A Gardener’s Quick Reference Guide to 50 Garden Perennials

There are so many different types of perennials for you to chose from that it may be difficult to decide which ones are best suited to your garden. Here is a quick reference guide:

Name	Color	Season	Height	Planting Remarks
ACONITE	blue, white	June	2 ft.	Plant 6 in. apart. Shade tolerant.
ALPINE ROCK CRESS	white	April	1 ft.	Plant 9 in. apart. Spreads widely.
AMERICAN COLUMBINE	red, yellow	April	1 1/2 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Self-sowing.
AMUR ADONIS	yellow	April	1 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Shade tolerant.
ANEMONE	rose	Aug.-Sept.	1 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart, in partial shade.
AZURE MONKSHOOD	blue	Sept.-Oct.	3 ft.	Plant 9 in. apart. Shade tolerant.
BABY’S BREATH	white	June-July	21/2 ft.	Plant 3 ft. apart. Drain soil well.
BEAR’S BREECH	lilac, rose	July-Aug.	3 ft.	Needs lots of sun and good drainage.
BLOOD PINK	scarlet	July	1/4 ft-	Plant 6 in. apart. Usually spreads.
BLUE PHLOX	lavender	May	lft.	Plant 9 in. apart. Grows wild.
BUTTERFLY WEED	orange	July-Aug.	2 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart, in dry, sunny areas.
CANYON POPPY	white	June	4 ft.	A large poppy. Plant well apart.
CARDINAL LARKSPUR	scarlet	August	3 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. A rather delicate plant.
CARPATHIAN BELLFLOWER	blue, white	June-Oct.	8 in.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Self-sowing.
CELANDINE POPPY	yellow	May	2 ft.	Plant well apart.
CHEDDAR PINK	various	June		Plant 9 in. apart. A spreading plant.
COLORADO COLUMBINE	blue and white	April	1 1/2 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Self-sowing.
CYPRESS SPURGE	yellow	June	1.ft.	Plant 9 in. apart. Good foliage.
DANES’ BLOOD	violet	July-Aug.	1 1/4 ft.	Plant 9 in. apart.
DAVID’S ASTILBE	rose	June-July	5 ft.	Plant 1 1/2 ft. apart in moist soil.
DRAGON’S HEAD	purple	June-July	2 ft.	Plant 9 in. apart. Resembles Mint.
DROPMORE BUGLOSS	deep blue	June-July	3-5 ft.	Plant 3 ft. apart. Shade tolerant.
DWARF PINK RAY	boltonia pink	September	2 ft.	One of the best perennials. Plant 1 ft. apart.
EARLY BUGLOSS	blue	May-June	11/4 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Shade tolerant
EARLY TORCH LILY	yellow	Aug.-Sept.	11/2 ft-	A showy plant. Set 11/2 ft. apart.
ENGLISH PRIMROSE	various	April-May	6 in	Good in most soil and in cool spots.
FORGET-ME-NOT	deep blue	June	9 in.	Plant 1 ft. apart. A spreading plant. Very popular.
FOXGLOVE PENSTEMON	purple	June-July	3 ft.	Easy to grow in woodsy soil.
FRINGED BLEEDING HEART	rose	May-Sept.	11/2 ft.	Good edging. Grows in partial shade.
GLOBE CENTAUREA	yellow	July	11/2ft.	Plant 11/2 ft. apart.
GOATSBEARD	cream	June-July	5 ft.	Plant 2 ft. apart.
GOLDEN COLUMBINE	yellow	May-Aug.	2 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart.
GOLDEN GLOW	orange	July-Sept.	5 ft.	A spreading plant.
GOLDENTUFT	yellow	May	11/2 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart.
GRASS PINK	rose	June	8 in.	Plant 9 in. apart.
IBERIAN GERANIUM	blue, white	June	1 ft.	Plant 9 in. apart.
ICELAND POPPY	yellow, orange	June-Oct.	1 ft.	Short-lived. Excellent for cuttings.
JAPANESE PRIMROSE	white to crimson	June	2 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Moist soil, cool spots best.
JOE-PYE WEED	purple	August	6 ft.	Plant 2 ft. apart in wet places.
LARKSPUR	light blue	June-Sept	2 ft.	Plant 10 in. apart. Rather delicate.
LEBANON STONE CRESS	pink	April	9 in.	Plant 6 in. apart. Grows in shady spots.
LILAC GERANIUM	violet	June	1 ft.	Plant 9 in. apart.
CATMINT MUSSIN	lavender-blue	May-Sept.	1 ft.	A spreading plant. Fine edging.
OLYMPIC POPPY	orange	June-Oct.	2 ft.	A spreading plant.
ORIENTAL POPPY	various	June	3 ft.	Showy flowers.
PEONY	white, pink, red	May-June	1 1/2-4 ft	A hardy, bushy plant.
PINK BEAUTY	scarlet	June-July	3 ft.	Plant 1 ft. apart. Long, tubular flowers.
ROSE MALLOW	pink, red, white	Aug.-Sept.	4-5 ft.	Plant 3 ft. apart in either wet or normal soil.
SHASTA DAISY	white	June-Sept.	2 ft.	Good for cutting.
YUNNAR MEADOW VINE	lilac	Aug.-Sept.	4 ft.	Plant 11/2 ft. apart. Good porch plant.

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