Where to plant perennials

Perennials are versatile plants that can be used effectively in a range of different sites and situations. Whether sunny or shady, wet or dry, there are perennial varieties that will thrive, providing you choose the right plant for the location. Here we share some examples of the variety of settings where perennials can be used effectively to add colour and interest to your outdoor space.

(1) Pots and containers
Perennials make an excellent choice for growing in pots and containers, combining well with annuals, biennials, shrubs, ferns, flower bulbs and much more. The benefit they have over annuals and biennials if they last for more than one season, making them more cost effective and delivering a fabulous display of flowers and foliage year after year. Our top tip when growing perennials in pots is to choose the largest container you’re able to and keep them well watered, especially through the summer. Plants in containers dry out more easily than those in the border with smaller containers particularly vulnerable because they’re able to hold less moisture. Take the container to its final location before planting up and place it on pot feet to allow moisture to drain away freely. It’s a good idea to lift and divide perennials grown in pots every 3 to 5 years to help maintain their vigour and avoid patches in the centre of the rootstock from becoming less productive.

(2) Mixed Border
Mixed borders are popular across the UK, allowing gardeners to combine different types of plants to provide a stunning year-round display. Evergreen shrubs can be used to give a permanency to the display with flowering shrubs, perennials, bedding plants and bulbs used to give it a seasonal ‘wow’ factor. Choosing plants with different flowering periods can allow you to produce a border where something looks extra special at all times of the year. Think carefully about height of plants and layers. Tall growing perennials can be incorporated into the back of the border. Mid-player plants should be at around eye level, making it the most important layer to pack in colourful blooms, interesting foliage and ornamental features such as winter berries or vibrant bark. As many perennials are short to medium in height, they’ll generally feature towards the front or centre of the mixed border.

(3) Planter Displays
Perennials should definitely have their plant in planter displays. Giving consideration to colour scheme is particularly important for planter displays – it’s the first thing people notice when they see a planter display! Warm colours like reds, oranges, yellows and magenta are eye catching from a distance and bring energy and excitement to plantings. In contrast, cool colours such as blues, violets and purples have a relaxing and calming appeal, best viewed close up as they can get lost at a distance. The colour wheel can be a useful tool when considering colour schemes, comprising of the three primary colours of red, yellow and blue and everything else in between. Colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel (such as yellow and blue) are complimentary and will combine to good effect. We suggest choosing colours you love to maximise the enjoyment you get from your garden.

(4) Cottage Garden
A cottage garden is a distinct informal style using traditional materials, dense planting schemes in non-linear formats and generally a mix of ornamental and edible plants. There’s still nothing like the charming sight of a cottage garden in full flower with its different textures, flowers, movement coming alive with the sound of summer with birds, bees, butterflies alike enjoying the summer display. Perennials are key cottage garden plants, bringing fabulous flowers and interesting foliage.

(5) Herbaceous Border
Herbaceous borders are those filled solely or mainly with herbaceous perennials which are allowed to die down in the winter. ‘Herbaceous’ refers to perennials which, depending on the local climate, bloom over the spring and summer, die back in the autumn and winter, then re-grow from their root-stock again the following spring. A herbaceous border is a collection of herbaceous perennials arranged to create a beautiful display with careful consideration given to their placement based on their shape, size, colour and flowering period. They’re somewhat of a UK tradition with some of the best found around the Peak District national park and Cotswolds AONB. Herbaceous borders were very popular in the Victoria times, though now some gardeners prefer a mixed border for a more permanent display and to avoid the ground looking bare in the winter.

(6) Island Beds
While we commonly refer to the phrase garden ‘border’, there’s no rule that says outdoor planting must be around the outside perimeter of your garden. Island beds positioned among a lawn or hard landscaped areas work equally well in medium to large size gardens. Island beds created with straight edges give a strong sense of formality. Most gardeners prefer to use slightly wavy edges with no sharp corners to give some degree of informality, which also makes them softer on the eye. Grow perennials in island beds in groups of odd numbers of the same variety to achieve appealing ‘waves’ of colour. Unlike borders which are typically just viewed from one side, island beds are designed for people to walk around them, so they need to look good from all angles! They should be generously sized - around 2.5 metres (8 feet) by 4.5 metres (15 feet) – and well spaces from the edge of your garden. Position tall perennials along the centre line of the island bed, with the lower growers around the edge.

(7) Cutting Garden
Many perennials are well suited to growing in the flower garden for cut flowers, particular those long, straight flower stems and impressive upright spikes of flowers. It can seem counter-productive to cut flowers that would last long on the live plant, but it does allow the beauty of your outdoor garden to be brought indoors, especially beneficial if you have special visitors who are likely to spend more of their time inside. Delphiniums produce towering floral displays that look stunning at the back of a border and can help provide structure to your cut flower displays. Echinops ritro, commonly known as globe thistle, produced spherical blooms often in soft shades of blue that work well in a vase. Verbena produces small flattened flowerheads in airy clusters which combine well with other forms in the vase. The beautiful nodding flowers of hellebores can be picked in late winter when there’s little else blooming in the garden, best cut once their stamens have dropped from the centre of the flower.

(8) Hanging Baskets
Perennials are particularly well suited to hanging baskets if you want them to last for several years, rather than having to plant up new ones every year. They combine well with annuals and biennials so could also be used to provide some permanent structure to hanging baskets with annuals refreshed around them every year of biennials every 2 years. Just keep in mind that some perennials won’t cope well with frost, so it’s generally best to bring your hanging basket indoors if you want them to keep coming back. Our best picks for hanging basket perennials are geranium, fuchsias and dianthus. Geraniums are popular stalwarts throughout the garden, available in a wide range of colours to suite any palette. Dianthus, commonly known as ‘pinks’ produce blousy flowers with a delicious scent, while fuscia have an exotic-looking appearance, perfect for brightening up any balcony or terrace.