Even with sufficient information to start perennial gardening, it is essential to know some of the most colorful perennial flowers that you can have for your garden. A good perennial flower should have the required aesthetic value and be able to thrive in various soil and environmental conditions.
Below are the 15 best and most colorful perennial flowers:
1. Blanket Flower
This is a short-lived, drought resistance, and charmingly colorful perennial flower. Its scientific name is Gaillardia. They are popular for its prolific, long-lasting, intriguing mounds of sunny, single or else double daisy-like flowers depending on the species, and its gray-green foliage. It blooms at the onset of summer and extended to autumn.
Their flowers which are 2-3 inches wide are known to attract butterflies and hummingbirds which add to the aesthetic value of the garden. It can thrive in poorly drained soils, in rocky or sandy soils with fewer nutrients, and in the full sun (hot regions). It is a hardy perennial that is hardly affected by perennial pests and diseases. It can be grown from seeds, cuttings or rootstocks. Mature blanket flowers are generally 12-18 inches tall.
2. Aster
Asters are outstanding perennial flowers that bloom for several consecutive months throughout the various seasons. Their blooming starts in early summer and extends to autumn. There are about 180 species of aster but they all produce bunches of small daisy-like flowers. Depending on the species, their flower colors include ruby red, blue, purple, and pink.
Their flowers also produce a huge amount of nectar which attracts many beautiful pollinators thereby making your garden even more appealing. They require less maintenance and they are disease resistant. They are excellent for border gardens and also beds and they can have a height of up to 5-feet depending on the species.
3. Tall Garden Phlox
As its name suggests, garden phlox has a height of about 3-4 feet. It produces sweet fragrant flowers throughout the summer up until early fall. It is suitable for border gardens and is planted just after the backdrop.
It has a variety of flower colors which include white, pink, rose, lavender, red and also bi-color depending on the species. It has deep green foliage and thrives in the full sun and in moderately fertile soils which are well-drained. It is vulnerable to Powdery mildew and sometimes root rot diseases and therefore preventive measures should be taken. It’s also attractive to pollinators making your garden even more colorful.
4. Veronica
Veronica is an extended blooming time perennial that flowers from spring to fall ensuring that your garden has color throughout these seasons. It requires less maintenance and it produces lengthy spikes of petite flowers in shades of blue, pink, or white depending on the species. They look fantastic in border gardens. They grow better in the full sun and in moist but well-drained soils. There are several varieties of Veronica which have varying heights and spread.
5. Russian Sage
Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is a bushy and woody perennial flower. It has extensive panicles of tiny, lavender-blue blossoms yielded on white stems. It has sweet-smelling gray-green forage. Its blooming starts during the mid-summer and extends to fall. Russian sage is resistant to drought, heat, infertile soils, and pests.
Its blooming period makes it suitable especially when planted with perennials that cannot survive winter. Mature dimensions are usually 3-4 feet in height and 90-120 cm in width. It performs better in well-drained soils with medium fertility and in the full sun. It can be conveniently propagated using stem cutting and can be used in any garden layout.
6. Astilbe
This is an excellent choice for a shady and moist garden. Its immense popularity is due to its ability to turn a shady garden into a colorful landscape with its stylish flower plumes. Height ranges from 6-24 inches. It is an evergreen perennial with fern-like foliage and flowers with shades of pink, lavender, red or white. It requires minor maintenance practices and can survive under heavy shades.
It attracts many pollinators but repels rabbits and deer. Astilbe thrives better in partly or fully shaded areas, uniformly moist, fertile, and well-drained soils. This flower starts blooming during the late spring and extends to late summer. It’s an enemy to excess sunlight so you should consider this when planting them in your garden.
7. Purple Coneflowers
These are incredibly easy to grow perennial flowers that have exceptionally long blooming period which ensures that your garden remains colorful all through the seasons. They can tolerate extreme soil and climatic conditions. These perennial flowers have an average height of 30 inches. They are also attractive to birds and pollinators which keep your garden always intriguing.
They can be used to improve irregular landscape and can be used in any garden design including borders, island beds, meadows, and wildflower garden. They begin blooming at the end of spring up until the end of summer and some even extend to fall. They thrive best in moderately fertile and well-drained soils.
8. Switchgrass
Switchgrass is a North American prairie, long-lived grass. It has various species which you can use to design your landscape and to color your garden. The various varieties have strong and densely packed olive-green or blue-green foliage. They bloom in early summer with smooth, golden flowers spikelet. Switchgrasses mushroom in autumn and they remain colorful throughout the winter.
Its mature dimensions are typically 4-6 feet in height and 24-30 inches wide. Its appealing in any garden style and can be used in groupings. It provides color and texture for borders, prairies, naturalized areas, and wild gardens. Its optimum when planted in areas where it has access to full sun, moderately moist, and well-drained soils.
Nevertheless, it can tolerate extreme soil conditions and also drought. Pest and diseases rarely affect it and it’s also resistant to deer and rabbits. It is usually propagated by dividing the wide grass and transplanting in spring.
9. Yarrow
This is another perennial flower that you should consider having in your garden. Many gardeners cherish it for its pleasant fragrant, green-gray or sometimes dark-green foliage and its lasting, eye-catching, flat umbel flowers. It looks amazing in border gardens, cottages, prairies or meadows. Yarrow starts it blooming at the end of spring and continue to late summer.
Its flowers come in a variety of colors which include red, yellow, cream, and pink. It is resistant to excess heat, drought, humidity, rabbits and deer. It grows to an average height of 3 feet and width of 18-24 inches. It yields optimal in the full sun, and in well-drained, medium moist soils. Yarrow also attract a wide range of pollinators which in addition color your garden. It requires deadheading to extend its blooming period.
10. Peonies
Peony is a long-lived perennial flower that grows to a height of up to 2-4 feet and a spread of about 24-36 inches. It has extremely fragrant flowering shrubs. It has double opening beautifully-formed, creamy-white flowers which emerge from the smooth pink buds and expand to a width of about 8-10 inches with a light blush and intriguing golden stamens. However, they bloom for a short period of about 7-10 days from late spring to early summer. They look amazing when planted with other extended blooming perennials.
It performs optimally when planted in the full sun or in partly shaded gardens and in fertile, moderately moist, and well-drained soils. Peony flowers are attractive to butterflies, but they are resistant to rabbits and deer. They are mostly free from pests, but preventive measures should be taken to avoid peony wilt and honey fungus. The most essential routine maintenance practices include deadheading and cutting of foliage in autumn.
11. Threadleaf Coreopsis
Coreopsis are treasured by many gardeners due to their bright flowers and their ability to tolerate a variety of soil conditions. There are more than 100 species and hybrids of coreopsis available. They have extended blooming time usually from early summer to autumn and can even extend if deadheading is done. They are drought tolerant and require few maintenance practices.
They look appealing in any garden style including borders and beds. Coreopsis produces bunches of single, semi-single and sometimes double daisy-like flowers which are in shades of yellow, orange, red, or rich gold. They grow to a height of about 6-48 inches depending on the variety. They grow better in the full sun and in dry to moderately moist, well-drained soils.
12. Siberian Iris
Siberian Iris, also called Perry’s Blue is a cluster-forming perennial with intriguing sky-blue flowers. It starts blooming during the late spring and end at the early summer. It has upright, grassy and sword-like deep green foliage. This is an evergreen perennial and the deep green foliage remains green and attractive throughout all the seasons.
It grows to a height of about 2-3 feet and a width of about 60-90 cm. It performs best in partly shaded gardens or in the full sun and in moderately fertile and moist soils. After its establishment, it can tolerate drought and excess heat. It’s appealing in any garden styles especially borders and beds. Usually, propagated by division of rhizomes.
13. Penstemon
Also known as Arabesque red. It is a bushy perennial plant that is known for its 2 cm wide, bell-shaped flowers which are normally crimson-red in color. It has mounds of lance-shaped deep green foliage. It blooms from the onset of summer and prolongs to fall. Its mature dimensions are 10-24 inches in height and 18-24 inches in width. You can plant it in borders, rock gardens, cottage gardens, beds, or prairie. After they establish, they can tolerate drought and extreme soil conditions.
14. Pincushion Flower
This is another perennial flower that has an extended blooming period of several months. It has compact grey-green foliage with a sweet fragrance that makes your garden colorful throughout all seasons. It is easy to grow and has appealing lavender-blue flowers which resemble pincushions enclosed by lacy petals.
It requires well-drained and moderately fertile soils but can tolerate drought after their establishment. It also attracts pollinators and hummingbirds which add to the color in your garden. They can be propagated using seed, cutting or by dividing the rhizomes.
15. Daffodils
Daffodils are other reliable perennial flowers that you can have for your garden. They can start blooming in either early, mid or in late spring depending on the prevailing climatic condition. There are various species of daffodils which have different colors and flower types.
Some of the flowers colors are orange, orange-red, white, yellow, and salmon. Its flowers are sweetly-scented, and they attract many pollinators which make your garden more colorful. It requires less maintenance and thrives better in fertile, tolerably moist, and well-drained soils.