Perennial garden challenges

The most important characteristic of perennial flower beds is tough soil. Their residents, once established, don't take kindly to being disturbed, and as much as you try to dig around their roots, the dirt tends to get much harder than it would in an annual border.

This is both a good thing, because many plants really thrive with more weight on their roots, and a bad thing, because heavy soil tends to drain poorly and make weeds harder to pull. If you are a plant propagation enthusiast, mulching is not an option because it can be very damaging to young seedlings.

For this reason the perennial garden requires almost round the clock weeding, pruning and deadheading to keep it looking neat, and still, after all the work, unless it was a complete full-grown plant installation, you shouldn't expect the flawless look of annual borders.

This slight randomness is part of its charm, and its plants tend to fill up quickly, pushing against each other to cover the space until no square inch remains. I love my delphinium and rose border, despite the fact the delphiniums grew too close to the front, engulfing a soon to bloom lily, and the rambling roses are stretching their flexible canes everywhere but where they were supposed to, smothering everything unde
eath. A few smaller plants around their feet look mostly overwhelmed, but since they get enough rain and sunshine, they keep growing.