Perennials are the permanent part of the flower garden, so you'll want to make sure they match with the patio fountain. Annuals and biennials (two seasons) come and go, but many, not all, perennials remain. In the small garden, perennials alone would hardly maintain bloom through the season. Bulbs and the annuals fill the gaps and give variation. The period of bloom of some perennials is very short. Familiarity with the various perennials will guide you as to which are best under your conditions.

Some, too, will have more personal appeal than others. Some perennials have a long life, some very short. Peonies, phlox, poppies, lilies of the valley, daylily, iris and some others remain for years. But lupine, columbine, delphinium, gaillardia, windflower (anemone) and others have a short life. The region and the climate have much to do with their duration. Fortunately, most perennials can be grown from seed.

Sown in the garden, in well prepared, loose soil during spring or early summer, depending on the region, the plants will flower the following year. Some, indeed, will bloom the same year if started early in a
coldframe. Transplanted to another spot and given space to grow, you can have plants the equal of any you might buy at the nursery. There are some which the gardener does not usually grow from seed. These include peonies, daylily, iris, phlox and chrysanthemum.

These are increased by dividing the plants every few years; iris in July or soon after blooming, peonies in September, chrysanthemums and phlox in spring. There is an idea that once perennials are planted, you are assured of flowers for years without further trouble but this is hardly true. Besides, some control must be kept. Perennials like dragon-head (physostegia), beebalm, mountain pink (phlox), tickseed (coreopsis) and a few others would in a few years take over and choke out the less aggressive plants.

The plan offered is based, first, upon spreading the bloom over a greater part of the season by using bulbs, annuals and perennials. Replacements are provided for, where the early bulbs cease to flower.
Combinations are also suggested where a perennial has a short season of bloom or perhaps dies out altogether. Other combinations are planned to give a more balanced display. Where annual seeds are to be sown on top of the hardy bulbs, or plants set out instead, it is advisable to plant the tulip bulbs eight inches deep instead of the customary six inches.

Tulips and others may be left in and not dug up. Gladioli may be planted among the perennials, too. You
might also plant dahlias—but not on top of the hardy bulbs. Lilies may be set among peonies. Gladioli
may be set among the very early flowering perennials where there is nothing but low foliage to be seen all summer. They flower well among the very early short-flowering perennials like painted daisy, leopardbane (doronicum) and astilbe, although the latter is mid-summer flowering.

Most perennials are strong feeders. A plan using the soil so intensively should be well prepared. Dig it more than a foot deep and mix in liberal amounts of organic matter. Bonemeal, one part mixed with five parts of dried cow manure and applied seven pounds per hundred square feet in early spring, will get the plants off to a good start. This is well mixed with the soil at planting time too.