When planning your landscape, perennials should be included as an integral part of the overall design. Like annuals, perennials provide you with welcome splashes of color in your Michigan garden. The added beauty of perennials is that they will bloom year after year whereas annuals have to be replanted each year at the beginning of the growing season for that particular annual. Keeping in mind that the perennial beds will be dormant during the colder winter months, it is a wise idea to plant them in front of a bed of evergreen shrubs so that there will be some visual interest when the perennials are not actively growing. During the growing season, the evergreen backdrop provides a nice canvas in front of which to showcase the perennial colors.

A few sun-loving perennials for your Michigan garden include varieties of Dianthus, Achillea, Chrysanthemum, Coreopsis, Phlox and Echinacea 'Big Sky™ Twilight'. In a shaded area, you might consider planting Fringed Bleeding Heart 'Luxuriant' (Dicentra 'Luxuriant) or Fringed Bleeding Heart 'Alba', (Dicentra eximia 'Alba') or Oxalis Charmed Wine (Oxalis crassipes 'Charmed™ Wine'). Click here to find Perennials retailers in Michigan.

Perennials beds should be prepared much like annual beds using compost soil amendments to enrich the soil and improve drainage. After planting, be sure to mulch generously with hardwood mulch to protect the roots from colder winter temperatures, to help the plants retain moisture and to prevent soil erosion and weed growth.