10 Easy Perennials for the Front of Your Home
Your front beds are prime real estate for colorful blooms and stand-out foliage. To help you choose plants worthy of the spotlight, we have selected ten easy-to-grow perennials you can plant next to your house and count on to always be in tip-top shape. All of them thrive in average garden soil if it is well-drained. They also will not mind if you miss a day or two of watering after they are established. Let us take a closer look at each of these low maintenance plants for your foundation garden bed.
*These ten plants are organized from shortest to tallest to help you plant from front to back.
Coral Bells
As one of the easiest plants to grow, Coral Bells are essentially carefree at 8-12 inches tall and 22-30 inches wide at maturity dependent on the variety you plant. They are tolerant of a wide range of light and soil conditions, heat, drought, and even humidity.
With a wide range of colors, you can easily find a variety that fits your unique garden style. What is more, the leaves have ruffles and waves that add interesting texture to the lower parts of your garden beds. Long-lasting in cut arrangements and attractive to pollinators, Coral Bells is an easy decision if you are looking for a shorter, low-maintenance plant around your home.
Primo® 'Wild Rose' Coral Bells
Dolce® 'Spearmint' Coral Bells
Stonecrop
It is hard to imagine an easier perennial to grow than this little cutie. It forms a perfect dome-shaped mound that hugs the ground, reaching just 10-12” inches tall in full bloom. That makes it a perfect choice for growing along the edge of your foundation bed in front of taller roses or evergreens. It will look its best if you grow it in full sun and drier soil with no extra fertilizer needed. Too much love makes sedum’s stems weaker, so just plant it and forget it.
Bee Balm
It's important to support our pollinators, which is why we continue to add varieties of Bee Balm to our offerings! This lovely perennial attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds at just 10-18 inches tall (depending on the variety) and 22-24 inches wide.
Bee Balm also has strong resistance to powdery mildew and deer. While it prefers rich, moist soil and full sun, it grows well in ordinary garden soil and part shade. Perfect for zones 4-8, just tuck this petite, fragrant, and early blooming perennial into the front of your flower border and enjoy its colorful swath of purple and pink flowers.
NEW 'Leading Lady Amethyst' Bee Balm
NEW 'Leading Lady Razzberry' Bee Balm
Catmint
If you take a drive around town in late spring, you may notice this perennial planted in large drifts. It looks like a blue cloud hugging the ground and it is often grown in large numbers because it is so carefree.
Like sedum, catmint thrives in full sun and no extra fertilizer is needed. Even if the soil tends to be a bit dry near your home's foundation, this plant can tolerate poor soil and reflected heat from your brick or siding. Cut it back once after its first round of blooms and it will reward you with even more flowers throughout the summer.
Both varieties named here are excellent choices, with size being the primary difference. ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ grows 12-14” tall; ‘Cat’s Meow’ grows 17-20” tall. Both are perennial in zones 3-8.
Hosta
If your foundation is shaded for part or much of the day, hostas are an easy solution. They come in many sizes, from the giant ‘Empress Wu’ hosta to miniature varieties like Waterslide and every other size in between. If you are growing a short row of annual flowers like Double Up™ begonias at the very front of your foundation bed, then Waterslide would be a perfect companion to grow right behind them. Since hostas return every year, you can count on them to fill the beds near your home with no fuss.
Ornamental Onion
For non-spreading, mounding foliage, and flowers that need less water than most plants, consider Serendipity Allium as a staple in the front of your home. In mid to late summer, rosy, purple, 2” globe-shaped flowers stand like lollipops on 15-20” tall stems above the low growing foliage. You are likely to find pollinating bees and butterflies enjoying it on sunny days. This perennial thrives in full sun to part sun in zones 4-8 and requires no special treatment to thrive.
Coneflower
The genus Echinacea, commonly known as coneflower, has several species that are native to the U.S. Coneflower blooms from early summer to early fall in zones 4-8. It thrives in full sun to part shade. Whether you are looking for a petite variety like Lakota™ Fire that grows 12-16", or a taller variety in Color Coded® 'Frankly Scarlet' Coneflower that grows 26-28", you can plant coneflowers in the front of your beds or further back as a thriller plant in your flower border.
Color Coded® 'Frankly Scarlet' Coneflower
Daisies
Popular for centuries, daisies are one of the most recognizable flowers in North America. The modern hybrids offered by Proven Winners offer superior disease resistance, great vigor in production, and large, plentiful flowers.
Daisy May®, the industry’s gold standard in white daisies, is a blooming powerhouse with multiple rounds of rebloom through summer and fall if cut back after each round. Its compact 12-24” height is great for adding depth to your front garden beds, or you can choose for a taller variety like Spun Silk to show off flowers at up to 4 feet tall. Grown in zones 5-9, daisies do not need to be deadheaded, making them an easy-to-care-for perennial!
Amazing Daisies® 'Banana Cream' Shasta Daisy
Russian Sage
As the perfect addition to a garden in hot, dry areas, Russian Sage is easy to grow and virtually maintenance-free once established. The attractive tubular flowers, which bloom over an exceptionally long time, are a favorite of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. It is drought-tolerant, resists deer, and grows well in ordinary soils.
This versatile perennial plant is useful as a filler in mixed borders, is hardy in zones 4-9, and blooms for several months from mid-summer into fall.
Yarrow
At up to three feet in height, Yarrow is a great plant for the middle or back of your garden bed. It is a low-maintenance plant that thrives in many soil types, does not need frequent fertilizing, and is resistant to deer and rabbits. Drought-tolerant once established, our Firefly series will light up your summer garden with clusters of yellow, white, or peach flowers, depending on the variety you prefer.
Yarrow is also useful as a cut or dried flower in arrangements. Enjoy this easy perennial throughout your garden beds to add color, texture, and height.
Contributors: Susan Martin