Top 10 Perennial Plants for the Garden

By Liz Baessler | August 5, 2017
Image by Nikki Tiley
by Liz Baessler
August 5, 2017

Are you after some great plants for your garden that will come back and wow you year after year? Then look no further! Here’s our list of the top 10 perennial plants for the garden:

1. Lavender – Since it doesn’t have big dazzling flowers, lavender sometimes gets overlooked. That’s a shame, because its little purple flowers are gorgeous, and they give off a heavenly scent. And lavender is so easy to care for – it actually thrives on neglect!

2. Phlox – These wildflowers come in a huge number of varieties, which means you’re sure to find some that are just right for your garden and your tastes. As a rule, garden phlox is generally low maintenance and cold hardy, and they create a beautiful blanket of flowers.

3. AsterAsters have beautiful daisy-like flower heads perched on the ends of long, thin, branching stems. They come in wide variety of sizes in shades of blue, red, white, and everything in between.

4. Coneflower – Also known by its botanical Echinacea, the sturdy coneflower has a big, bristly (one might even say ‘cone-like’) center surrounded by long, daisy-like petals.

5. Bergamot – Also frequently called bee balm, this strange, spiky flower looks exotic despite being native to North America.

6. Indigo – Wild blue indigo is also known as false indigo or baptisia. Actually in the same family as peas, this plant is very hardy and produces outrageously blue flowers.

7. Rose – An obvious choice, roses have been a perennial garden staple just about forever. While they’re famous for being finicky, there are some very forgiving varieties available.

8. Clematis – A fantastic flowering vine. It’s very drought tolerant and deer resistant, and it produces beautiful star shaped flowers in a wide range of colors. Just make sure you know how to prune it – clematis vines come in a few varieties that take very different pruning measures.

9. Daffodil
– A classic springtime treat, daffodils grow up from bulbs that will keep producing for years.

10. Lily – Another fabulous bulb perennial, lilies make amazing cut flowers and come in more colors than you can imagine.

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