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Best Perennials for a Stunning Low-Maintenance Garden

Though annuals often take center stage in greenhouses in spring — think bold petunias and pansies — perennials can be planted once and enjoyed for years to come, often with little maintenance. Many do require full sun, but plenty of others thrive in shady conditions, and some even bloom all summer long. With the right perennials, you can attract bees and hummingbirds or even deter pests like deer and mosquitos.

A bee enjoying a pink/peach rose among lavender flowers.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Lovely Perennial Flowers That Attract Bees

purple coneflowers and a bee enjoying the nectar of one flower.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

More than 70% of food-producing plants rely on bees for pollination, but these hard-working insects are struggling. Plant some of their favorite perennial flowers, like native honeysuckles and bee balm, to support native bees and other pollinators as well as improve pollination in your vegetable garden. And remember not to use pesticides!

Take a look at this list of more than 13 perennials that attract bees.

Beautiful Perennial Flowers That Attract Hummingbirds

Male ruby-throat hummingbird flying towards red cardinal flowers.
Image credit: YAY Images.

While hummingbird feeders can certainly attract hummingbirds to the garden, perennial flowers provide their own nectar and never need refilling! Native flowers like coral honeysuckle and cardinal flower are also wonderfully hardy as well as vibrantly beautiful.

Find more perennials that attract hummingbirds here.

Perennial Plants That Repel Mosquitoes

French marigolds
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Working and even walking in the garden can quickly become unpleasant when mosquitos cloud around you every time you step outside. But planting strongly scented plants, like lavender and rosemary, along walkways where they will be brushed against can help keep these irritating insects away.

Learn more tips for repelling mosquitos with plants.

Sun-Loving Perennials That Bloom All Summer

red, yellow and p[ink coneflowers.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Annuals are well loved for there long-lasting blooms, but many perennial flowers also bloom for months at a time, and they only need planting once! Classics like hydrangeas and Shasta daisies will produce gorgeous flowers all summer long, and native wildflowers like coneflower and black-eyed Susan need little care.

Find more long-lasting sun-loving perennial flowers.

Shade-Loving Perennials That Bloom All Summer

flowering bleeding heart bush.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

Bright, open, full-sun gardens seem to have all the fun plants, but shade gardens can be equally stunning. With beautiful shade-loving perennial flowering plants like bleeding heart and monkshood, you can have a garden full of vibrant blooms all summer, even with lots of shade.

Take a look at this list of shade-loving flowering perennials for more colorful ideas.

Deer-Resistant Perennials

Blue sage flowers
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

It’s hard to enjoy beautiful flowers when deer come along and chomp off the blooms. For a low-maintenance, nibble-free garden, try planting perennials that deer often find less appetizing, like foxglove, alliums, and sage. Avoid plants they love, or locate those closer to the house, in high-traffic areas where the deer are less likely comfortable.

Discover more lovely deer-resistant perennials here.

Fragrant Perennial Flowers For The Perfect Scented Garden

Pink roses with buds against a house.
Image credit: Backyard Garden Lover.

While all flowers are beautiful to look at, some also have a wonderful fragrance, delighting multiple senses as you walk through the garden or throw open a window on a pleasant day. Stick with classics like lavender and roses, or try something a little different like bee balm or buttonbush.

This list of fragrant perennial flowers has many options to peruse.

Best perennials for a stunning garden.

Author

  • Serena Manickam is a freelance editor and writer and sustainable market gardener in rural Virginia. She holds a BA in environmental science and runs Fairydiddle Farm, a small market garden in which she grows no-spray produce and herbs to sell at a local farmer’s market.

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