For some perennials it’s all about making a brief but showy appearance – just think of the satiny bowls of oriental poppies or flouncy paeonies which put an enchanting stamp of exuberance on the garden for just a couple of short weeks.
Head turners for sure, but for continuity of colour in the border, especially in late summer, we need to turn to those utterly invaluable perennials that carry on flowering for months, rather than weeks.
The floral longevity of these desirable varieties doesn’t mean they are any less flamboyant. Often, it’s simply because the flowers are sterile and instead of putting energy into seed, they keep on flowering instead.
A very few accommodating perennials such as catmints, somehow find enough energy for a second flurry of blooms if sheared back after their first flush.
The border can still have its fleeting divas that grab the spotlight briefly, but that’s generous, long-flowering perennials that will ensure the show goes on regardless.
Perennials – Geranium ‘Rozanne’
This dynamic hardy geranium has justly become one of the all-time great perennials. In 2013, it was even voted Plant of the Century by the Royal Horticultural Society.
So, what makes it so special? Well, the saucer-shaper, violet-blue flowers with white centres are particularly large for a hardy geranium and produced at such quantity that they form pools of flying colour. Being a sterile variety, this means that, instead of setting seed, the flowers just keep unfurling – often from June until early winter.
It tends to look good within any planting scheme but really pops when skirting around the base of golden rudbeckia and scarlet crocosmia. The whole plant dies back to a neat clump in winter and a quick cutting back of the old stems is all the attention it needs.
For the full article and lots more perennials for the garden make sure to pick up the Late Summer Issue 2024 of The Irish Garden magazine or subscribe here.
