8 Perennials that Perform Well in Virginia
Your favorite blooms, coming back year after year.
Perennials are some of the best plants to add to your home garden.
They bring bright blooms and texture year after year, creating great impact when planted in groups in your landscape beds.
When a landscape professional thoughtfully designs and installs your perennials, you can have beautiful blooms or showcase an interesting feature during each and every season.
Since there are so many perennials out there you can choose from, we’re here to tell you that you can actually get a low-maintenance, native garden by picking the right ones.
Try some of these best perennials for Virginia.
Creeping phlox
One of the most colorful groundcovers, creeping phlox boasts bright, fragrant flowers. Each flower has five flat petals with distinctive notches.
Growing to 4 to 6 inches in height and spreading 2 feet, creeping phlox creates a flower carpet effect for about four weeks in mid- to late spring.
In addition to its beauty, this perennial is deer resistant, salt tolerant and overall low maintenance.
‘Zagreb’ coreopsis
For a touch of sunshine in your landscape, add some coreopsis. This golden flower begins blooming in late spring, covering its light airy greenery with yellow flowers that remain until late summer.
This deer-resistant perennial can be eye-catching when planted en masse, adding great texture. This cheery plant also draws butterflies.
Bearded iris
We all want a little wow factor in our gardens, and nothing offers that more than a bearded iris.
Growing 1 to 3 inches tall with medium, blue-green leaves and large, intricate blue-purple flowers, this perennial is a spring-blooming stunner. Some will even rebloom in fall in full sun landscape beds.
Blue false indigo
The blue false indigo grows in 3- to 4-foot tall and wide bushes with soft blue-green leaves that are attractive all season long.
In mid- to late spring, foot-long, lupine-like spires of blue, pea-sized flowers pop up in colors ranging from pale blue to intense indigo. Flowers last for three weeks and make great cut flowers as well.
This native perennial can work well as a backdrop to other plants or stand solo in attractive groups. It loves full sun, but can tolerate light shade.
‘Goldsturm’ rudbeckia
For a colorful, fuss-free plant that boasts daisy-like, golden flowers with dark centers, this native perennial brings powerful color without letting heat, humidity or other issues get in its way.
This plant can quickly reach 24 to 26 inches high and 18 to 24 inches wide and then bring blooms from late summer through fall. It will also draw birds and butterflies.
‘Hot Lips’ turtlehead
Another best perennial for Virginia, this plant brings cheerful spikes of pink, snapdragon-like flowers in late summer. It also doesn't mind shade and more moist conditions, giving you some color in your tougher planting areas.
Turtlehead perennials can reach 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide and are great around ponds or water gardens where soils can be wetter.
Short-toothed mountain mint
This native perennial is a pollinator magnet with its shimmery, silver foliage and pale pink flower clusters that bloom from July to September.
Growing 1 to 3 inches tall with a vigorous spreading habit, this plant can thrive in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soils.
Cardinal flower
This 1- to 6-inch plant pops with its showy, red flowers that bloom on spikes. Flowers are unique with three spreading lower petals and two upper petals.
This bright addition to your landscape also draws hummingbirds that feed on its nectar. Blooms start in May and can last until October. Cardinal flowers also don't mind wetter soils.
Looking for fun, native perennials to dress up your flower beds? We’d love to help you achieve a look that sets your landscape apart and has the neighbors asking where you got those amazing flowers. Learn more about gardens we’ve designed here or contact us for a consultation.
