What’s so great about garden perennials?

Plants bring so much joy in so many ways and most gardeners are addicted to these living entities and for good reason. They add value to our lives, to our health and well-being and even to the value of our homes. A beautiful garden is a place to make precious memories with your friends and family and a haven away from the world outside. It’s an extra room to our home and a lovely place for a morning coffee or a lunch with friends. But it needs dressing with colour and texture to bring out its full potential and that’s the role of garden plants and especially garden perennials. 

What is a perennial?

Sometimes the terminology in gardening can be confusing. It doesn’t need to be that way. Perennials are plants that are perennial and that means that once established, they live for many years. Compare them to the annuals, which grow, flower and then set seed and die all within one year, the perennials are the season tickets that last for years on end, they usually die back to the ground (but not always – some are evergreen) at the end of the season and then grow back from a bigger crown next spring. It’s a bit like a refilling bottle of wine, you enjoy the treat and then it refills and repeats its gift again and again. And just like the bottle of wine, most perennials cost about the same, and offer even more in terms of pleasure, beauty and wonder for a much longer period of time, again and again. 

What makes a great garden perennial?

There are thousands of different garden perennials for our gardens. If you are new to gardening it can be hard to choose what to plant and grow. Visit some open gardens this season and take photos of the plants that you like and ask the garden owner if they know what the plants are? Plants that grow well locally to you are likely to thrive in your garden too as you will probably have similar soil.

If you are buying plants then buy from a reputable source, so that you know you are buying quality. Here at Richard Jackson Garden, we have a team of plant experts who select not just fantastic garden plants that look great, but plants that will grow well and give you years of colour, interest and drama in your garden. Our team chooses new plants and tried and tested plants, from a range of specialist nurseries so you can be sure of great quality for everything that you order.

Five garden perennials for pollinators

Here at Richard Jackson Garden, we have done the hard work for you and selected some really fabulous garden perennials to transform your borders. Each one is carefully selected, top quality, healthy and ready to plant. 

Astrantia Roma

There’s something very elegant about the delicate flowers of astrantia. These papery blooms look exotic and expensive and yet they are so very easy to grow. The soft pink, pin-cushion flowers are great for cutting and attract a variety of pollinators. The plants for neat clumps that establish year on year. Ideal for front of the border.

Dianthus Scent First Sugar Plum

Add some intense fragrance to your garden with this gorgeous, free-flowering dianthus. It’s perfect for pots and containers. Ideal for a table centre-piece where it will be the centre of attention with its exquisite scent and beautiful flowers.

Perovskia Blue Spire

For some structure and height choose Russian sage. It’s a see-through plant which makes it a great filler in the border to partner with other summer perennials. It loves sunshine and well-drained soil.

Achillea Peter Cottontail

This charming garden perennial is smothered in white pom-pom flowers all summer. The flowers are like bunny’s powder puff tails and add a light and airy feel to the border.

Euphorbia Miner’s Merlot

What a beautiful combination of colour, texture and shape. Striking lime-green flowers against rich burgundy-red foliage. This remarkable perennial is a must-have for beds and borders and once established it is low maintenance too.