Long flowering Plants – How and why to use them!

I often get asked what planting would you recommend for small gardens. I think when the garden space is tight, plants really need to work hard for the space, and one way to sort the wheat from the chaff is to go for long flowering plants ideally perennials.

Perennials by definition a plant that die back in the winter and come up again in the summer. They are a great way to plant a garden as whilst they are bulky, they are not dense in the same way that some plants can be and could help give the garden structure.

There are many perennials that may only give only two or three weeks of flowering time. These plants really need to have a their place in a small garden design.

Consider where to place your perennials in the garden; what colour are they going to go? the leaf shape, whether they’re an evergreen, do they had anything of interest?

Really you are better to plant few long flowering plants, than several plants that have short flowering seasons. It will create a stronger more cohesive look, and give your garden a feeling of continuity in the space.

Some suggestions of plants to consider for long flowing solutions are:

Sedum
Rudbeckia
Echinacea
Geranium
Salvia nemorosa
Helenium
Japanese Anemone
Penstemon