All the flowers you sprinkle into your garden have a set lifecycle. There are the annuals, that are only going to last a season and will die at the end. There are perennials, that come back year after year. Then there is the mysterious world of biennials. These are plants that can somehow survive a winter enough to come back for season two, but are too lazy to stick around after. Biennials have a two-year lifecycle instead of one, and are prolific self-seeders, too.
You should sow biennials now, and get them into the ground early enough that they’ll get six to eight weeks of sun before the autumn rain and cold sets in. They'll spend the winter gaining root strength. By next summer, they’ll be established enough to put on a show.
I often speak of foxglove as a perennial, because once it takes hold in your garden, it will self-seed so prolifically you’ll see it every year. But foxglove’s majestic spikes are actually a biennial, which is why the plants will bop around your garden every two years. Foxgloves need almost no care once established. They carry on without your help.
Also known as dianthus, many of us overlook the utility of Sweet William due to how varied its color and patterns can be. These blooms will top out at around 12-14 inches and can mostly be found in the pink band of color. However, the markings on the flower face vary greatly, and a field of dianthus is breathtaking.
To view columbine on the seed packet, you wouldn’t think much of it. In the wild, columbine are sculpturally magnificent blooms that I’ve always thought resembled a mobile. The flowers teeter off the stems like little fireworks in the garden. Like Sweet William, columbine come in a mess of colors and patterns.
If you like hydrangea, phlox’s big puffballs of blooms have a similar vibe. In fact, like hydrangea, phlox now comes in a few types, from panicles that shape the puffs into ombré cones, to creeping versions that cover the ground in puffy flowers.
Like foxglove, hollyhock shoots straight into the air on gigantic spires, which feature entire flowers along the spike rather than sprinklers of small bells like foxgloves. The advantage of their height is that hollyhocks can stand clear of shrubs and other bushier plants, poking out from behind them. They make a great border against fences, as well.
Garden lace, as I like to call it, dara is simply flowering carrot. Sending up tall cut and come again stems, dara is a great grow if you love bouquets as the perfect filler. Dara spreads prolifically, so be careful to tear it out at the end of summer before it drops seeds everywhere.
