What Is a Perennial? A Beginner’s Guide, Plus 10 of our Staff Favorites
When you’re designing a garden that returns year after year with grace and color, perennials are your secret weapon. But what exactly is a perennial—and how does it compare to annuals and woody plants?
Let’s break it down:
- Annuals complete their life cycle in a single season. Think zinnias or petunias—showy, fast, and done after frost.
- Perennials are the comeback kids of the garden. These plants live for three years or more, dying back in winter and returning each spring.
- Woody plants, like trees and shrubs, have permanent above-ground structure and typically provide the bones of your landscape.
Within those plant types, you’ll also hear about “cultivars” and “varieties.” A variety is a naturally occurring subspecies, while a cultivar (short for “cultivated variety”) is selected and bred for specific traits—like color, size, or hardiness.
Now that we’ve got that sorted, let’s dig into the fun stuff.
10 of Our Favorite Perennials (Especially for Beginners)
These plants are low-maintenance, high-impact, and beautiful for gardeners of all experience levels. Whether you’re filling your first flowerbed or refining your pollinator patch, these tried-and-true picks are staff favorites for good reason:
Melanie Picks:
Baptisia australis
A blue-flowered native with elegant, pea-like blooms and incredible drought tolerance.
Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’
Late-season white blooms that glow in partial shade.
Hardy Hibiscus
Dinner-plate flowers in mid-to-late summer that stop traffic.
Sedum ‘Frosted Fire’
Succulent texture, tidy form, and lovely fall blooms.
Japanese Painted Fern
Silvery fronds that bring drama and elegance to shade gardens.
Maddison’s Picks:
Amsonia ‘Storm Cloud’ or ‘String Theory’
Airy, starry blooms with golden fall color; a pollinator magnet.
Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’
Compact, fragrant, and a long bloomer—your neighborhood bees will thank you.
Salvia ‘Caradonna’
Spikes of deep violet-purple that keep on blooming.
Geranium ‘Bevan’s Variety’
A shade-friendly groundcover with fragrant foliage and magenta blooms.
Aster ‘Woods Light Blue’
A compact aster with profuse blooms in autumn, right when you need it most.
Perennial Gardening Tips for Success
Want your garden to feel lush and intentional all season long? Keep these planting principles in mind:
- Plant in groups of three or more: Massing gives visual impact and helps pollinators spot your plants from afar.
- Plan for continuous bloom: Choose plants with different bloom times—early, mid, and late season—to keep the show going.
- Try InstaGarden Planting Kits: These curated collections are mini-designs featuring 10–20 plants chosen to thrive together. Just plant, water, and enjoy!
Ready to grow a garden that gets better with time? Stop in and see us—we’d love to help you pick the perfect perennials for your space, your style, and your soil.
Because around here, we’re all about nurturing growth.
Melanie has been with the family garden center business since 1999, gaining hands-on experience in nearly every aspect–from cashiering and greenhouse production to bookkeeping, perennial buying, marketing, and store management. Now serving as Finance and Marketing Director, she combines her expertise with a passion for growing the business. She and her husband, Russ, have loved seeing how plants, gardening, and beautiful landscapes bring joy to our community.
