A LASTING IMPRESSION

FAVORITE LONGBLOOMING PERENNIALS FOR A CONTINUALLY COLORFUL GARDEN

- MATTHEW OLSON

Perennials are a staple of the garden, providing colorful blooms that draw our eyes to various parts of the landscape. Unfortunately, these plants often present a problem. The flowers that captivate us quickly fade into nothing more than a shriveled lump of petals. It's hard to imagine a garden without perennials, but this drawback often steers people away from these beautiful plants in favor of annuals, which may bloom longer but come with their own set of downsides.

Happily, we can find perennials with a long bloom period. These options reduce maintenance because they do not require deadheading, and unlike annuals they needn't be replanted each year. Often they help support pollinators, too.

Here are some of my favorite perennials for extended color in the garden. Some you may recognize, but while known they still merit recommendation. Others are less familiar. Arrange these long-blooming perennials in drifts to best embellish the garden and distract from more fleeting beauties. A few I've listed perform very well in the shade, where it can be most challenging to find flowers post spring.

ROZANNE CRANESBILL
Geranium Rozanne ('Gerwat')

As I write this story in late fall, my Wisconsin garden has finished blooming and its perennials are fading into dormancy-but then there's Rozanne! This hardy geranium, or cranesbill, started flowering in early July and it still showed a heavy cover of purple blossoms on Halloween. Rozanne is a sterile hybrid, giving the plant energy to continue blooming and preventing reseeeding. It has a sprawling habit, staying below two feet tall and but reaching three feet wide. It looks stunning among roses and tall perennials, because it can spread around the base of these plants.