by TD Small

Created on: May 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 28, 2009

What could be better than a perennial garden? Once established, all a gardener has to do is walk out occasionally and enjoy the fresh growth and new blooms, right? While a perennial garden may seem like it should be a somewhat low maintenance garden, after a few years of growth, every garden needs a little remodeling to keep it looking good and under control.

Whether you are the proud new owner of an old perennial bed that has been abandoned for a few years, or you are simply updating your perennial garden that has become somewhat overgrown, with just a little planning and some sweat and love, that flower bed will soon be coming to life for you.

One of the first things you should do is look over your perennial garden and decide which plants are the healthiest and salvageable. After this choice has been made, you are ready to tackle any weed problems that may have infested your garden plot. Some areas may be so weed-infested the best thing to do will be to simply dig up the entire garden area by turning over the soil and knocking the dirt off of the weed clumps and the perennials that you have decided to not try to save. These can be thrown into your compost pile. Turning over the soil will not only loosen up compacted soil, but will also allow air, water, and nutrients to easily reach the soil below. If needed, add peat moss or compost to your flower bed for additional nutrients.

When choosing plants for your perennial garden, two things to keep in mind are color and blooming season. With proper placement and plant choices you can have a perennial garden that is in bloom from early spring with perennials such as grape hyacinths through fall with sedum. A good perennial garden will be in bloom for many months and add not only interest but variety to your home landscape.

One of the best ways to expand your perennial garden is to divide up the perennials you already have. Many perennials need divided every 3 to 5 years. This can easily be done by digging with a shovel about 6 inches away from all sides of the plant to be divided. Pull the entire plant out of the ground and cut away the parts of the plants that you want to transplant somewhere else or discard due to disease. Watering the plants a day or two before dividing will help with the dividing and keeping them well watered after transplanting will help with the shock of the move. Fall blooming perennials should be divided in the early spring before the summer heat has set in and spring blooming

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