Long-blooming perennials keep the colour current

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This article was published 24/06/2015 (3791 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Love flowers? Want them all summer long, but don’t want to the fuss of planting annuals? Long blooming perennials are just the ticket.

As perennials, they need planting once, and as long bloomers, they flower for several weeks. They are a great fit for both a relaxed or eclectic gardening approach as well as a contemporary garden style.

The following is a partial list; there are many long-flowering perennials that thrive in our hardiness zone 3 conditions. Flowering time can vary a bit, but you can usually count on blooms for most of the summer, from June through to August or September. Be sure to confirm the flowering period, as different cultivars of the same species have different flowering periods.

Tickseed (Coreopsis) is known for its long bloom time and fortunately for us, there are a couple with a hardiness zone 3 rating. These are exuberance in the form of flowers. Think profusion. With a height of 40 centimetres, plant en masse and you’ve got impact. Give them full sun and average moisture.

Pincushion Flowers (Scabiosa) are more understated with their soft lavender pastel colours and lower height of 30 centimetres. The flowers up close, though, are exquisite. Pin-like petals arranged around the central pincushion. It likes full sun and is drought tolerant when established. While the flowers are fabulous, the foliage is a bit lacking. Paring it up with a small daylily will move it from surprising to substantial.

Speaking of daylilies, we’ve all seen Stella D’Oro’s cheery gold flowers. It’s undemanding and very accommodating, as daylilies tend to be. Just give them the basics — soil, a bit of sun, a bit of water — and they are good to go. Many of the shorter daylilies are rebloomers, which opens up the colour options considerably.

Many Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia), particularly the “Arizona” cultivar series are long bloomers. They offer a patch of summertime cheer with their sturdy daisy shaped flowers and intense saturated colours. Who doesn’t need a patch of dancing yellows, golds, reds, burgundies? Give them full sun and good drainage. They tend to be short-lived but don’t be put off. Just use them in smaller quantities that you can afford to replace.

For those who like colour without such a flowery-flower, Sunny Border Blue Speedwell (Veronica x ‘Sunny Border Blue’) features deep violet-blue spikes. Single or mass planting, it is striking. Give it full sun and average moisture.

Carla Keast has a master’s degree in landscape architecture and is a Winnipeg-based freelance landscape designer. She can be reached at contact@carlakeast.com.