July- The Best Time For Perennials

Mid-summer is the time around here when perennials are at there peak. I wish that they lasted until frost, but unfortunately, most of them don't. These, old fashioned garden phlox are the descendants of one plant which I have separated through the years into around twenty different areas around the property. These are one of the few perennial flowers which, usually, last well into the fall. You can buy these in various shades of pink, red, white and purple, but I have noticed that through the years the ones I have periodically change into various colors on their own. The only problem that I have with these is that they develop a fungus or disease of some sort on the stem and leaves that often turns them brown. I read somewhere that this is a result of too little water as opposed to too much, however it doesn't seem to affect the flowering.

Echinacea or Purple Cone flowers and Shasta Daisies are two more of my favorites. The Shasta Daisies will last for quite a long time, and are very hardy. They will also bloom again if you dead-head them by snipping off the dead blooms.

Muti-floral Yarrow is a nice change from the usual yellow yarrow that I grew for years. It lasts a long time in mid summer, but gets very tall and needs to be staked. It multiplies rapidly and is very easy to devide and transplant.

Autumn Sedum needs very little watering since it has thick stems of a succulent. The flower heads will eventually turn pink and white. These can be dried, and make really nice arrangements.