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As the month of April draws to a close, one thing stand outs to me. It’s planting season! Here in Missouri, which is zone 7 on the hardiness zone map, the beginning of May marks the end of temperatures that can dip below freezing at night. A good rule of thumb is to wait until the first part of May to plant in the ground. See what zone your region is in with this map.
Speaking of thumbs, not everyone has a green one. However, don’t let that perceived belief stop you from creating a garden. Whether you desire an expansive backyard paradise or a tiny butterfly garden, these 10 super easy perennials to grow will survive and thrive with little care.
10 Super Easy Perennials to Grow
Perennials are plants that return year after year. They are the foundation of a lasting garden, as they only have to be planted once.
The following plants provide riotous colors along with interesting textures and amazing scents to your garden. Check out this post, Spring Garden Tips, for suggestions on prepping the soil and cleaning up your area before planting.
If you are creating a flower bed or border for the first time, remove grass, turn the soil to a depth of one foot and work in nutrients such as compost before tucking in plants.
Coneflowers
Also known as echinacea, these plants prefer a sunny location and produce purple, white or rose colored blooms from early summer until fall. Coneflowers tolerate the heat well and grow up to three free tall, making them ideal for a southern border. They attract butterflies and hummingbirds. As a bonus, you can create health boosting echinacea tea from the blooms.
Garden Phlox
Related to but not to be confused with creeping phlox, this plant stands tall in the garden, growing to a height of three to five feet. Garden phlox loves the sun and blooms in shades of pinks and purples.
Coreopsis
These sun loving yellow flowers bring cheer to the garden. Growing up to 18 inches in height, the flowers appear on bright green delicate foliage. Extend the blooming time by removing flowers as they fade, a practice known as dead heading.
Russian Sage
This plant, which is closely related to the sage family, thrives during hot weather. Its woody stems grow up to four feet tall and produce small purple flowers and tiny leaves with a distinctive aromatic scent.
Black Eyed Susan
Producing masses of cheerful yellow flowers with dark brown centers, these plants prefer full sun and tolerate heat and drought well. They grow up to three feet tall. Cut back the plants after flowering to produce another round of blooms.
Bearded Iris
Irises put up tall stalks amid a fan of spiky leaves. The plants bloom in a wide variety of colors . Growing up to three feet tall, irises need a sunny spot in the garden. The leaves continue to show off after the spring flowers fade.
Day Lily
On the list of super easy perennials, the day lily ranks high. Extremely easy to grow, these plants thrive in a sunny location and do well in partial shade also. Their flowers vary from bright yellow to golden to orange. Although not absolutely necessary, day lilies respond well to a layer of mulch around them.
Sedum
Sedum, also known as Live Forevers and Stonecrop, ranges from hugging the ground to growing up to three feet tall. The beautiful foliage is gift enough. However in late summer this hardy plant offers clusters of tiny flowers in white, pink, yellow or rusty red.
Hosta
This well known perennial is great for the shady areas in the garden. Growing up to four feet tall and equally wide, this plant produces showy leaves in a variety of greens. Many hostas have variegated leaves. In late summer they send up tall stalks covered with white, lavender or pink flowers.
Coral Bells
Another shade loving plant, coral bells pair well with hostas. Their gorgeous leaves vary from shades of green to purple to reddish brown. The delicate flowers may be white or pink. Because my backyard doesn’t have trees, and therefore no shade, my hostas and coral bells thrive in a garden strip on the north side of the house.
Backyard Garden Series
I hope this 10 super easy perennials to grow post gives you ideas about what plants might do well in your own garden spaces.
I’m excited to present a series of posts over the next few weeks, offering gardening tips and ideas. Take a look at this post in the Backyard Garden Series, 13 Easy Herbs to Grow. And watch for upcoming posts about growing annuals, container gardens, creating a butterfly garden and easy vegetables to grow. I’ll have some fun gardening freebies for you too and ways to make your garden space uniquely yours. If you have questions about gardening, drop me a comment below. The answer might just become a featured post!
As my perennials push up through the ground, I’m excited as well to welcome them back. I’m ready to pick up new annuals and tuck them into place. It’s time to get my hands dirty.
Backyard Garden Series
Check the rest of the posts in this gardening series:
10 Low Maintenance Annuals to Grow
DIY Natural Mosquito Repellent
Check out these cool gardening supplies!
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I love this! So informative and you always have great tips!
We have Black Eyed Susan’s, they are super hearty.
Thank you! I love gardening. Yes black eyes Susans do so well!
Thanks to this post, I now know that I have Coreopsis growing around my rose bushes!!
Thanks for a really informative post…I learned a lot!
Oh that’s awesome! Glad we solved that mystery! 😃
What beautiful photos! Plus, you gave me hope for my not so green thumb.
You can do it! And thanks. I sure enjoy my garden.
I love perennials and the beautiful flowers I get every year. We have some very bad winters that killed a lot the past couple years. Hoping this one was y so bad. Hostess are my absolute favourite. I also have some beautiful likes, a couple bleeding hearts and last year added some irises. Can’t wait until everything starts growing. Thanks for the great post. I’m gonna have to check some of these out. I would love to add some height to our flower garden. Unfortunately we get a lot of shade.
I’ll be do a shade garden post in the near future!
I absolutely adore flowers and I love springtime because then I can bring some color into my home/garden. Unfortunately, I have what I call a ‘black thumb’ and kill all the plants. It’s sad. Maybe one of these flowers will survive me?
Yes! These need very little to no attention. Once established you shouldn’t even have to water except during extreme heat and dryness.
This has me excited for spring! Lovely photos and I’ve now got some great ideas to add to my garden this year! Thanks!
Wonderful!
I have just started an iris bed and it’s nice to have thoughts about what to add to create a visually pleasing border. Thanks!
Wonderful! Irises are so pretty!
I can’t wait to plant flowers and herbs. We are a little behind this year.
Planting is just getting underway here. Look forward to seeing your garden.
Thanks for sharing! I like the Coral Bells, so pretty!
They are! So delicate.
Thank you for sharing. I have been thinking about planting some hostas.
They are so showy! And fill in an area nicely.
THANKS! I’m in the same zone as you and going plant shopping tomorrow, so this was a perfectly timed read! I’m going to Pin it for to reference while shopping.
Wonderful! Happy planting!
Thank you for these perennial tips! Perfect timing for growing!
Yes it’s that time! I’m headed to the garden center tomorrow!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
I have been into vegetable farming so many years and this summer I get to spend it doing perennials! I am so excited. We are zone 4 so it is fun to see different plant suggestions. Thanks! Can’t wait to get dirty. snow showers this weekend though.
How exciting! Look forward to seeing your gardens.
These all sounds lovely! Ironically, while I’m married to a farmer, I do NOT have a green thumb. So, I may not have a lot of success with my gardening, but I love enjoying others hard work!
That’s ok! We all have little gifts and quirks. I’m sure you shine in many areas!
My mom has decided to try gardening again (and is determined to keep me from nick-naming it “the garden of Death” again). I’ll have to send her this for some ideas.
Awww bless her heart! She tries at least! I wish her well.
I have never had much of a green thumb but since we started landscaping our yard a few years ago I have been doing an awesome job and haven’t killed anything yet..lol..Growing anything in Florida seems to be a challenge because of the heat and sun but I’m working on it
Yes Florida would require heat and drought resistant plants for sure. Look forward to seeing photos of your landscaping!
Great advise, I love that they come back every year!
Me too! I love seeing how my garden changes year to year as it shifts and fills in.
Thank you for this. I am looking to add some flowers to my yard and these are great choices.
You are welcome! I look forward to seeing photos of your garden!
I love this. I will look at planting some of these in my yard. I love to plant flowers, but don’t know which to choose for ease.
These are all great starts to a lovely garden!
Perennials are my favorite! I love anything that will thrive without doing the work again next year!
Me too! I use annuals in containers. However my garden continues to thrive year after year with my perennials.
We planted Hostas in 2004 after we bought our home. This past summer was their last as they finally stopped growing full. I would say 14 years is great for not really doing anything with them except cutting them down before winter.
Wow that’s excellent! Are you planting new hostas?
Very interesting, thank you! I’ve never tried my hand at planting anything (never really had the room), but now we moved and have tons of land, so I’ll have to give some of these a try!
How exciting! A blank canvas to create upon. I’d love to see photos of what you do.
I love this post. I now have garden envy. lol . I don’t do well with maintaining even the easiest of plants, but I can certainly appreciate the hard work of others. Your garden must be a delight to hang out in.
Thank you! It is. It truly is my backyard paradise and I spend much time in it.
What a nice list! Wish you all lived near, you could have some coneflower plants….they self seed like weeds if you don’t deadhead them. I try to rotate mine every four years as I use the roots for tinctures and infusions. Thanks for sharing!
Don’t you love coneheads?! I’d love to know more about your tinctures and infusions. Do you write about those? I make echinacea tea from the blooms.
Wow, these all look great! I have zero green thumb, so I definitely need to start with easy to grow plants and flowers like these!
No green thumb required for these! Sunny locations for all but the hosta and coral bells. And watering until they are thriving well. That’s it!
Thanks for the suggestions! I usually just do petunias, so now I’m inspired to branch out a little more. Thanks!
Petunias are a fine start. Hope you can find some other flowers to enjoy.
I need to try some of these plants. I love plants but I am not the greatest with them. these are beautiful,
These are easy to grow and maintain!
So pretty! We live in zone 9, which tends to be less forgiving for a lot of flowering perennials.
You are right! Do you plant annuals?
I wish I have a green thumb. Everything I have tried in the past….. I love looking at a beautiful garden and just amazed at them.
Enjoying a beautiful garden does wonders for the soul as well!
What beautiful plants! I’ll be moving into a new apartment later this year and I think it would be fun to try a little balcony garden 🙂
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Yes! Container gardens are so fun and add a pop of color.
You’ve inspired me to up my gardening game!
Wonderful! I look forward to seeing your beautiful garden
Getting outside and planting beautiful flowers each year is one of my favorite things! It can seriously add so much color to your home 🙂
Yes and it brings such joy. I love being in my garden.
The coral bells are such a great garden filler! Even in the desert where I live+
That’s great to know that they do well in your area. I love them.
Oh I just love this post. so much green and pretty!!! I wish I had a yard to grow such pretty things.
After the Joplin tornado I lived in an apartment for two years while my house was being repaired. I had a tiny balcony but it was full of containers and flowers! Maybe you can have a little container garden.
Great list! I love perennials as they make gardening easier every year! LOL. I am planning on planting a few once we are past the frost which is usually around May 15.
That’s right! They do make gardening easier year after year. That’s what I love too.
your garden looks amazing!! Very impressive 🙂 Thanks for the easy-growing tips!
Thank you! And you are welcome!
I’m slowly working towards just having perennials. It’s so hard though where I live to find ones the deer won’t eat. I have peonies lavender, poppies, and of course thyme and sage.
I’m in the city so I don’t have problems with deer. Somewhere in my notes I have a natural anti-deer spray that’s not toxic. I’ll look for it!
My mom used to have a bush that grew back almost every year. I wish I could remember what they were! I think maybe azaleas? Always so beautiful.
Azaleas are beautiful! I have a 30+ year old bush that’s still blooming every spring.
Perfect timing for this post. I need to do some work in my yard this weekend. Thanks!
Wonderful b enjoy your gardening. 😊
These are all so pretty, but I honestly don’t have a green thumb at all. I love the azaleas, though.
Azaleas are so pretty this time of year! I have a very old azalea bush and it’s still blooming every spring.
This is a great list. I love perennials because I don’t have to keep buying them. However I’m not very good with a garden either. Easier the better! Thanks!
Perennials are the foundation of my garden. I love that they return and spread! I use Annuals in containers. And I have lots of those!