The Best Perennials for Sun
Every garden needs the personal touch that comes from unique and diverse plants. Yet those plants are not always able to handle the sunniest areas of the garden. That?s where these plants come in. This list of tried-and-true hardy perennials for sun is essential to build the foundation of a garden. Whether you?re hoping to start a new garden from scratch, or fill in an existing garden with low-maintenance beauties, add these to your list.
Sunny gardens have harsh conditions that cause some plants to wilt, but not these cool customers. Plant these perennials for sun in your brightest spots and watch them bloom and thrive all summer long.
Geranium (perennial geranium)
and other love the purplish blue bell-shaped flowers of the perennial geranium. These prolific bloomers thrive in various soil conditions and are extremely low maintenance.
Hemerocallis (daylily)
These colorful lilies come in thousands of varieties and thrive in sunny areas. They grow in various different soil conditions and are easy to care for. What?s not to love?
Iris Sibirica (Siberian iris)
Blooming in early summer, these elegant irises require very little care and will produce a bounty of blooms in shades of blue, white, purple, or yellow.
Rudbeckia Hirta (black-eyed Susan)
Black-eyed Susans do well in sunny gardens and can tolerate drought. They come in many shades of yellow and orange and range in size from tiny flowers to seven-foot-tall plants.
Sedum ?Autumn Joy?
A beautiful bloomer in late summer and early fall, Autumn Joy lights up the fall harden with big, pink flower heads that look like a fireworks display.
Do you have a shady area in your garden too? Be sure to check out for the 7 best perennials for shade.
Want to read more about perennials? Here are a whole bunch more resources to keep you busy!
I?m a complete plant geek, I admit it. I get overly excited about plants and I am always looking for new and interesting applications for them. When I created a way to accessorize with plants?by making living jewelry?well, then I became a little obsessed.
are such fun. They?re the modern-day pet rock: a spiky, green, (alive) pet rock, with a modern aesthetic. And what better way to bring your pet with you than to wear it as jewelry?
Here is how it started: I had a large collection of small air plants and spent a number of years working on how to best make them wearable. I bought hundreds of dollars of air plants and jewelry supplies and made everything from necklaces and earrings to hair clips and brooches. I learned what worked and what didn?t, and I was able to keep these slow-growing plants alive and happy for years. Well, those that are the most suitable as jewelry, that is. It?s all part of the learning process.
You don?t have to love all things green as much as I do to appreciate the portability of air plants and the possibilities for what you can make with them. Air plants, or Tillandsia, are epiphytes, which means that they can grow and thrive without soil. Read for more information such as how to care for them, display them, and even how to get them to bloom.
Even if you have had one die on you, don?t give up just yet! You may have had a more delicate variety or just didn?t have the background on proper care.
So after more than a year of creating almost 40 jewelry pieces and caring for them all month after month, I decided it was time to pare down the collection. I gave many of them away, and rented a table at a few local craft fairs to adopt out the rest. They all went home with detailed care instructions so that their new owners could enjoy them for many years to come. Once the last one left my table, I was both sad and relieved to say goodbye. I missed having live plants to accessorize with, and yet I didn?t miss the watering and maintenance that came with having such a large collection of living jewelry.
The other day, while giving my plants a bath, I felt the nostalgia for the living art that would make people do a double take when I was out on the town wearing them. While there are still many air plants in my collection, I miss having at least one piece of air plant jewelry to wear. Let?s change that, shall we? I?ll make a new necklace and photograph the steps so that I can write about it here.
If you have enjoyed the photos of my previous pieces, then be sure to keep an eye out as I?ll follow up with a DIY post on how to make your own living jewelry. Now that the inspiration is flowing again, I?m excited about gathering the materials and making just one necklace that I can care for and enjoy.
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