In the garden: perennials are the easy option

With their life span of five years or more, once perennials are in the ground they just need water, some fertiliser every now and then and they flower as regularly as clockwork.

By having a mix of spring/autumn and summer flowering perennials there will always be something in flower. It is as simple as that. Right now the autumn flowering perennials are strutting their stuff: Japanese anemone, campanulas, yarrow, Michaelmas daisies, rudbeckia, gaillardia and goldenrod.

Gaillardia thrive in full sunlight.

Generally, the best time to plant perennials is in autumn or spring, although plants in containers can be planted out at any time of the year. The only effort that you need to put in is to prepare the soil well before planting. Dig in lots of compost, some well rotted manure if you have it and add superphosphate or bonemeal. That will provide a solid foundation for the plants to grow for many years.

Besides regular watering and fertilising in spring and midsummer, the only other task, for some perennials, is to cut stems down to the ground after flowering. This encourages new growth and in some cases a new flush of flowers. Mulching is also a good idea, especially a thick layer of compost, because this continues to feed the soil and keep the roots cool.

Foxgloves look splendid in the spring.

Autumn is also a good time to lift and divide overgrown or dense clumps of spring flowering perennials, like irises, day lilies and scabiosa.

That is the other bonus of perennials. With perennials you get plants for free. Most can be divided after a few years. They will have multiplied into many smaller plants, like shasta daisies or Michaelmas daisies, or developed into clumps that can be split up, like agapanthus, irises, daylilies and cannas. The reason for dividing is to have younger, more vigorous plants as one may find that overcrowded plants tend to flower less or produce smaller flowers.

Day lilies are a hardy option.

Generally, the safest time to divide is after they have finished flowering.

There are some interesting exceptions. Cannas do best if divided every year, usually right at the beginning of spring just as the new growth is emerging. They grow so vigorously that they quickly fill up the space and being gross feeders will appreciate being replanted into a bed that has been replenished with compost.

On the other hand, clivia and peonies don’t like to be divided and even agapanthus may skip a season of flowering if divided.

An unusual mix of gaura “Sparkler” and Chlorophytum comosum (hen-and-chickens) with the dark purple leaves of Ipomoea, in a patio garden. Pictures: Supplied.