Tell me about perennials

Go_Dawgs

We just moved from a townhome to a house with a big yard, so this is my first year having to think about landscape and gardening.  We're doing a square foot vegetable garden and I've done tons of reading and planning, and plan to plant this coming weekend (thanks for all of the helpful tips in the post below!!)

I also want to do some small raised beds of flowers.  I think that I want perennials for ease of care.  I really don't want to be constantly planting flowersCan anyone explain to me (or direct me to a website that explains) what I can plant in a single box?  Can I plant in one container different perennials that bloom at different times?  If so, how do I figure out spacing and what can be planted together?

Thanks for your help!!

aschleser

Your local garden center is a wonderful starting place, or even Lowe's garden centers.  They often have prepotted plants you can use for inspiration.  Most perennials have guides on them as well to tell you spacing.  I've used online garden plans to create my landscaping, and its done well.  Just remember some perennials start out much smaller, so plant for their future size, not their current size!!  Better homes and gardens has TONS of great information and ideas on their online site.

Good luck, gardening is addicting   There are soo many choices and combinations you can do!

Go_Dawgs

Thanks for these tips!!

FoxinFiji

Try looking at your library for books on continuous bloom.  They go through month-by-month the plants that are blooming in your area for different conditions.  Try to get a mix of colors, heights, and bloom times.  There are also lots of low maintenance perennial books at the library you can check out too.