What are your must have perennial flowers?

[smallblueplanet]

Been digging over the borders today, moving the herbacious perennials around, and I wondered what am I missing? What else should I have in the borders?

Got lupins and lavender, rudbeckia and dahlias, penstemmon and agastache, some others too (can't remember 'em all atm).....what else do you think I shouldn't miss out on?

ps I love daisy-type flowers.

[Waffler]

Asters? Just that you said you like daisy types.
I have to say, I'm not entirely certain of the definition of 'herbacious perennial' and was thinking about it earlier when Monty was on about the herbacious borders. Sooooo, thinking perennials, I would go the route of:

ceanothus;
diascia'
dianthus;
delphinium;
wallflowers;
scabious;
aqualegia;
achillia;
potentila;
peony.

I shall watch this thread with interest, as I'm trying to 'turn' some borders to make our garden more 'cottage garden'.

[Alice]

Hello SBP, I just have to have lupins - for sentimental reasons.
Apart from that, plants which well earn their space are
asters - lovely late colour
hellebores - flower from Nov to May
montbretia - good foliage, cheerful colour (I just love it)
astrantia - so relaible and great companion with knautia
haemorocallis - just love those burnt orange colours
Well those are some of my favourites
And if you can find it - Sidalcea. beautiful pink spikes. I posted a pic before but I will try to find it and post it again. (Think it's on my other computer.)

[Alice]

Well here's the hellebores flowering in Jan SBP and their looking just as good today.

[Earthbabe]

Hi SBP, what about some cosmos, good variety of later colours there too, Bellis are pretty too.

I've got hollyhocks, lavender by the shed load, clary sage, aquilegia, violas and pansies, limnanthes (poached egg plant) and have grown antirrhinum and lobelia so far this year to add in. Also calendula, cerato (lovely blue flowers and red leaves in the autumn). Miss EB has selected a huge variety of flower seed so there will be lots of gaps filled later in the year.

[smallblueplanet]

Hmm, good choices and I've gotten many of them , I only recently 'discovered' cosmos, they're great! But there's some names for me to google for and check on ebay!

astrantia, knautia, haemorocallis, clary sage.....

I'll look for plants and that way my seed buying is kept under control! LOL!

I love echinaceas, easy from seed, and if you want to make your own earl grey tea I've some monarda/bergamot grown from seed - very easy and it appears to be spreading like wildfire!

[Earthbabe]

SBP if you want to try some clary sage I have loads of seed to spare. That's not buying!!

[smallblueplanet]

Sure why not EB? Its not buying! What is clary sages latin name, I'm not sure what I'm searching for when googling it!?

Would you like to try some Bergamot as a swop?

[nick the grief]

............I have to say, I'm not entirely certain of the definition of 'herbacious perennial' .........

Here you go waffler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbaceous

As to my choices

I love Hosta's not much fun if you suffer with slugs

I don't think you can beat the good old flowering currant - mine just started to show.
Clematis always good value and you can have flowers from now till autumn with the right ones (some have a stunning scent aswell) and finally as I was talking about scent -
Roses. I know they can be troublesome with blackspot but if you go for the more modern ones likethe English roses that David Austin is introducing you getth e best of all worlds. My favourites are probably

The Prince - Dk Dk Red
Brother Cadfael - Silvery Pink
Geoff Hamilton - Pale pink
Graham Thomas - Golden Yellow

[rustylady]

Oriental poppies, I've got a gorgeous salmon pink one (the flowers don't last that long, but wow). I also love delphiniums. Foxgloves are good - not really perennials but they usually self seed abundantly so there are always new plants.

[smallblueplanet]

Oh Nick how can you ignore gallica roses, we have one and its lovely. The bumblebees were all over our old ribes today, its looking very 'pink'!

Love hostas too - got them in pots though, we're gonna let some run free this year and see how they go!

Clematis - £1.79 from Morrisons, they've lots of named varieties - keen on Dr Ruppel and lots (7) of others - eek I think I'm hooked!

I expected you to extol the virtues of Chrysanths & Dahlia Nick?

[nick the grief]

Gallica's are nice but the modern ones have stunning looks (like me) heavenly scent (like me) as are really great in the garden (like me )

One of my favourite roses is Ferdinand Pichard it's a bicolour and smells great but the thorns are vicious !!

Chrysanths and dahlia's are great for cut flowers and both are members of the Compositae family (Daisys ) but I think they deserve a place of there own rather than in a mixed border that said some of the cushion mums look stunning and Korean Chrysanthemums ( available as a collection from the National Chrysanthemum society - http://www.nationalchrysanthemumsoci....uk/index.html) are hardy as well ......... is that enough extolling

[smallblueplanet]

Gallica's are nice but the modern ones have stunning looks (like me) heavenly scent (like me) as are really great in the garden (like me )

LOL!

One of my favourite roses is Ferdinand Pichard it's a bicolour and smells great but the thorns are vicious !!

Odd, we were looking at getting one of those - googling it, last night. Ok will look to get one now we have the NTG seal of approval! What think you of Quatre Saisons?

[muckdiva]

I like things which do well in my garden without giving any trouble...

Achemilla Mollis, grows like a weed, but is so pretty with the dew on the leaves


I think Pulsatilla is such a great Spring flower, and it is a bit 'daisy' like...

Planted some Day Lillies in a row against a fence some years back and they have multiplied now and produce lovely flowers which so long as you dead head them give a great show for several weeks

Hostas, yep, love em

Is it cheating to mention cyclamen - I know they are bulbs, but they are really good value with attractive leaves and flowers for a shady area

[Alice]

I thought we were only talking about perennials, but if we're talking about roses, I don't think you can beat Morning Jewel for a south facing wall - thousands of roses, scented, stands great in a vase and flowers from may til December.
For a north facing wall, Zepherin Drouhin does it every time. Lovely pink roses, beautifully scented, and thornless.
If you have the space for a big shrub rose, Buff Beauty is gorgeous. Beautiful roses over a long period of time, fabulous scent but it doesn't stand well in a vase.