Safely slumbering beneath a thick blanket of Hershey-brown pine straw in my garden, dormant perennials patiently wait for nature’s signal to spring back to life.
Nothing stirring, I thought as I recently peered through frost-covered dining room windows at a perennial border that surrounds my back patio. Within a few short weeks, however, that will all change.
Patches of pine straw will magically begin to rise on the shoulders of awakening perennials seeking light. Colorful hostas will be among the first to send up light-hungry new sprouts. Astilbes, ferns and coral bells will quickly follow. Weeks later, the rustic brown mulch will completely disappear under a lush covering of green, gold and red perennial foliage. And best of all, one of our worst winters ever will fade from memory.
I’m reminded of an Old Testament verse from the Song of Solomon that celebrates spring: “Flowers spring-up on the earth, the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.”
I’ve been hugely blessed to observe the seasonal plant cycles of birth, dormancy and rebirth play out in my garden for 40-plus years. It’s magical! John Denver captured the moment with these famous lyrics: “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy; sunshine in my eyes makes me cry; sunshine on the water looks so lovely; sunshine almost always makes me high.” And what a high it is when, like bears coming out of winter hibernation, we gardeners return to our spring gardens to again feel soothing sunlight on our shoulders.
If you are not yet a perennial plant enthusiast, I encourage you to give them a try. But be advised: perennials are addictive, much like potato chips. You can’t stop with just one. Here is my short list of “can’t-fail” perennials.
Daylily: Any perennial capable of surviving unattended along a country road or in an abandoned cemetery simply must be front-and-center in my garden. I especially enjoy growing old ever-blooming varieties such as Stella De Oro, Black Eyed Stella, Happy Returns and Morning Dawn. They tend to be inexpensive and faithful performers over many years. I grow 50-plus daylily varieties. Even so, I’ve only scratched the surface. There are more than 60,000 daylily varieties!
Perennial salvias: I’ve lost track of all the perennial salvias I’ve grown over the years. They are as tough as they are beautiful, and they come in many vivid flower colors: deep purple, sky blue, red, pink and white. I’m particularly fond of the blue and purple flowering varieties. They play an important role of toning down hot red and yellow flowering perennials in a mixed border. While scores of new hybrid varieties appear on the nursery scene each spring, one can never go wrong planting the great old treasures: May Night and Blue Hill.
Rudbeckia: I became an instant fan of Rudbeckias years ago when the variety Goldsturm first appeared. I have a large clump of long-lived Goldsturm Rudbeckias in my garden that has produced masses of bright yellow summer flowers for 20 straight years. And they have achieved this impressive record with very little care from me. Goldsturm blooms consistently throughout summer and early fall. It’s one of only a few perennials that can match the best annuals for seasonlong flower production.
Echinacea: And, of course, one simply must include sun-loving cone flowers (echinacea) in the garden. Like Rudbeckias, they bring a seasonlong blessing of flowers and require very little maintenance. The long-stemmed beauties make perfect cut flowers for indoor decorating. And they are irresistible to butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Hot new varieties hit the market each year, and one can’t go wrong planting any of them. That said, I’m especially fond of the old rosy-pink flowering Magnus variety that so faithfully performs in my garden.
Hosta: Considered by many to be the queen of shade-loving perennial plants. And I take no issue with that. I proudly grow 40-plus varieties in my garden, and I lust for at least that many more. And with endless varieties to select from (well more than 2,000) there is a flower color, foliage pattern and plant size to suit any garden. While I am reluctant to weigh in on the “best” varieties, I can — based on first-hand experience — highly recommend the following: Dancing Queen (gorgeous yellow foliage that lasts all summer), August Moon, Empress Wu (can easily grow to 6 feet in diameter!) Blue Angel and Sagae.
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Barry Fugatt is director of horticulture at the Tulsa Garden Center and Linnaeus Teaching Garden. He may be reached by email: bfugatt@tulsagardencenter.org.
February 21, 2021 at 02:09AM
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Barry Fugatt: Perennials are addictive, like potato chips. You can’t stop with just one. - Tulsa World
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