This week on The Garden Lady my guest is Kathy Tracey, plant lover and co-owner of Avant Gardens.

Greetings from the Perennial Garden. We don’t plant perennials because they are less work…they aren’t. We don’t even plant them because they will reliably come back year after year…some do and some don’t. We plant perennials because some bloom in winter, some in spring, and others flower in summer or fall. With perennials our gardens are a constant celebration of the seasons.   

Here are 8 tips for planting a perennial garden.

1. Plant in groups of three or five. Unless a plant will spread quickly, like bee balm does, your garden will look better with larger groups of each plant.
2. Make some groups bigger than others. So have some groups of three plants, placed in a triangle, and some groups of five or seven that are staggered or placed in a “puddle.” 
3. Have some early, middle and late blooms. Include perennials that flower at different times of year. Consider placing some that flower late in the summer or fall in front of those that bloom earlier, so that the later bloomers will draw the eye away from those that may be less than attractive after they finish flowering.
4. . Don’t make it too stair step. Avoid being rigid about placing short plants in front, medium in the middle and tall in the rear. Have an occasional group of medium planted toward the front, or a taller plant in the center. Mixing it up makes your garden more exciting.
5. Repeat groups of at least one plant throughout the garden to to tie the everything together. Choose a plant that looks good before and after it flowers, and place at least three groups of that plant in various places in the garden. 
6. Include plants with different colors and textures of foliage. If you have a variety of leaf colors, sizes and shapes your garden will be attractive whether there are flowers or not.
7. Use the right plants for the amount of sun and the climate you have. If you have shade, don’t use plants that require full sun. Choose the right plants for your location. 
8. Include something solid such as a birdbath, a group of rocks, a fence, or an obelisk. A man-made object provides relief from all of the plant textures, as well as structure through the winter months.