7 Colorful Perennials To Reinvent Your Home

While we’ve all been more or less stuck at home for the past year, most of us paid a lot of attention to our interiors. In fact, so many people are renovating and getting new furniture right now that wait times for delivery have extended into months.

At the same time, our home exteriors, especially during the winter, have received much less love. Time to change that!

In preparation for the summer season, it would be wonderful to brighten up your garden (or back yard, or even balcony) with some perennial flowers and give it a breath of fresh air. Besides, March 12 is an official Plant a Flower Day.

So here are seven best perennials you can plant this spring (which are also easy enough to care for, even for complete beginners) and enjoy for years to come.

1. Sun-Loving Catmints

Start with catmints — full sun perennials that will do great out in the open, especially in south-facing backyards.

Catmints have a minty scent, fuzzy texture and purplish flowers that bloom in mid-summer. They are not demanding in terms of care and attract a wide range of pollinators. For varieties, try Cat’s Meow or Walker’s Low.

2. Happy Black-Eyed Susans

Looking for a complementary color to balance your catmints? Look no further than black-eyed susans. They are also full sun perennials, bright-yellow in color with the black middle.

Black-eyed susans bloom around the same time as catmints, in mid-summer, but last until frost — so they are a perfect combo to plant together.

Even more importantly, black-eyed susans are tough and tolerant of droughts, and will even grow in poor soil. Depending on the variety, you might need to replant them every two years, or not — just make sure to read the directions. Great varieties are American Gold Rush and Indian Summer.

3. Hardy Daylilies

Those who are not known for tending their gardens day in and day out will find daylilies to be the perfect flowers of choice. Not only are they perennial plants and love the sun, they are also almost impossible to kill and grow profusely.

As the name implies, daylilies bloom only for one day (although on and off all summer), but they do so in great numbers. In fact, they will multiply so much that you might have to divide and plant them in separate beds the following year. For the same reason, don’t put them together with catmints or black-eyed susans, but rather just somewhere nearby.

Daylilies come in all kinds of colors. For varieties, try Rainbow Rhythm Nosferatu, Stella De Oro or Romantic Returns.

4. Pollinating Bee Balms

Bee balms are beautiful plants that attract pollinators of all kinds (including bees). They come in many colors, from light pinks to deep reds, and look somewhat spiky.

Just like other flowers mentioned above, bee balms are full sun perennials and look best when planted together. They are also sturdy and will survive in both hot and cold environments. Just make sure you plant them away from your backyard seating areas (unless you really like bees!).

The best bee balm varieties are Pardon My Lavender and Leading Lady Plum.

5. Leafy Sedums

With their large leaves, sedums look more like plants than flowers for most of the year and would be a perfect fit somewhere near the entrance to your house.

Sedums love the sun and are drought-resistant and sturdy (basically foolproof), which makes them a very popular perennial. They also complement most other flowers well since they bloom quite late during the season, when other species tend to fade.

If you find several varieties, try Lemon Coral or Firecracker.

6. Colorful Coneflowers

Coming from the prairies, coneflowers bloom all summer long, stretching their petals far and wide. They come in a range of vibrant colors, grow up to 30 inches, and are used to heat and drought.

When looking for varieties, seek out Magnus, PowWow Wild Berry and Pink Double Delight.

7. Shade-Thriving Hostas

When it comes to shade loving perennials, look no further than hostas. These perennials for shade vary from just four-inches to nearly four-feet tall and can be blue, green, lavender or white in color.

Hostas are famous for their indestructibility and can survive in virtually any environment. However, they do attract bugs, slugs and snails. So make sure to apply a special pest treatment, which will vary depending on where you live.

Since hostas can be rather small, they are perfect to plant in pots and put out on balconies or porches that could be facing north and not getting too much sunlight.

There you go, seven colorful and beginner-friendly ideas for which flowers you can plant this March to instantly brighten up your garden and enjoy the fruits of your labor all season long.