Planting Perennial Flowers

Many vegetable gardeners find it too plain the garden to look at. For some, planting perennial flowers is a great way to liven up the vegetable garden without adding extra work to the gardening chore. Perennial flowers are strong, local flowers that come back every year without having to replant or do any extra work.


The beauty of planting perennial flowers is that during off seasons, the perennial flowers and stems die back and one can hardly even tell the plant was there. This makes it easy for gardeners as the plant does not die and look like one unsightly hideous brown clumps in the garden. When it is time to bloom, the entirely new flowers shoot up where the old ones were, brightening the whole garden again.

Soil Drainage For Perennial Flowers

Before deciding whether to plant perennial flowers or not, it is important to check and make sure that the soil has proper drainage. If the water stays saturated for long periods of time, a raise bed would have to be built. The way to test is to dig a hole in the soil and fill it with water. All traces of water should be gone within 10 hours. Fill the hole with water again after a day and check it is completely dry. If the hole is not completely dry, a raised bed would be necessary.

Selecting Perennial Flowers

Picking suitable perennial flowers can be a complicated process. The selection should be to have them flowering as much as possible during the year. The process should begin with a research on the different types of perennial flower and create a timeline of flowering. Next would be to select according to personal preference and get the right mixture of seeds. Doing this right, it would be possible to have different type of flower blooming at any point in the year, giving the garden yard a constantly changing array of colors.


Some local florists or nurseries do provide custom mixture of seed for the local gardeners. This takes the research part out of the job as these blends are usually optimized for the local climate and ensure that flowers are always growing in the garden. Even if this is not available, the florists or nurseries may know of the best mixture for the locals.

Planting The Seeds

When planting the seeds, they should be put together in small, separate clumps according to the directions. This is because the perennial flowers tend to spread out as they grow. Planting too many too close together will end up with them choking each other.


When planting perennial flowers, it is definitely necessary to use mulch. Mulch reduces the overall amount of garden work by reducing the amount of weeds and increasing the water retention. Bark mulch or pine needles work great and are easily obtainable at no cost. When planting the seeds, throw in a little bit of extremely weak fertilizer would be sufficient. Fertilizer should be used sparingly once the perennial flowers start to come to life. In no time the perennial flowers would be blooming up.