Perennials . . . Organic Flower Gardening

In an effort to encourage community pride, my other half and I take great pains to insure that our yard is presentable!  After spending the first three years with my organic vegetable gardening, it was time for me to try my hand at the organic flower gardening. It was time to liven up my yard with beautiful flowers so I had to do my research and this is what I discovered  . . . 


Perennial flowers are a hardy, strong, local flowers that come back every year without you having to replant. During the off seasons, the flowers and stems of the perennials die back and you can hardly even tell the plant is there. When it’s time to bloom, entirely new flowers shoot up where the old ones once were, reoccurring year after year.


You need to make sure that your soil has proper drainage before you decide what type of perennial you are going to plant. If the water stays saturated for long periods of time, you should build a raised bed for proper drainage. To do a drainage test, dig a hole and fill it with water. Wait a day, and then fill it with water again. All traces of water should be gone within 10 hours. If the hole isn’t completely dry, you will need to build a raised bed.


Picking your perennials can be a complicated process. The goal should be to have them flowering as much as possible during the year, so you should create an outline of the year. Research the different types of flower you want, and create a timeline of flowering. If you plan it right, you can have a different type of flower blooming at any point in the year. Getting just the right mixture of seeds can give your yard a constantly changing array of colors.

When you go to buy the seeds from your local florist or nursery, you might be able to find a custom seed mixture for your area. This takes the really tough research part out of the job. Usually these blends are optimized for the local climate, and do great jobs of having flowers always grow in your yard. If one of these isn’t available, you can ask the employees what they think would be a good mixture. They should be happy to help you put something together which will be optimal for whatever you desire.

You should definitely use mulch when planting perennials. This will reduce the overall amount of work you have to do, by reducing the amount of weeds and increasing the water retention. Bark or pine needles work great, I have found, and depending on the rest of your yard you might have them on hand at no charge. As for fertilizer, you should use it sparingly once your plants start to come to life.


When you actually go to plant the seeds, you should put them in small, separate clumps according to the directions. This is because they tend to spread out, and if you have too many too close together then they will end up doing nothing but choking each other out. As you plant them, throw in a little bit of extremely weak fertilizer. In no time at all you should start to see flowers blooming up.