16 of our favorite perennials!

These are our long blooming perennials that come up every year and provide backgrounds for all our Flea market finds and treasures. easy to grow and hardy as can be! The only care they need is summer water and an Autumn trimming.  All these photos are from OUR gardens! Comment below with your favorite!

Teresa Jansen’s beautiful chartruese Euphorbia, orange Geum and pink Coral bells

Coreopsis  This is the common variety that forms a halo of gold ovr the garden

Coreopsis
The low, mounding perennial covers itself in summer with mango-orange flowers that have a red blush.

We love the fresh, fruity hue of this new variety. Clip the faded blooms so the flowers will keep coming.

Coreopsis ‘Red Shift,’ one to look for!

Euphorbia, three varieties

Euphorbia characias
Upright stems crowded with narrow blue-green leaves form a dome-shaped bush 4 ft. high and wide.

Chartreuse flower clusters appear in late winter or early spring (cut spent ones out at the base).

Euphorbia myrsinites Donkeytail or Myrtle spurge

Gaillardia ‘Arizona Sun’ in Arlene Brenneman’s garden

Gaillardia
Cheerful daisylike blooms in various warm shades of yellow, bronze, and red. Many varieties are available, with single or double flowers.

Ones we love: foot-tall ‘Goblin’ with deep red flowers bordered in yellow; ‘Yellow Queen’, pure yellow flowers (2 1/2 feet tall), and orange ‘Tokajer’ (3 feet tall).

Gaura and Penstemon in my garden lend a meadowy look

Gaura
White flowers cluster like butterflies atop tall spikes on these airy 2½- to 4-foot-tall plants. Selected forms include ‘Siskiyou Pink’ (to 2 feet tall), with rose-pink flowers and ‘Whirling Butterflies’ (to 3 feet tall), with white flowers.

Geum looks well in matching terracotta pots

Geum
Tall flower spikes grow from mounds of velvety foliage to 15 inches high, 2 feet wide.

‘Lady Stratheden’ has clear yellow blooms; ‘Mrs Bradshaw’ has double scarlet blooms. Both have a delicate wildflower look.

Gloriosa Daisy, Rudbeckia

Gloriosa daisy
Deep golden petals radiate from chocolate centers on 2- to 4-inch-wide flowers.

Plants reach 3 to 4 feet tall and 1 ½ feet wide. Shorter varieties such as ‘Goldilocks’ and ‘Toto’ top out at 10 inches tall.

Heuchera or Coral Bells are fantastic in a shady spot

Coral Bells, Heuchera
These garden workhorses thrive in light shade (full sun in cooler climates).

They send up slender, wiry stems of tiny bell-shaped, pink or white blooms. But it’s the scalloped or lobed leaves we love most; they come in delicious shades of cool lime, plum, chocolate, and more.

Our current crave: ‘Southern Comfort’ from Terra Nova nurseries; its hue is rich and mellow, like its namesake.

Jerusalem Sage, Phlomis fruticosa has wonderfully unusual flowers

Jerusalem sage
Tall stems of these Mediterranean natives are set with widely-spaced, hooded yellow flowers. Moisture-conserving thick, typically furry or hairy leaves are lance-shaped. Pretty planted with lavender and red hot poker (Kniphofia ‘Bressingham Comet’).

Moonshine Yarrow

‘Moonshine’ yarrow
One of the most carefree and generous bloomers, yarrow has tight clusters of deep yellow flowers on 2-foot tall plants.  Pair it with blue flowered catmint.

Penstemon comes in pink, purple, whit and red

Penstemon
These bushy plants are fairly short lived, but to make up for it, they produce lots of trumpet-shaped blooms over a long period.

Deep purple ‘Midnight’ and scarlet ‘Firebird’ are standouts for their vivid, south-of-the-border colors. Pink and white ‘Appleblossom’ looks fresh and springlike.

Pineapple sage blooms late and until December when this picture was taken in my garden

Pineapple sage
At its best in fall when it sends up spikes of vivid red flowers, this salvia’s foliage smells like ripe pineapples.

The plant grows 4 feet tall. S.e. ‘Golden Delicious’ grows 1- to 3 feet tall with fire-engine red blooms and chartreuse leaves.

Salvia leucantha ‘Santa Barbara’ Dwarf Velvet Sage

Salvia leucantha
Masses of velvety purple flower spikes cover gray-green shrubs from late summer into spring in mild-winter climates (bloom stops with frost in colder regions).

Plants reach 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide.

Sea holly, Eryngium bourgatii

Sea holly
Amethyst flower heads surrounded by 2-inch silvery-blue bracts open atop tall stems in summer, emerging from a rosette of spiny, medium green leaves.

The thistle-like blooms resemble 4th of July fireworks ― great for bouquets.

Sedum Autumn Joy Marlene Giles

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Dense summer flowers cluster on sturdy stems rising above bright green leaves. Blooms start out blush-colored, aging to coppery pink, then rust as weather cools. Pretty beside asters.