Perennial Gardening

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Continuous bloom. Although much is talked and written about continuous bloom in the perennials it is seldom achieved in the small border. It is possible to select perennials, which will give bloom from the very early spring until freezing weather, but since none, with the possible exceptions of coreopsis and gaillardia, will bloom for more than a few weeks at a time, it becomes necessary to use a considerable number of varieties to achieve the desired goal. It is seldom possible to include such a large variety of plants in a small border and at the same time have a sufficient mass of each to give any sort of satisfying effect. It is much better to have the very early spring bloom in one place; the later spring bloom in another, and your summer bloom in still another. In other words, have various plantings of interest at different seasons. Plant to get the uttermost from these plantings, whether they are small or large, during that particular time.

1. Rose of Sharon. 2. Asclepias tuberosa. 3. Achillea the Pearl. 4. Artemisia lactiflora. 5. Coreopsis. 6. Campanula carpatica. 7. Centranthus ruber. 8. Delphinium. 9. Digitalis. 10. Gaillardia. 11. Helenium Riverton Gem. 12. Heliopsis pitcheriana. 13. Hollyhock. 14. Hemerocallis. 15. Helianthemum. 16. Kolkwitzia. 17. Lythrum salicaria. 18. Monarda didyrna 19. Oenothera missouriensis. 20. Prunus pissardi. 21. Penstemon barbatus torreyi. 22. Phlox Columbia. 23. Phlox subulata. 24. Shasta Daisy 25. Sedurn spectabile Brilliant. 26. Stokesia cyanea. 27. Lavandula. 28. Viburnum opulus. 29. Rosa hugonis.

The use of bulbs such as the tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths, crocuses, hyacinths, and others, planted beneath the ordinary perennials, may give you a mass of bloom from the bulbs before the other plants are well started into growth, but it will necessitate the use of those perennials which do not form heavy mats of roots.

Many gardeners like to plant their borders in terms of combinations or groupings of color; for instance, yellow coreopsis in front of blue delphiniums, pink sweet-williams in front of foxgloves; coralbells back of grass pinks. Plants blooming at the same time and having a harmonious color combination may be grouped together. In the same way place those with brilliant colors, such as Oriental poppy, in front of and between those with good foliage at that particular season, or which are due to bloom very much later. A considerable amount of white bloom may be scattered throughout the border; partly for effect at night and partly for use as a buffer between colors we do not like together.

And then, despite all of your careful planting, you may find that due to seasonal variation those planted to bloom together do not do so and vice versa.

Much has been written about color combinations, of the arrangement of larger borders in a color sequence as found in the rainbow; still others have written on the necessity of keeping all colors separate and having a blue garden, a yellow garden, a white garden, and so on. All of this is largely a matter of personal taste, preference, or prejudice. It is not unheard of to find a perennial border planted without regard for color combinations and the like that equals any carefully studied and planned border in actual satisfaction to the owner. You can have an extremely enjoyable flower border by merely considering the relative heights of the choice plants and using those in sufficiently large masses to give an impressive effect.

PLANNING FOR SUCCESSION OF BLOOM

PERENNIALS FOR MARCH BLOOM

Chionodoxa luciliae Claytonia virginica Crocus vernus Eranthis byemalis Galanthus nivalis Helleborus niger Sanguinaria canadensis Scilla sibirica

Glory-of-the-snow Virginia springbeauty Common crocus Winter-aconite Common snowdrop Christmas rose Bloodroot Siberian squill

PERENNIALS FOR APRIL BLOOM

Adonis amurensis Anemone pulsatilla Aquilegia canadensis Arabis alpina Aubrietia deltoidea Chciranthus cheiri Dicentra cucullaria Dodecatheon meadia Hepatica triloba Hyacinthus orientalis lberis gibraltarica Leucojum vernum Mitella diphylla Muscari botrycides Narcissus (various) Primula elatior Primula veris Pulmonaria angustif olia Saxifraga cordifolia Tulipa (early) Viola cornuta Viola odorata

Amur adonis European pasqueflower American columbine Alpine rockcress Common aubrietia Common wallflower Dutchmans-breeches Common shootingstar Roundlobe hepatica Hyacinth Gibraltar candytuft Spring snowflake Common bishopscap Common grape-hyacinth Narcissus (early varieties) Oxlip Cowslip Cowslip lungwort Heartleaf saxifrage Tulip Tufted pansy Sweet violet

PERENNIALS FOR MAY BLOOM

Ajuga, reptans Alyssurn saxatile Anchusa myosotidiflora Aquilegia chrysantha Asperula odorata Cerastium tomentosum Chrysanthemum coccineum Convallaria majalis Dicentra spectabili.s Doronicum caucasicum Euphorbia epithymoides Hemerocallis flava Iris germanica. Nepeta, mussini Paeonia officinalis Phlox divaricata Phlox subulata Polemonium reptans Ranunculus repens Silene alpestris Thalictrunt aquilegifolium Trollius europaeus Tulipa gesneriana Veronica teucrium (rupestris)

Carpet bugle Goldentuft Siberian bugloss Golden columbine Sweet woodruff Snow-in-summer Painted lady Lily-of -the-valley Bleedingheart Caucasian leopardbane Cushion spurge Lemon daylily Tall bearded iris Mussini mint Common peony Blue phlox Moss phlox Creeping polemonium Creeping buttercup Alpine catclifly Columbine meadowrue Common globeflower Darwin tulip Rock speedwell

PERENNIALS FOR JUNE BLOOM

Achillea millefolium rosea Achillea ptarmica Aconiturn napellus Althea. rosea Anchusa italica Astilbe davidi Astilbe japonica Baptisia australis Campanula carpatica Campanula medium Centranthus ruber Chrysanthemum maximum Delphinium hybrids Dianthus barbatus Dianthus deltoides Dianthus plumarius Digitalis purpurea Gypsophila paniculata Liliurn candidum Lilium regale Lilium tenuifolium Linum perenne Lupinus polyphyllus Lychnis viscaria Oenothera f ruticosa Papaver nudicaule Papaver orientale Penstemon barbatus torreyi Platycodon grandiflorum Thalictruin minus adiantifolium Veronica spicata

Common yarrow Sneezewort Aconite Hollyhock Italian bugloss David astilbe Japanese astilbe Blue wild-indigo Carpathian bellflower Canterbury-bells jupitersbeard Shasta daisy Larkspur Sweet-william Maiden pink Grass pink Common foxglove Babysbreath Madonna lily Royal lily Coral lily Perennial flax Washington lupinus Clammy campion, Common sundrops Iceland POPPY Oriental poppy Torrey penstemon Balloonflower Maidenhair meadowrue Spike speedwell

PERENNIALS FOR JULY BLOOM

Asclepias tuberosa Bocconia cordata Cimicifuga racemosa Echinops ritro Erypgium amethystinum Heliopsis pitcheriana. Hemerocallis thunbergi Heuchera sanguinea Lilium tigrinum Lychnis chalcedonica Lychnis haageana Lythruin salicaria Monarda didyma Phlox paniculata Physostegia virgimana vivid Tunica saxif raga Veronica incana

Butterflyweed Pink plumepoppy Cohosh bugbane Steel globethistle Amethyst eryngo Pitcher heliopsis Japanese daylity Coralbell Tiger lily Maltese cross Haage campion Purple loosestrife Oswego beebalm Garden phlox Virginia false-dragonhead Tunicflower Woolly speedwell

PERENNIALS FOR AUGUST BLOOM

Artemisia vulgaris lactiflora Aster spectabilis Campanula pyramidalis Colchicum autumnale Coreopsis rosea Eupatorium purpureum Hosta plantaginea Inula royleana Liatris pycnostachya Liatris spicata Lilium henryi Lilium speciosum Lilium superbum Limonium latifolium Rudbeckia speciosa Solidago canadensis Stokesia laevis

White mugwort Seaside aster Chimney bellflower Common autumn crocus Rose coreopsis Joe-pye-weed White plantainfily Blackbud inula Cattail gayfeather Spike gayfeather Henry lily Speciosum. lily American turkscap lily Bigleaf sea-lavender Showy coneflower Canada goldenrod Stokesia

PERENNIALS FOR SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

Aconitum fischeri Aconitum wilsoni Anemone hupehensis Anemone japonica Aster novae-angliae Aster novibelgi Aster tataricus Boltonia asteroides Boltonia latisquama Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Chelone lyoni Chrysanthemum arcticum Chrysanthemum uliginosum Echinacea purpurea Eupatorium coelestinum Helenium autumnale Kniphofia uvaria Salvia azurea grandiflora Salvia patens Sedum spectabile

Azure monkshood Violet monkshood Anemone Japanese anemone New England aster New York aster Tatarian aster Wbite boltonia Violet boltonia Larpente plumbago Pink turtlehead Arctic chrysanthemum Giant daisy Purple coneflower Mistflower Common sneezeweed Torchlily Great azure sage Gentian sage Showy stonecrop

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