wildflowerpa Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I need some ideas on what kind of flowers I can put in my flower bed. It's pretty good size and would like something that blooms but also comes back every year. We have a couple azaleas,a rose bush,hostas and lilies in there right now. I'd like to have color in it over the summer months but anm at a loss at what to plant.It seems like all the ones I like don't grow around here. Thanks for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Plants that bloom and come back every year are perennials. The problem with perennials is that they bloom for a one to maybe three weeks and then won't bloom until the next year. Some will get a few flowers again later in the season but nothing like the first bloom. That means that for color all season you have to plant different perennials that bloom at different times of the year. You will never have a bed that is in full bloom all summer. Daylilies are almost fool proof and there are early, middle and late blooming varieties. Daffodils bloom the earliest of the major bulbs, with tulips a bit later. Again there is a range. Alliums (flowering onions) are the latest. Creeping phlox is also a good spring bloomer. Garden phlox are good for later in the summer. The latest craze it Neptea or catmint which comes in all sizes and is what is called a long blooming perennial. Nothing eats it which is a plus. A peony would be nice and again they are foolproof. There are now many different colors of the old purple cone flower but nothing grows as well as the original. Black-eyed-Susan's are a favorite for this area. Come to our plant sale at BMP this weekend and the ladies will give you some more specific advice. Tell us what it is that you like and perhaps we can suggest substitutes that will grow here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflowerpa Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 K thanks for the suggestions. My daffys didn't bloom and the blackeyed susans didn't come up last year for some reason. I have bunches of iris'and different kinds of lilies also some zebra grass,but like you said I need something that blooms at different times. I don't mind green but everything here is green, the yard, the house, the trees. (You can see where I'm going with this lol.)Thats why I'm having trouble figuring out what to plant. Where is your plant sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Sometimes you have to be patient and just watch the bed and experiment. What blooms the first week in June in my yard might just bloom a week earlier in yours. You just have to keep trying different thing. The daffs will bloom eventually but I never heard of black-eyed-Susan's that didn't come back. Bring your shovel out, I can't get rid of them! You might want to think about some colored leaf plants as well. The zebra grass is a start but you can do wonders with silvery artemesias, the rose or red barberries, variegated hosta, etc. I have a yellow leafed spiderwort that right now is just glowing gold. It will bloom later but the flowers will not be a patch on what the leaves look like right now. 'Golden Jubilee' hyssop is also a great plant. There are purple leafed plants as well but they don't tend to hold their color as well. These fill in for when the flowers aren't present. The plant sale is May 8-9 at BMP on Maple Ave. just before the intersection to Shaffer Road. That is the road that goes over to the mall. We'll be there all day Friday until 5 and most of Saturday. We tend to pack up early on Saturday as we sell most of the stuff early in the sale. Oh, and you could try some of the 'Knock Out' roses. They really do bloom for most of the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflowerpa Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 I found some really neat blue, red and purple grass but it didn't even grow. You have to remember that in my flower bed ( the big one is hubby's, all I have blooming is a purple weed lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 The really brightly colored grasses are either not hardy around here or are marginal. Japanese blood grass will sometimes come back but it usually disappears after awhile. I had a gorgeous brown one from Johnson's which didn't make it through the winter. I could have cried. 'Karl Forerster' is somewhat red and doesn't get over grown. The best blue for around here is 'Elijah Blue', a short fescue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snellma Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 What about some coneflowers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JenMc32 Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 What about tulips??? They are hard to kill! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildflowerpa Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 I killed mine:roll: I have a black thumb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 You probably didn't kill them; something probably ate them. Everything does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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