Although I lovegrowing vegetables , perennials are also among my favorite plants to work . They return twelvemonth after yr , often acquire bigger and blooming better with each passing time of year . Because I do n’t have to purchase new plant each yr , I save money by garden with perennial , and I love share air division of my favorite plants with friends . Plus , these stalwart plants do n’t require a batch of attention from you . I mulch my perennial layer every leaping to cut down on weed and tearing , and Ideadhead / swerve backthe plants two or three clock time during the growing time of year ; other than that , I do n’t do much in damage of maintenance .

That being said , there ’s one major downside to develop perennial : Many of them have relatively short flower times . Some are only in flower for two or three weeks . To keep my garden in never-ending color , I include a lot of perennials with interesting and colorful foliage , and I examine my sound to include a mixture of plants with wide-ranging bloom times to ensure something is always in flush , but there are only a handful of perennial with very longsighted blush times . In fact , if they ’re deadheaded from time to time , these stunner are in flower almost all summer long .

Here are some of my favorite long - blooming perennial that will lend a outburst of coloration to your landscape for workweek on final stage . All are dauntless down to USDA hardiness zone 5 .

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Yellow Bleeding Heart (Corydalis lutea)

I ’ve write about this shining little virtuoso ( pictured above ) before , boast its non - cease anthesis and cold permissiveness . The dingy - gray , ferny foliage mold voiced mounds in shadowed areas . From April through frost the plants are shroud with bunch of frail yellow flowers . My plants have even been pick out blooming on Christmas during mild wintertime in my zone 6 garden ! This is a keen add-on to shady edge and woodland gardens , and it ego - sows throughout the garden but not in an aggressive way .

May Knight Salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘May Knight’)

This perennial salvia is a personal favourite for the spike of bass - blue flowers it produces all summertime long . The bee and butterflies jazz it , too . The conjuration to keeping this plant in bloom is to snip off all the spend bloom every three or four workweek throughout the summer . Then , in July , I cut the total plant back to the bunch of leaves at the base of the flora . This stimulate even more unfolding . May Knight is n’t the only perennial salvia with a recollective rosiness metre either . adjudicate Caradonna , East Friesland and Blue Hill , as well .

Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)

If you ’re looking for a drouth - tolerant , pollinator - well-disposed plantthat blossom from June through rime , Russian sage will fit the bill . The skeletal structure of this plant makes an excellent addition to recurrent borders and pollinator garden . The extremely fragrant foliation keep the deer and coney from sustain a taste , and Russian sage can not be tucker out for the lovely blue tincture of its efflorescence . If you find the works to be too floppy , assay the more upright specie , Perovskia longin .

Walker’s Low Catmint (Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’)

Another exceptionally long - blooming perennial , Walker ’s Low is my favorite miscellanea of catmint . While Nepeta cataria is intimately link up to catnip , it is not the same species of plant . Catnipis intimately for kitty , while catnip is best for the garden . The spires of billowy , light - blue bloom are adore by pollinatingsyrphid fliesand bee alike . With a few well - timed , strong-growing “ haircuts , ” catmint will stay in flower from late April through fall ’s first frost . I cut my plants back to the ground after every prime of blooms — two or three times during the summer or whenever the plants are await scraggly . The plants are cervid and lapin repellent , too .

Lavender Phenomenal (Lavandula x intermedia Phenomenal)

If you ’ve been woolgather about accept alavenderthat blooms over and over again , Phenomenal is the plant for you ! This hardy lavender strike the market in 2012 and has become a deary of lavender growers everywhere . This variety does not exhibit die back in the wintertime like many other democratic variety do , and it ’s very large-minded of heat and humidity . The repeat flower trait makes Phenomenal really phenomenal ! The mounds of silvery - down in the mouth foliage are topped with hundreds of bloom baton throughout the summer . Highly fragrant and adored by pollinator , this lavender is a success in my garden .

May Night salvia - perennials

garden beth/Flickr

perennial plant - Russian sage

University of Illinois Springfield/Flickr

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Walker’s Low catmint perennial

Jessica Walliser

lavender phenomenal

Elliot Brown/Annie’s Annuals and Perennials