This field of purple coneflowers is
just one of the top 10
perennials of this year.

The Top 10 Are...

By now, you're hooked. Your garden is increasingly a perennial one. Your yearly investment in annuals gets smaller and smaller, and every year more and more of your plantings return in the spring. Who was it who said, "Friends don't let friends plant annuals"? Well, that may be a tad harsh. Because many perennials have shortcomings, especially in the frustratingly short length of bloom time. Most annuals bloom all season long, but your standard perennials -- what, four weeks? Gardeners can have flowering perennials in their yard all season though, as long as they plant a select group of easy-to-grow, long-blooming perennials. A worthy trade group called the Perennial Plant Association has a yearly "plant of the year" award simply to let gardeners in on this trade secret. The group has picked a perennial annually for 13 years now, beginning with the ground cover Plox stolonifera back in 1990. Here we list the 10 perennial plants of the year -- a decade of all-stars, chart-topping charmers all, a veritable Top 10 of the horticultural world.

 

Blue Speedwell

Veronica Sunny Border Blue The 7-inch, dark blue spikes of this veronica bob atop a plant that grows low enough that you can actually place it at the front of the border. And when was the last time you saw something this vertical placed way up front?

Bloom Time: Early summer to late autumn. Height: 18 to 24 inches. Hardiness: To 40 degrees F below zero. Light: Full sun to very light shade.

 

Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea Magnus This prairie wildflower achieves a level of sophistication in the Magnus variety, which throws its petals out horizontally daisy-style, instead of thrusting them downward like a tattered slip. A great cut flower.

Bloom time: Midsummer to early autumn. Height: 2-1/2 to 3 feet. Hardiness: To 40 degrees F below zero. Light: Sun.

 

Black-Eyed Susan

Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm Here's another prairie wildflower that often gets a bad rap because of its overuse. Common, you say? Well, of course! Goldsturm, despite its Czech and German origins, is truly an American icon. And it's an endearing pass-along plant. Plant three and soon you will have seven. Then it's time to share.

Bloom Time: Midsummer to late fall. Hardiness: To 30 degrees F below zero. Light: Sun. Height: 2 to 2-1/2 feet.

 

Purple-Leaved Beard-Tongue

Penstemon digitalis Husker Red These pink-tinged white flowers and the maroon-red foliage are quite a display in and of themselves. But, really, they pair nicely with almost anything. As with all purple foliage, a backdrop of lighter color foils that "black hole" syndrome.

Bloom Time: Early to late summer. Height: 2-1/2 feet. Hardiness: To 40 degrees F below zero. Light: Sun.