As per reader’s request, today’s article is a list of our favorite long blooming plants. There are certainly many uses and a place for short blooming plants in your garden. These short-lived blooms like lilies, peonies and iris are often the focal points and showy stars of the garden. However, it is the less showy long blooming plants that carry your garden from season to season. They are particularly helpful in a small garden where you are very limited on the number of plants you can use.
Better yet, most long blooming plants are as undemanding as they are unassuming. They are happy to flower away for months at a time with the minimum of attention. Our garden has very dry sandy soil, and very hot full sun exposure. We don’t irrigate established perennials, so the plants on this list are tough and tolerant of abuse.
Heliopsis
Heliopsis is one of our absolute favorite garden plants. It gives so much for so little. This plant, also called the oxeye daisy, produces copious numbers of cheerful bright yellow daisies. There are several different cultivars available ranging from green leafed varieties to those with dark purple stems, and double flowered varieties.
It is easy to grow and care for and is tolerant of a wide variety of soil types as long as they are well drained. With an occasional trim to remove the spent flowers and to tidy the plant, it will provide you blooms from early summer until frost. If you have several plants, you can stagger trimming them to keep yourself in an abundance of blooms. As an added bonus, Heliopsis is native, and also makes an excellent cut flower.
Nepeta
No list of long blooming perennials would be complete without Nepeta, also known as cat mint. This versatile plant with spikes of almost blue flowers can find a place in almost any garden. It will bloom for a lengthy time on its own, but if you cut it back when the blooms slow, it will send up a new flush of blooms. Walker’s Low is one of our favorites, but there are a variety of cultivars available ranging in size from dwarf to massive. So be sure to choose one suited to your location.
Nepeta is drought tolerant, easy to grow and tolerant of a wide variety of well drained soils. It will grow in partial shade, but full sun will give you the most blooms. Yes, cats like it, but it is not to be confused with catnip which is a related but much less showy plant. Nepeta is in the mint family as are many herbs. As a result it is a pleasantly fragrant plant to brush against, and can be used to make a soothing tea.
Russian Sage
Russian Sage is somewhat similar looking to Nepeta in that it has spikes of purple flowers. It is also in the mint family and it is larger more woody plant with dusty green, fragrant foliage. Russian Sage is a subshrub, so depending on the climate, it may die back to the ground, or may remain alive over the winter.
Russian Sage has excellent heat and drought tolerance once established and requires almost no care aside from trimming to keep it manageable and flowering. It is tolerant of high pH soils. Russian Sage is deer resistant and perfect for difficult places like next to a paved driveway where almost nothing will grow. However, it should be noted that it is very intolerant of poorly drained conditions.
Blanket Flower
Blanket flowers come in both annual and perennial species. Both are amazing in the garden; however we prefer to plant perennial blanket flowers as they will return every year. While annual Blanket flowers are often tall (up to 3’), many cultivars of perennial blanket flowers are very short statured plants making them perfect for the front edges of beds. They have large flowers in shades of red and yellow. They will continue to bloom from spring until frost. Deadheading isn’t required, but you may wish to do so to tidy the appearance of the plant.
Perennial blanket flowers are easy to grow but are often short lived. They burn themselves out flowering. They will typically reseed themselves readily and should be allowed to do so to ensure they remain in your garden long term. It is also essential to have very good drainage, or the will not survive the winter.
Verbenas
Verbenas are another one that comes in a both perennial and annual varieties. They also come in a variety of form. You are likely most familiar with the annual verbenas sold in hanging baskets at garden centers. However, there are also perennial verbenas that bloom just as reliably in your garden. Two of our favorite verbenas are Moss Verbena and Verbena bonariensis.
Moss verbena is similar to the annual verbena you see. It is a short fluffy plant with lacy leaves, and copious quantities of pink, white, or purple flowers. Moss verbena will bloom year-round if the weather does not stop it. It can be a bit tricky to start from seed, but once established in an area, it should readily self-seed. It is great for bed edges or growing between rocks.
The second Verbena we love so much is a tall spiky plant. It produces Verbena type flower clusters on long bare stems. One plant by itself is fairly unimpressive. However, planted en masse it can be stunning. It also adds a fun whimsical texture to a cottage garden when allowed to self-seed around other plants. Just like the other plants on this list, occasionally cutting back your verbena will keep it tidy and blooming. In colder climates both of these Verbena varieties can be treated as an annual.
Hibiscus
‘First Edition ® Fiji TM‘ Hibiscus
The hibiscus we are referring to is the Rose of Sharon shrub. You cannot deny that they flower like crazy with no care for most of the summer. They produce large tropical looking blooms in a range of colors.
We are admittedly unimpressed, or even downright horrified by some of the older Hibiscus varieties out there. Many of the older fertile varieties will self-seed at an alarming rate, and are very weedy, ugly shaped plants. When it comes to purchasing a Hibiscus plant, they are definitely not all created equally. So, beware. Seeking out one of the newer sterile cultivars is essential! If you do they are a wonderful addition to the garden.
Hibiscus are fairly large shrubs and need to be given some space to grow. However, they are very agreeable to pruning. Since they flower on new wood, they should be trimmed back harshly in the winter to keep them blooming at their best.
Hydrangeas
The next plant on our list is very familiar to probably everyone. They are workhorses in the garden though, and can find a suitable location almost anywhere. Hydrangea varieties range from shade loving to full sun plants. They come in a variety of flower colors including the elusive blue. They also come in various flower shapes ranging from the typical mopheads you usually see, to less common lace cap varieties.
Hydrangeas are another plant where there are so many new amazing cultivars that outshine older varieties. Many older varieties were not reblooming, or were massive plants that didn’t fit in today’s smaller gardens. Now they are available in a multitude of dwarf and reblooming varieties for every application. Additionally, hydrangeas hold their blooms past when they have faded making them excellent for dried arrangements or winter interest in the garden.
Ice Plant
Ice plant is a succulent ground cover with thick fleshy leaves. It will bloom steadily all summer long. The flower petals are very fine and almost shimmery. Ice plants come in a multitude of colors ranging from the popular bright purple that we grow, to the orange-yellow-purple flowers of the variety ‘Fire Spinner’.
Ice plant is very drought and heat tolerant once established, and is perfect for planting around stepping stones or tucking into hot corners where you need a pop of color but have very little soil. Unlike some ground covers that run rampant, it is well mannered and happy to stay where you want it. The succulent foliage is evergreen and provides color and interest even when the plants aren’t blooming.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly Bushes are another long blooming shrub that we love to hate. Just like with Rose of Sharon, many of the older Butterfly Bushes are highly undesirable to have in your garden. They self seeded aggressively, and grew into immense un-manageable shrubs. Fortunately, plant breeders have solved those problems. There are now dwarf (and very dwarf), sterile butterfly bushes that are much more well behaved in the garden.
Butterfly bushes are fantastic in the sense that they have gray-green foliage that provides a nice color contrast to the bright green of many plants. They can be evergreen, semi-evergreen, or completely deciduous depending on the climate. While they are actively growing they are constantly producing large panicles of brightly colored flowers. They will continue to produce blooms all summer long without any deadheading, though you may wish to shear the shrub or deadhead for a more tidy appearance.
Dahlia
Dahlias are great because they are low maintenance and come in a dizzying array of flower colors and types. There is literally a dahlia for everyone! They range from huge showy blossoms to small single flowers that are similar to a daisy. Plants can range from dwarf to tall making them able to fit almost anywhere. They will bloom continuously for months at a time without any deadheading or care. Though they may slow up on blooming in the hottest months of the year in warm climates.
Dahlias are tender perennials that can grow quite massive over time. They are often treated as annuals since they are not particularly cold hardy. However, the tubers can easily be dug and replanted in colder climates if you do not wish to purchase new plants yearly.
Manettia
The last plant on our list is a vine and its also fairly uncommon. It is not as drought tolerant as many of the plants on the list, and we do end up watering it occasionally in very dry weather. Nonetheless, its one of our favorites. Manettia is a very small, well behaved vine. The plant in our picture has been here for years and hasn’t outgrown its trellis.
It is a little slow to wake up in the spring, so doesn’t start flowering until more towards mid-summer. When it does start blooming, it doesn’t stop until frost. If you want to attract hummingbirds, this vine is perfect for that purpose. It is covered in a zillion red-orange tubular flowers for months. It is such a well-behaved plant that it requires no deadheading or pruning during the growing season.
There you have it; our cottage garden favorites. You now know our absolute favorite low maintenance, long blooming plants for our gardens. We hope that it provides you with some exciting new plants to add to your garden. In a future article we will discuss some of our favorite reseeding annuals that work well in our perennial gardens. If you don’t want to miss out on that article or other gardening tips, please sign up for our newsletter!
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