PERENNIALS COULD BE THE ANSWER YOU NEED

Sandi Lockhart and Robin Stanley

UCCE/El Dorado Master Gardeners

Q. I am interested in planting a flower garden for both color and fragrance, but frankly, I don’t know where to begin. What sorts of plants will grow in this area and how do I go about selecting them?

A. A perennial border is one way to achieve variety of color, fragrance and texture throughout the year. Perennials are simply plants that come back year after year. They are available in an almost limitless array of colors, sizes, textures and growing requirements.

When planning and planting a perennial border you should consider number of elements. How much sun or shade does your selected planting area receive? How much water is available at the site? Are you able or willing to irrigate? Do you have particular soil problems? What colors would you most enjoy seeing? Do you have favorite color combinations?

Once you have answered a few of these questions, you can begin to select specific plants. Local nurseries usually offer varieties that do well in your area. There are a couple of systems developed by growers to help gardeners identify plants that are suited to particular areas. The one most widely used in our area is the Sunset Western Climate Zone System. A Sunset Western Garden Guide or a call to the Master Gardener office can aid you in establishing your garden’s zone.

Keep your garden’s exposure in mind as you select plants. While there are certainly more flowers that love the sun, there are a great many that thrive in the shade or semi-shade. Placing a plant where it will be happiest is the first step to gardening success.

In general you will want to place taller plants at the back of the border and shorter ones nearer the front. Keep the mature size of the plants in mind when you space them in the garden. Properly spaced plants will almost certainly look a bit sparse when they are first planted unless you are buying and planting expensive full-grown specimens. But as your plants reach mature size they will flourish in the space you gave them.

For ease in maintaining perennials, group them by growing requirements. Place those that need frequent water together and close to a water source or irrigation system. Similarly, place those that are more drought-tolerant together and further from irrigation.

Look for color combinations that are pleasing to you, but keep in mind the blooming periods for the plants you select. It does no good to carefully choose a terrific combination if one is a spring bloomer and the other puts on its show in October.

And finally, remember that flower color isn’t the only attraction in the garden. A great many perennials offer terrific texture, fragrance, color and structural interest quite apart from their blooms. Soft textures, brilliantly-colored leaves, or interesting branch structure can create a fascinating garden even through the winter months.

Q. What is the best time to plant perennials? I worry that if we get cold weather in the fall, my plants might die.

A. Fall really is the best time to plant most perennials in the foothills. That’s because fall planting allows perennials to get established while the soil and air are still warm and then the natural moisture of the rainy season allows the plants to put down roots deep into the soil. That way, when the warm weather comes in the spring, these plants have an advantage over newly planted ones.

You didn’t say how long you have lived here but if you are new, you’ll need to consider what plants are appropriate for your landscape here. Because so many people have moved to El Dorado County from milder climates, such as the coast or Southern California, it is important that newcomers understand that our choice of plants is different than in more temperate zones. Be sure you consider the hardiness of a plant for your zone (usually Sunset zones 7 or 9) when you select plants for your landscape. Plants that are well adapted for our zone should be hardy through the winter, whether it is their first or their fifth. There are certainly some perennial plants that people in El Dorado grow which are not labeled as hardy in our zone. In that case, we take extra care with them, keeping them in containers that are moved inside or planting them under overhangs for winter protection.