The art of landscaping comes with a long list of terms and jargon. Three words many people hear often in landscaping but might not know what they mean are perennial, annual, and biennial. What are these terms, and how do they fit into landscaping?
What Are Annuals, Perennials, and Biennials?
Annuals, perennials, and biennials are terms for types of plants. More specifically, they are terms used to describe how often a plant blooms and how long the plant lives.
Annuals
An annual plant is one that blooms for a longer period, but only lasts for one growing season. Some of these plants can reseed and create new plants with some knowledge and work from the gardener. Most often, the average person will purchase new plants already in bloom to add to their landscape once a year. Often, these plants come at a lower price tag at the store due to their shorter lifespan and usefulness.
Perennials
A perennial is a plant that has a shorter blooming time compared to an annual, but perennials return to bloom again in their peak growing season for multiple years. To be categorized as a perennial, a plant has to come back for at least three seasons. Many plants can rebloom for many more years, however. For example, a rose bush.
Biennials
This term is less used and less known among average everyday homeowners/gardeners. A biennial most often starts from planting a seed. It spends the first season producing foliage and establishing a root system. When the plant has lived through its first dormant season (most often winter), it will flower in the second year. Some varieties of plants can reseed.
How Can These Plants Be Used in a Landscape?
Use Perennials to Anchor
Perennial plants are a bit more expensive compared to other varieties because they come back for more than one season. These are the plants that are great for anchoring your flowerbed spaces in your landscape to provide focal points that you can rely on your after year. There are two categories of perennial plants called herbaceous and woody. The woody variety provides foliage and interest through the colder winter months. Herbaceous perennials die back to the main stem structure of the plant. It is a good idea to incorporate both so you have some landscape, visual interest all year long in your yard.
Use Annuals to Fill In
Annuals are those fun spring blooms that you often see posted all over flyers and advertisements for garden centers and local nurseries. This is because they are the ones that bring the most beauty, interest, color, and excitement to the season. The only downside is that they don’t produce flowers for more than one season. It is great to use these plants to fill in the extra spaces that are most accessible in your flowerbeds, such as along the edges or along walkways. They bring the pop of fun and excitement to your landscape during the spring and summer. However, you don’t want to plant all annuals in your garden because this could get expensive, having to completely replant your garden every year.
Use Biennials to Provide Blooms Between Seasons
Biennials are great to use for the small time gap between when your annuals that flower in early spring give up their blooms, and you are waiting for plants that bloom in super warm summer months to come alive. They feel the gap between late spring and early summer to continue to give interest through an entire growing season in your landscape.
If you want to take your yard from great to amazing, contact the landscape designers at First Fruits Landscaping. Let’s get started turning your yard into a work of art that not only looks great but also functions well for your lifestyle. We provide landscaping services in Snohomish County and King County.