Continuous Color

The impermanent beauty of flowers has us long for their colorful life the rest of the year. Keeping your garden full of color and life can be easy with some simple, long-lasting perennials. Each plant fills a niche in place and time, and knowing where they thrive and when they bloom can provide you with an advantage when choosing perennials for your garden.
Although many perennials can extend all seasons, we will start with the beginning weeks of May and end with the last weeks of October. In the early days of May, Siberian Bugloss Jack Frost (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’) is an early bloomer with large, frosted, heart-shaped leaves slowly spreading into a small clump. It prefers a shady environment with consistent moisture. Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabalis and Dicentra exima – native) is also a great selection for the shade garden in consistent humusy soil. Select cultivars such as ‘Gold Heart’ with bright gold foliage can add interest the rest of the season.
For the latter half of May into June, Walker’s Low Catmint (Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’) is a show-stopping, long-season bloomer peaking from late May into June and will lightly continue with deadheading until October. Often confused with Catmint because of similar color and flower form, Salvia cultivars such as Caradonna and May Night begin blooming May and peak in June. With deadheading, plants will re-bloom, but not as heavily. Yarrow (Achillea) is sun-loving and water-wise, coming in colors from apricot, yellow, white and lavender with long bloom times peaking June into July.
Known for its calming qualities, perennial Lavender such as Munstead or Grosso begins blooming in June and heavily in July. From year to year, bloom times will vary in length with some re-blooming in August. Pair it in informal gardens with the native, orange-flowering Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa); yellow re-blooming Happy Returns Daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Happy Returns’); or hummingbird-loving Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) that comes in red, shades of pink and purple.
As the autumn nights begin to cool, perennials such as Blue Fortune Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum ‘Blue Fortune’) are in their peak with blooms beginning in July. The grandiose size and clump of Joe Pye Weed Gateway (Eupatorium fistulosum ‘Gateway’) begins its lofty blooms in mid-August into September under moist conditions. Use it as a backdrop for late blooming perennials such as Turtlehead Hot Lips (Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’) with pink rose hooded flowers (which also thrives under moist conditions); for the dinner-sized-plate flowers of hardy perennial Hisbiscus; or next to Cloud Nine Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Cloud Nine’).
From the later weeks of September into October, Asters take the front stage along with ornamental grasses, underused Toad lilies and Japanese Anemones. Purple Dome Aster (Aster novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’) is compact with heavy blooms starting in late August. Toad lilies (Tricyrtis) have uniquely speckled flowers for shade gardens while Wild Swan Anemone provides delicate white flowers with purple on the reverse side of the petals.
General plant knowledge can help you fulfill your gardening expectations. In our technological world, it is easy to search for pictures and lists or even order plants online; but as this is only brief information, visiting Cape Shore Gardens and seeing the plants in person will connect you with your garden. Cape Shore Gardens is located at 1028 Rt. 9 S., Cape May Court House. For more information, call (609) 465-5161.
Written by Lauren Popper, horticulturist at Cape Shore Gardens and graduate of Temple University’s School of Environmental Design.