Be excited folks; be very excited, the perennial is back in fashion. I'm talking about those un-killable, pretty, flowering herbaceous garden plants.
Often referred to in my trade as 'Granny plants' because our older and wiser generation knows too well the true value of these plants, the perennial is just as its namesake might infer, 'perpetual', 'lasting', 'persistent' and 'continuing'.
Due to the minimalist trend in garden design over the last decade, the perennial has made too few appearances in new gardens. However for those of you who may have had a chance to visit the Melbourne International Flower and Garden show recently will have seen some stunning use of perennials in the show gardens of the greats such as Ian Barker, Eckersley Garden Architecture and TLC Design. These gardens looked, felt and smelt like authentic, bona fide gardens. The type you can wander around, pick a few blooms, observe the birds and butterflies and enjoy the change of seasons.
Perennials include plants such as:
Echinacea (Coneflower)
Limonium (Statice)
Salvia (Sage)
Nepeta (Catmint)
Campanula (Bell Flower)
Anemone (Windflower)
Aquilegia (Granny’s bonnet)
Plargonium (Geranium)
There are way too many more to list them all here!
Advantages of using perennials
One of the significant advantages of these plants is that once you plant one, you can easily divide it up over the years to produce more plants for your garden or friends. This can be done when the plant dies back, but most are that tough they will cope with you digging them up and dividing them at any time of year.
Simply dig a clump out of the ground and divide the root section up with a sharp spade. Plant the divided pieces in the ground, give it some water and forget about it. Soon enough, it will be coming back to life with full vigour.
Recently I divided up some catmint during a client's garden renovation (saved them a bundle in new plant costs), and I had a few scrappy pieces left over that I threw on my rubbish pile. Within weeks, I had a very pretty looking rubbish pile, and this was in the middle of our recent hot, dry summer.
Use perennials as 'softening' plants
By this I mean they can be used to take the edge off harsh infrastructure or bold structural plantings. They add a touch of romance to an otherwise impassive environment. They can successfully be combined with other garden plants such as shrubs, trees and ornamental grasses that provide a permanent framework for when the perennials are out of season. Having said that, perennials aren't out of action for very long. Most will flower all through the warmer months, and even their fading foliage or seed heads are ornamental and provide interesting colour and texture. They’re also great for picking as cut flowers.
Not your nanna’s perennials anymore
While perennials are traditionally regarded as cottage garden plants, they can be incorporated successfully into modern gardens. Repeat or mass planting of perennials in minimalist, modern style gardens can have stunning effects. A simple border of Liriope (Lilyturf) or Tulbaghia (Society garlic) will fit in quite well with contemporary plantings of Agave, Cordyline and Lilly Pilly.
A recent build with perennials
I was recently engaged in the design and construction of landscaping for one of the many 'Lifestyle Villages' that are growing in esteem these days. The brief was to use plants that the elderly can recognise and perhaps had growing at their previous home. Hence, we incorporated plantings that included perennials and roses etc.
This particular site had very poor drainage; the existing soil was basically rubble mixed with heavy clay, the remains of a demolition site and ripped up roadways. Despite these very poor conditions, the perennials are happily making themselves at home. They have outdone the shrub plantings, which have been much slower to establish in the adverse environment.
So it goes to show that not only can the perennials tolerate hot, dry conditions effortlessly, but they have coped surprisingly well in heavy, sour, clay-based soil through our recent wet winter.
Perennial soil requirements
Ninety per cent of plants like well-drained soil, so if you have heavy clay muck like this then try and mound the garden beds slightly so as the plants don't have to endure wet feet permanently. If there are areas where this is not possible, there are even perennials that tolerate waterlogged soil. These include Astilbe, Acorus, and Canna Lilly.
Maintaining perennials
Whenever you feel your perennials are starting to look untidy, simply cut them back, the harder, the better—they love being treated mean, it’s almost impossible to go wrong with that! The whipper snipper or even the chainsaw, as I recently discovered, will do the trick in most cases.
If you happen to neglect them, they may look ordinary over winter, (happens to the best of us), but that will soon pass, and come spring they will sprout up new and fresh without you having to do anything.
I can’t wait to see the front gardens in the new housing estates when they catch on with the resurgence of the granny plant!
What’s your favourite perennial?