You have scouted your property, accessed what are weeds and what are not weeds. Now you are thinking about what to plant where.

I suggest that you think of perennial flowering plants in terms of succession:  plant perennials that bloom in sequence throughout the season for the following reasons:

 

  1. Your eyes.  Canadians LOVE colour… we wait all winter for it [other than white] and when it finally comes we can’t get enough.  
  2. Pollinators.  The #1 goal among new Canadian gardeners today is to attract pollinators to our garden.  Honey bees are in decline and we can all do our part to ‘bring them back’.  in addition, there are over 700 native bees in Canada that also need our help. 
  3. Hummingbirds and butterflies.  Is it just me, or is a very large part of the gardening experience the thrill that I get when hummingbirds and butterflies visit my yard?  

 

Early spring blooming:

Holland bulbs [not all, but most of them bloom early], sweet woodruff, pulmonaria, violas, many native woodland flowers and all of the lamium family.

 

Late spring/early summer:

Peonies [single flowers work best for pollinators], hostas [especially for hummingbirds], lilacs [ a shrub, I know], bergenia, ligularia and a host more.

 

Late Summer/early fall:

Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Shasta daisy, yarrow, stone crop, asters and a host more.

 

This list is far from exhaustive.  I recommend that you check out  the ‘library’ at www.markcullen.com for more options and visit your favourite garden retailer soon.  Take your time perusing the selection of perennial plants and design your garden for a succession of colour.