Perennial Color with Specimens

The Unique Plant

-Pollyann’s-


Big, showy, fragrant, beautiful, different but mesmerizing. Short bloom times, wrong sizes, challenges to keep going. Oh yes, the specimens are all of these and more. These are the perennials “I HAVE TO HAVE” even they aren’t part of my landscape plan. The perennials that beckon me from a nursery shelf and all I do is ask “How much” instead of the zone, color, soil or sun requirements. It just doesn’t matter.

For example, “The Lady Slipper” in the picture. My grandson calls it “my secret plant” because very few people will see it. It blooms early, in the shade all by itself before the rest of the bed is warm enough to begin. And it is wonderful!

SO, these are the perennials that allow you to be extravagant. You don’t have to have a garden full (you can-it’s called “A Specimen Garden”) but however you choose to indulge, specimens can be exhilarating.

Remember: they may be short bloomers, short lived and possibly stinky but they are challenging and beautiful.

As an experienced landscaper (I am a Master Gardener and have 2 University degrees in Fine Art), I design gardens and research perennials that can provide visual impact to satisfy my clients from year to year. You can do it, too, with my help.
I have developed this application to provide my expertise for plant choices, whether for size, color or fragrance. Over 20 years of research, planting, monitoring and risk taking with perennials became my obsession.
During those years, I became quite frustrated at nurseries when the clerks had less knowledge than I had so I wanted to implement a method of having the information “IN MY HAND” to get what I needed. This is the information and now it can go with anyone to find plants for “Perennial Specimens for Colorful Gardens”.

Plants were chosen for their aesthetic qualities as well as their individual strengths and placed in this format:

Name (botanical and common)
Zone (temperature requirements)
Bloom time (length, duration of bloom or time that flowers are visible)
Height (inches and centimeters)
Bloom size (I find this very important and rarely noted on nursery tags)
Planting Space (amount of space in the garden)
Soil (requirements for best growth)
Sun (how much sun)
Bloom duration (yes, the length of blooming is important to any garden)
Habit (how the plant acts in it’s own space)
Use (bouquets, fragrance, border plants, middle ground or background, foliage)
Recommended (plants that would stand out)
Companion plants (complimentary plants for color, size or season)
Pronunciation guide (how to say the name)
Deadhead (how to or whether to snip off spent blooms)
Cutback (techniques for caring for the plant)
Propagation method (how to get the plant to reproduce)
Pest (what I know about bugs)
Disease (what I know about afflictions)
Ecology notes (special interest about the plant, TOXICITY)
Gardener’s tip (something I think may be useful)
Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Without clawing through hundreds of plant books (I have already done that) or reading online text for hours (hundreds of hours) you can choose perennial plants.
This format should make it easy to take straight to any nursery (on foot or online) and ask, show or look for the correct perennial plant(s). 20 years of shopping, researching, and growing perennials are formatted for gardeners and landscapers to ease the frustration of “not knowing”.
Explore the varieties and colors. Smell the fragrance. Get the right size. And end the drama.
Are you ready to plant? Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace, Pollyann