When planning your garden, consider bloom times carefully. If you mistakenly choose all early summer bloomers, you may be disappointed when there's only foliage in your garden from midsummer on. Perennial plants take some time to get established. You may get a few flowers in the first season, depending on the size of the plant you've purchased, but you'll need to wait a season or two for the real show to begin. Plan to add some annual flowers to your new perennial beds to carry you through the first growing season.
Annual geraniums contrast nicely with perennial salvia.
Butterfly Blue' Scabiosa Long bloom season and beaudtiful color made this plant the Perennial of the Year in 2000. Stella De Oro' Daylily Sturdy dwarf variety flowers all summer. Trouble-free and reliable, it's hardy in zones 3 through 9. Loyalist Hosta Hostas are the classic shade plant. Long-lived and easy to care for.