About seven years ago I fell in love. With perennials. Like many whirlwind romances, it started with a chance encounter, in my case when I wandered into a Cronulla newsagency, and flicked through the November 2001 issue of the superb British magazine, Gardens Illustrated. Inside was a garden in a style unlike any I’d seen before, a glorious mass planting of herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses with not a single clipped hedge in sight. I was hit for six, and the magazine sits on my shelf as the starting point of what has become a collection.
The featured garden was designed by Piet Oudolf (pronounced “oo-dolf”), a Dutch landscape architect who has since created major public projects in Europe and the US, earning himself a reputation as one of the world’s top few plantsmen. Oudolf is one of leading figures in an ad hoc movement known as New Wave Planting. He runs a nursery with his wife Anja. His first book Designing with Plants is genuinely revolutionary, and as you might have guessed, I’m a raving fan of his work.
Prior to reading the article though, I knew very little about perennials, other than the standard botanical definition: any plant that has an indefinite lifespan. But Oudolf was using a palette of plants I was completely unfamiliar with. I was desperate to give them a go. Gradually, I tracked down a few mail order nurseries who stocked “Oudolfian” plants, and I was thrilled to learn that the Dutch master even bred some of the cultivars in stock. I purchased some, and almost a decade later, perennials are one of the mainstays of my garden, and my favourite plants.
It’s not a teenage infatuation with the sexy English teacher kind of love though. Since growing perennials, I’ve found that as a group, they have a number of qualities that make them ideal for the domestic garden. Most are practical plants. Hardworking. Adaptable. Some are sexy, indeed. But on the whole, well-chosen perennials are reliable performers in a wide range of situations. Here are four reasons that perennials deserve a place in every garden:
1. Perennials are dynamic
Herbaceous perennials, loosely defined as those that go dormant over the winter, are incredibly dynamic plants. From an expectant crown of dead foliage, perennials hit the ground running in spring with a burst of growth, and some can reach heights of two metres or more in the space of just a few months. Evergreens have other virtues, but herbaceous perennials are amongst the most exciting plants you’ll grow.
2. Perennials are flexible
Not happy with where your Salvia “Ostfriesland” is positioned. Not to worry. Dig it up in winter, move it to a more favoured position, and replant. Don’t worry about the plant sulking. Odds are, it will actually perform better as a result of being dug up, and if you’re clever, you will have teased some divisions as a bonus. Piet Oudolf is known to move his plants around every year, trying fresh combinations until like a painter, he is satisfied with the composition. Try doing this with an established Eucalypt, and the results will not be pretty. Only annuals are more flexible.
3. Perennials are a good fit
Perennial plants are just the right scale for the average backyard. Not too big, not too small. They don’t need to be grown in broad herbaceous borders, and many make excellent fillers between extroverted, more dominant plants. The domestic scale of perennials is in contrast to large shrubs and trees, which tend to suit large gardens. On the flip side though, if you have the space, mass planted perennials can be used to grand effect.
4. Perennials are easy to maintain
Herbaceous perennials, those that go dormant in winter, are amongst the easiest plants to maintain. For most, it’s as simple as cutting them back in late winter or early spring, allowing the new foliage to come away at the base of the plant. Pests pose little problem, since foliage is renewed each year, and many perennials are tolerant of both frost and drought. Prepare the ground well prior to planting, water in to get plants established, and mulch well. Oudolf reckons that his planting style takes only a third of the work of a conventional garden.
If you’re tired of the Versailles-lite look, which is all clipped hedges and formal geometry, maybe it’s time to loosen up a bit, and consider perennials. Once you get started, I’ll almost guarantee that you won’t look back.
First published in the Toowoomba Chronicle 24th January 2009
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes perrenials are fantstic when used well. They can be a bit hit and miss in different climates and soils, so I wouldn’t suggest anyone mass planted a perrenial on a massive scale until trialling the plant or plants first.
Regards Penolepe Aviary
I live in a suburb of Canberra.
I love perrenials and want to know what can I plant NOW (1 Aug ) in my garden?
I prefer to plant non-seeds, as they are so darned hard to control, to raise, to protect, etc. I would like bulbs, tubers, corms, etc or actual seedlings.
But here is the hard part: I am a pensioner, so on very little budget for plants. Can you offer some advice, and where to purchase inexpensive perrenials?
Thanking you in Advance.
Nancy Martin
Thanks for your question. At this time of the year, most herbaceous (non woody) perennials can be dug up and divided, so the cheapest way to get hold of some perennials is to ask friends if they have any spare divisions. A couple of nurseries worth trying are Nutshell Perennials (bare root plants), and Di’s Delightful Plants (small potted plants), both of which have relatively cheap plants.
In terms of what you can plant now, just about everything is the simple answer. Any herbaceous plants can go in, including salvias, coneflowers, achillea, sedums and grasses, along with lots of semi woody perennials (sub shrubs) like perovskia, shrubby salvias, and agastache. Just avoid planting anything that isn’t frost tolerant such as agapanthus. These are best left until late spring.
Very good and informative post on perennials. Thank you. I love your suggestion on mass planted perennials for grand effect. I agree it can be used to achieve stunning effects. We just finished a project with a large area mass planted with a garden shed in the back. It is a commonly used part of our designs.
Once again, nice post.
Best regards,
Chris Absco