, clumping habit, while the flowers are quite tall. Read the tag: while some are long-lived perennials, others are shorter lived biennials or annuals. Bonus: They reseed, meaning more free plants over time. Give them full sun.
3
Astilbe
This underrated perennial should be part of any shade garden.
The feathery plumes come in many different colors, from pinkish white to hot pink. Butterflies love it!
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4
Roman Chamomile
Yes, you can make tea from these dried flowers! (You can also make a pretty tasty co*cktail.)
Make sure to plant Roman chamomile, a low-growing perennial, and not the annual, called German chamomile. It likes full sun.
5
Chrysanthemums
Nothing says fall like mums! They're perennial if you get them in the ground early in the season (spring through mid-summer) so that their roots can get established.
If you plant them too late in fall, they may not have enough time to get settled before winter so they're treated as annuals. Plant some in every color!
Related: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Chrysanthemums
6
Salvia
These spiky blooms belong at the back of your border in full sun. They're drought tolerant once established and bloom mid to late summer for several weeks.
Trouble with deer? They usually don't bother salvia. Pollinators such as hummingbirds love salvia! (Here are more flowers that pollinators love.)
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7
Hellebore
Add these beauties to the garden for winter blooms—yes, winter!
They're also called Lenten roses because they typically bloom around Lent in mid to late winter. They prefer shade.
20 Winter Flowers That Add Life to a Snowy Garden
8
Columbine
Not only do this perennial's trumpet-shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, the species Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine) is native to North America.
Give this summer bloomer part shade.
9
Shasta Daisy
The shasta daisy is a low-maintenance perennial plant that looks like the common daisy but grows in bushes that span about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. Plant it where it will get full sun.
Related: How to Grow Daisies
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10
Astrantia
Here's a perennial that's long been a cottage garden favorite but is not as well-known these days.
It deserves a space in your garden! Its beautiful flowers bloom for a long time from early summer to early fall. Pollinators adore it, and the flowers are lovely in a cutting garden or dried.
11
Thrift (Armeria maritima)
The grassy foliage of this plant is attractive all season long, but the tiny ball-shaped flowers that pop up in late spring and early summer are the reason to plant this adorable perennial.
Thrift likes part to full sun.
If you want a perennial that blooms most of the summer, plant catmint! The leaves are grey-green and have a pleasantly spicy scent, while the purple spikes attract tons of pollinators.
Give it full sun.
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13
Coneflower (Echinacea)
Purple coneflower (actually a light pinky purple) is the original, but today coneflowers come in almost every shade of the rainbow! They need full sun and range in height from 12 to 36 inches tall, so read the tag so you plant them accordingly in your mixed border.
Fun fact: Echinacea isn't the only flowering plant known as coneflower. Plants in the genus Rudbeckia, which includes perennial and annual species, also go by the common name.
Put this full-sun spring bloomer on your shopping list for fall—that's when it's the best time to plant. Each flower looks like a watercolor work of art.
Over time you can divide them and transplant the extras elsewhere in your garden or pass them along to a friend.
Related: How to Care for Irises Like an Expert
15
Amsonia
Clusters of starry blue flowers cover this plant in spring to early summer. It looks best planted in masses. It likes part to full sun.
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If you have trouble growing anything in your soil, give daylilies a try.
They multiply year after year. Each bloom only lasts one day (thus, the name!), but they flower profusely. Make sure they are in full sun for best blooms.
Sedum has fleshy leaves, so it's drought-hardy and sturdy. It comes in an astonishing number of forms. Look for low-growing or creeping types, as well as more upright varieties such as autumn joy, which make long-lasting cut flowers. Give it full sun.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Autumn Joy Sedum Care
This lesser-known perennial has beautiful spikes of indigo blue, pink, yellow, white, or purple-black flowers that become attractive seedpods in the fall.
Pollinators like it too! Give it full sun.
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Lavender blooms for weeks throughout the summer, depending on the type. Make sure you choose a variety that's hardy to your USDA planting zone. Harvest the dried buds for teas, scones, or scented sachets.
Related: How to Grow Lavender, Plus Great Ways to Use It in Food and Crafts
Peonies bloom in late spring to early summer, and the plants get bigger and better every year.
Give them plenty of full sun and space to grow because they don't like being moved (they tend not to bloom the next year), and they don't like being crowded! The ants you see are just coming to sip nectar; they don't harm the plant.
Arricca Elin SanSone
Arricca Elin SanSone has written about health and lifestyle topics for Prevention, Country Living, Woman's Day, and more. She’s passionate about gardening, baking, reading, and spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
Terri Robertson
Terri Robertson is the Senior Editor, Digital, at Country Living, where she shares her lifelong love of homes, gardens, down-home cooking, and antiques.
