Hey all,
So I'm a bit new to gardening and just moved into a new house in Rochester NY. I have tons of spring bulbs coming up... daffodils, tulips, and a bunch of unknowns...its kind of like christmas : ) I want to plant some summer blooming perenials though so I can have flowers all year long. Looking for any advise on long blooming perenials for my area? and should I plant bulbs (will they bloom this year?) or plant pre-potted? I have 2 flower bed areas in my back yard and some hostas I think against the house which will get a lot of morning and early afternoon sun. A flower bed against the front of the house which would be shaded until mid-late afternoon and an island like flower bed in front that will get no morning sun but full afternoon sun.

You garden is your world, plant whatever you like. My suggestion is to plant in clusters or odd numbered groups like 3 of this, 5 of that, 7 of those. Even numbers turn out to be more static, less effective.
My three personal favorites are astilbe, hosta and coneflower. But I enjoy seeing iris, daylilies, primrose as well as dozens more.
Also, take it slow. Watch how you plant things, taller towards the back, shorter up front and arrange your planting's so they flow with gentle curves and rounded edges. This I find is more pleasing to the 👁, the garden flows better that way.
If you have a real sunny spot consider a Little Rock garden with hens and chicks, Sempervivums and others. You can keep adding both rocks and plants as your garden grows over time. These guys are so cool just for the shapes and textures that they bring to the garden!

You say you just moved in and the spring flowers are coming up. Can I assume these were planted by the previous owner? If so, I'd wait a while before disturbing the soil as there may soon be other surprises popping up.

Hi LilP.

We live on the other side of Lake Ontario, about 50 miles north of Toronto (Cdn plant hardiness zone 5b).
The NGA thread below contains perennial plants, very largely which I've plant and maintain, mostly in our own garden, but almost all growing in our town (Aurora, On). Pictures could give you an idea of the range of colourful flowering perennials that could be feasible to grow and maintain, as well as bloom times. I aim for changing flower colour through the whole growing season. Of course, the range of perennials does reflect my own interests, notably perennials with colourful blooms and also well-behaved (non-invasive) perennials. I would say that thirty years later, I'm still learning on the job!

Others may not have the time which is available to me (I'm now retired) or need/wish to spend so much time maintaining perennial beds. I'd say it's the maintenance which is the real challenge with my style of perennial gardening.

I agree with Greene about going at it slowly and systematically. Survey what you have, which could be a bit of a learning curve in itself.

Charlie

The thread "Favourite perennials in my Canadian garden" in Perennials forum

Yes, I moved in late October. I've seen pictures of the front garden from when they listed the house in the summer which didnt have much but a few annuals, an arborvitae, couple of small shrubs, and giant clay planters(gone now). No spring bulbs in this area and pretty bare looking in front of the house now 😔

thank you charlie! think im getting a bit antsy to get outside with this late spring!

thank you bigbill!