Perennial Plants and Flowers

Perennial Plants and Flowers

Perennial plants and flowers are leafy plants that return each year, usually bigger and better than the year before. Some may die back, or lose their foliage, after a frost or cold period in the fall, but they grow back from the roots in the spring. It is their roots that are cold hardy.

Others are known as evergreen and will keep their leaves through winter. The leaves usually lose some of their best green colors, but that returns with the new growth in the spring.

Short bloom period

Flowering is usually for a shorter time period than annuals, but some can be cut back or deadheaded for more blooms. The plants usually look good on their own merits.

Perennials help make up the bulk of a landscape that uses beds for plantings. Whether it is a flower bed along your house, an island bed located somewhere in your yard, or just an area under or around some trees, perennials fit the bill.

Perennial plants are flowers are generally sold for certain growing areas or zones. The federal government (USDA) has come up with what we call plant hardiness zones for the United States. These are based on average winter cold temperatures for these areas over a 10 year period. It doesn’t mean that it won’t get colder there.

Our nursery is located in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania about a dozen miles south of Lake Erie. Our topography has us at a higher level than the lake. We get colder here because we don’t have the warming effects of the lake water. That puts us in Zone 6a according to the latest charts. I still consider us a Zone 5 area and we do get some colder temperatures sometimes.

Something for every place

If you want colorful flowers or just some standout foliage, there are perennials that will work. Some prefer sunny locations and others prefer to be in the shade.

We grow many different kinds of perennials and flowers in our yard. Many types of those have several different varieties also.

We propagate and sell about 20 different types of perennial plants and flowers. There are many varieties for some of them though. 

Coral Bells and Hostas are a couple that we offer in several varieties. We grow over 100 named varieties of Hosta in our yard, several of which we propagate.

They are known more for their foliage than their flowers. They are both nice for shady locations. 

Ornamental Grasses are another popular perennial and we have several varieties here to choose from. Garden Phlox, Coneflowers, Daylilies and Irises are popular perennial flowers and we carry several options. 

Hens and Chicks, and Stonecrops, or Sedums, including Angelina and Dragon’s Blood, make nice groundcovers.

Some of the Perennial Plants and Flowers we may have available here are:

Click for varieties