You can grow colourful flowers with minimal effort.

Flowers can fill any yard with vivid colours and wonderful fragrances. They can also attract butterflies and birds and the envy of friends and neighbours. Yet many homeowners shy away from growing them simply because they lack the time and know-how that most flower gardens demand.

That's where perennials come in. Compared with annuals, perennials can provide a lifetime of pleasure with minimal care. Their year-to-year reappearance saves the time, labour and expense of replanting. And, when carefully chosen and planted in the right location, they are seldom affected by pests and diseases. In fact, the right perennials involve less routine work, giving you both flowers and free time.

PERENNIAL PRIMER

A perennial is any plant that lives more than two years. Even the lowest-maintenance perennials live longer and look more radiant with the right care. Some planning and soil preparation before planting will get the flowers off to a healthy start and minimise upkeep.

Choosing a site

Perennials look great when arranged in casual or formal beds; combining three or more of each type prevents a fussy polka-dot look. Shape beds almost any way that's easy to work and mow around. Rectangles and kidney shapes are popular, as is massing many plants of one type for ground cover.

Start small if this is your first attempt at growing perennials. Combine three to five different plants to add a splash of colour near an entranceway or at the edges of a pool, deck or some other strategic location. Choose a planting site where water doesn't puddle. Once you choose a site, sketch a plan showing the location of each plant. Be sure to give plants the space they need to grow. Then use the sketch to figure how many plants to buy.

Purchasing plants

Perennials are readily available at nurseries. When choosing perennials, match their needs to the soil type, sun exposure and other site conditions. And make sure the ones you pick can survive the weather situation where you live.

Preparing for planting

Spade the site two weeks before planting and remove all sod and weeds. Use a garden rake to break up any large clumps of soil, which can slow plant development. Then fortify the soil by adding compost. Finish off by sprinkling a garden fertiliser over the area. Then work it into the soil. Don't use a high-nitrogen lawn fertiliser; it will make perennials grow more leaves and fewer flowers.

Putting them in

Start by setting the new plants out where they'll grow while they're still in their pots. That allows you to check their spacing and see how they work together. Make any necessary changes now. Then start planting.

Use a trowel to dig the planting hole, making it deep enough and wide enough for the root ball. Then remove the plant from its container by turning the pot over and tapping the bottom with one hand while you support the plant with the other never pull the plant by its stem. Gently feather the plant roots as you position it in the hole. Set the plant at the same depth it grew in the pot and return the soil, firming it in place with your fingers. Water plants gently and deeply so water penetrates below the root ball. Then spread a layer of organic mulch, such as shredded bark, 2 to 3 in. deep over the soil surface between plants. This layer of mulch suppresses weeds, conserves moisture by reducing evaporation, keeps soil temperatures cool and lessens the impact of pounding rain and irrigation water.

Ongoing care

Newly planted perennials often require frequent watering to prevent their roots from drying out. Keeping soil moist not wet throughout the first season promotes deeper root growth and added drought resistance. Once plants are fully established, they will require less frequent irrigation.

Weeding is another core requirement. But you can minimise this chore by renewing the mulch layer every now and then so it can act as a weed barrier. Also pull weeds before they set seed to keep them from spreading further.

Two other techniques will help keep perennials looking their best. One is to cut off spent blooms. Called deadheading, it encourages a new flush of growth in some perennials, causing them to blossom a second time. The other is dividing the process of lifting and prying or cutting plants apart to prevent crowding, reduced flowering and patchy clumps with bare centres. Dividing rejuvenates the clump and creates new divisions you can plant elsewhere or give away. Most perennials need dividing every three to five years.

Follow these basic steps, and you'll be growing beautiful perennials.

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