Working families make decisions that involve quality of life experiences and money management. Setting aside resources for retirement, home improvements, and unanticipated expenses can strain your ability to improve your property. It’s no secret that purchasing annuals every spring adds impermanent beauty while promoting repeat spending. Such landscaping practices are akin to flushing hard-earned wages down the drain.
That’s largely why so many homeowners transition to flowering perennial plants and other mainstays. These assets reliably bloom each year with only modest effort. Home gardeners with a bit of weeding and thinning perennials typically feel satisfied they have cultivated robust, cost-effective flower beds.
But what if you had the knowledge to take that philosophy one step further? What if you could transform the property from inefficient annuals and standalone perennials to a thriving landscape of colorful blooms without spending a nickel after the initial investment? These are ways homeowners can maximize the peaceful enjoyment of their property with a one-time investment.
How To Select Perennial Plants That Deliver Enhanced Benefits
Making informed decisions about perennial plant purchases may prove valuable to consider them in three groups — standalone, moderate spreaders, and fast-spreaders. These are not necessarily expert horticulture terms, but they shine a spotlight on a possible return on investment (ROI).
- Standalone perennials are those that generally do not spread and expand their garden footprint quickly. Some present large, attractive blooms that draw the attention of passersby. These include beautiful plants such as the Daylily, Yarrow, and others. While gardens benefit from their eye-catching beauty, they generally won’t fill out a bed on their own quickly.
- Moderate spreaders generally include Echinacea, Trillium, Wisteria, Phlox, and others that increase their footprint incrementally year-over-year. Again, these remain excellent garden assets that provide valuable property enhancement. But in terms of maximum bang for your buck, it’s a slow but sure process.
- Fast-spreaders may include the Daisy, Black-Eyed Susan, Wild Aster, and creepers like the fragrant Honeysuckle. These perennial plants expand their footprint voraciously year after year. Flowers such as the Black-Eyed Susan seem to thrive as their annual spread increases exponentially. These aggressive perennials can take over flower beds, including standalone and moderate spreaders unless thinned annually.