6 Favorite Flowering Perennials
We are nearly 1/2 way through winter, which means it will be a great time to start planting perennial cut flowers in about 8 weeks.
Early spring is one of the best times to plant hardy perennials that thrive in our 6b/7a Treasure Valley weather. There really is no need to wait until Mother's Day to plant these tough plants.
Here at Ella June Gardens, I grow over 75 varieties of perennial cutflowers. Perennials can be a little bit of an investment on the front end, but continue to come
back year after year.
Some perennial cut flowers I have started from seed. These grow beautifully and bloom just the color I expect them too. Others come from root divisions in order to get the desired bloom color or shape.
Which ever way the perennial blooms come, they will always be worth the effort in my book. I was going to give you my top 5 favorites, but I just couldn't leave off yarrow. So here are my top 6.
6 Favorite Easy Perennial Blooming Flowers.
#6 - Yarrow - There are so many types of yarrow, that there is a wide range to choose from. I have grown only 8 different varieties, but love them all for different reasons. For a white rebloomer, I'd choose Peter Cottontail (from root divisions). For pastel mix of colors, I like the Colorado Mix (from seed). For dried flowers, I don't think any do as well as Corination Gold (root divisions) at keeping their colors.
#5 - Eryngium - What is a garden without a blue flower? These beauties are frequently found in grocery store bouquets for a reason. Their color is so rich and vivid that they make a bouquet sing... and they are quite easy to grow. If you have patience to wait 2 years for blooms, you can even grow them easily from seed!
#4 - Echinacea - These flowers have some such a long way from just the regular cone flower our grandmother's grew. While I still love the basic coneflower shape, the specialty doubles and truffles steal my heart every single time. I think I need to grow all the colors, and there are soo many to choose from! The polinators love them. They hold up in a vase for 10+ days. They are drought tolerant once they are established. They rebloom multiple times in a season. For so many reasons, Echinacea should be on every cutflower garden's wish list.
#3 - Foxtail Lilies - O Glory. I love these tall foxtail shaped blooms. Few flowers get this tall in Idaho. They really look like something quite exotic dancing through the garden beds. They are too tall for a standard vase inside the house, but if you have a large urn, they are worth bringing a few stems in. They last just as long inside in water as they do outside on the plant. Foxtail lilies can be tricky to source and their bare roots have to be handled with a bit of care, but if you are lucky enough to get some, email me. I am happy to share tips for planting.
This design was created by Posies Floral Design. I love it because it shows how these beauties dance above other flowers.
#2 - Phlox - I went so many years only knowing about creeping phlox (the kind that work great as a ground cover. Only about 5 years ago did I discover tall phlox. The scent is light and fresh and perfectly lovely. It is a complete battle between which scent I like better peonies or phlox... I like one best until the next one blooms. I just cannot decide. These can be reblooming once they are established. Give them a couple years growing in your gardens before expecting this from them though. Warning, some phlox are prone to powdery mildew. Simply look for varieties that say they aren't and you should be fine.
#1 - Peonies - Drumroll please for the diva of all flowers...
If you have been around me much, you know peonies will always be my favorite. The pure nostalgia. The rarity of them. Every year I try to stuff a few more roots into my Gardens. Even though they only bloom for 1-2 weeks each year, I simply cannot get enough of these. Their bomb of petals. Their exquisit scent. Their long lasting ability (some have lasted for over 100 years!) I simply cannot get enough of these. If I could only grow one perennial flower, peonies would be my choice. They are so easy to grow, that I am convinced everyone should have at least one peony in their garden.
What is the best of all this?
In the heat of summer no wedding should be without Echinacea or Eryngium.
No isle flowers sing quite like the ones who include the tall dancing foxtail lilies. They are never-to-be-forgotten.
Tucking peonies into a spring bridal bouquet or phlox into a summer wedding not only brings beauty to the eyes, but also a scent they will never want to forget.
When I can grow these stunning special flowers for a special wedding or event. That really makes my heart sing.
Best Blessings to you and yours,
Ella