| Congrats Lscrapper! There IS a lot to choose from. Do you have favorite colors that you want to use or just a mix? What colors would show up well against your house? I would leave room for some low annuals in front of your perennials at least in some spots so you'll have plenty of flowers until your perennials get going. I have the best luck with Annual Vinca which stays fairly low and blooms great in the summer heat. You can get that in cheap six-packs in the spring just about anywhere and it's available in lots of different colors. Salvia May Night is a long blooming perennial and easy to find. There's a newer salvia called salvia Royal Crimson that's supposed to a good bloomer, however I don't know if that's something you would have to order or if you could find it at a local nursery. I think just about any salvia is long blooming. Blanket Flower (gaillardia) is another long blooming perennial. I have Arizona Sun which did great last summer. I hope it returns after winter like it's supposed to. I saw one called 'Oranges and Lemons' at Lowe's that was pretty. Mesa Yellow and Arizona Apricot are both AAS winners so they might be good ones to try too. Coneflowers (Echinacea) blooms a long time (sort of) but some of the newer varieties don't have a very good reputation for coming back after winter so you have to be careful with those. There are quite a few discussions about them in the perennial forum if you do a search there. Pow Wow Wild Berry is a newer one that's supposed to be good. I have Ruby Star which has done well and attracts butterflies. Butterfly Weed (asclepias tuberosa) blooms a long time and like full sun. The bright orange flowers are very showy and of course attract butterflies. Catmint (Nepeta) makes a sort of low wide-spreading mound and looks like a ground cover. It likes full sun and blooms a really long time. The list below is at the Missouri Botanical Garden's website. You can click on the names to get a description. Good luck with your new garden.
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