We quickly found the advantages
of perennials. Long before we can get in to work our soil, the daffodils are up and the
delphiniums are a foot tall and bushy green. Candytuft, false lamium, and arabis,
which we use as ground covers in many areas, are green long before the grass
greens up! What's more, instead of paying over and over each year for
seeds and plants, we divide our perennials, collect the seeds, and expand our beds. This doesn't
mean we save any money; there are always new seed catalogues, nurseries, and varieties we have to try each year!
We keep our beds raised to keep them out of
the damp clay, and to warm them up earlier in the spring. Like all gardeners,
spring never comes early enough for us.
We like the country garden style.
We constantly aim to have something blooming in each area of the garden at all
times. We love different textures in the garden. Fragrances are very important
to us; short or tall plants that are scented go to the front of the borders.
Goatsbeard with cattails and columbines by
the pond.
We started off downplaying our
colour schemes with pastels and different hues of greens. With each passing year we seem
to be leaning towards brighter, flashier colours, which requires more careful planning.
(We can't always count on the irises to be finished before the lilies and daylilies arrive
on the scene).
Peony 'Edulis Superba'
with peachleaf bellflower in background
After the crocuses, the
daffodils, pasque flowers, primroses, and lungwort (pulmonaria) bloom, there may be a long
wait for other blooms. Sometimes our spring seems to stretch and stretch. This
pushes lots of the early stuff like lilacs, irises, and bleeding hearts back into the
early summer. Our garden starts to look established around the middle of June. From June
to the end of September we are two happy gardeners!
We will be listing the perennials that have been most
successful for us here. This maybe difficult as we have many
flowers growing well and they all seem to
be our
favourite. Remember we have
very cool nights and a long wet spring so some things grow a little taller here than in
warmer regions.
Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) - one of the most vigorous and easy to split plants for us. We have moved it
everywhere in the yard. It's dark green foliage makes a great background
for all types and colours of flowers. Does well in the shade but is thicker and stronger in the
sun. Grows to five or six feet and blooms for a long period in July and August.
Columbine (Aquilegia)
- We grow
many different types and they all seem
happy here, but the fan leaf varieties are our favourite. This one is called Blue
Angel. 
We also like
"nana alba" a white fanleaf.
Both bloom quite early (mid June ) for us, and continue on for four or five weeks.
These columbines have beautiful thick foliage so they look good in the garden after
the flowers have finished. We have many other types including A. formosa, the
common wild columbine in our area. All seem to like to self seed and wander the
gardens. They also cross freely with each other giving some beautiful
hybrids as well as some not so welcome combinations!
Delphinium - Staking is a must for all but the dwarf
types, but the blue spires that reach between eight and ten feet year after year are worth
it. They are also easy to split. In this
picture
the delphinium are the tall blue flowers at the far end of the garden and the tall white
ones about half way down. In 2003 we have several plants we started from seed
from New Zealand
(Dowdeswell's
Delphiniums).
They appear to have larger flowers than the Pacific Giants but they
still needed staking. This is their first year though so we look for
good things from them in the years to come.
Lilies - Asiatic cultivars are completely hardy for us and all
that we have tried have thrived and multiplied. They start to bloom in July and
depending on the varieties bloom until late August. Oriental cultivars and trumpet lilies
are less hardy and we just have to try different ones and hope for the best. Regal lily
(Lilium regale) is one of the more dependable fragrant lilies here. It is white with a
maroon shading on the outside of the flowers and grows three to four feet in height.
Hosta - Another perennial that multiplies quickly and is easy
to split. For every shady spot and some not so shady there is a Hosta. So far
all the varieties we have tried have done well.
More to come
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