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.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plants for Long-season Bloom

I think Christie has listed all my favorites. Vinca is a must even though it is an annual. You might also think about some old-time petunias that will self-seed. Maybe some bulbs planted now or some spring bulbs just plant them pretty deep. I know my sis in Iowa does great with Asiatic lilies and iris. Don't give up on annuals for fillers. Marigolds take heat extremely well. I will keep thinking on it.

Good luck.

The first year that I have a new garden bed I like to plant lots of annuals. It gives you a chance to see how things grow, what looks good, and gives you time to really think about what you want to grow. You can dig up the soil this fall and begin putting all the organic material you can find on it. I'm talking about leaves, grass clippings, the soil from your container plantings. If you can buy compost or composted manure you can add that now and it will be ready to plant in the spring. I'd plant zinnas, larkspur, and nigela from seed. Vinca and marigolds are great suggestion. My Vinca is still blooming even though the temperatures have come very close to freezing. Let the gardeners you know, know that you are starting a new garden and they will likely give you plants. Whatever you choose to plant I'm sure your new bed will look beautiful. Send us a picture next summer.

Getting the soil ready and digging out the grass this fall is a great idea because we have some nice sunny afternoons that are cool and good digging weather. You could plant some things from seed this fall like larkspurs and poppies. The clearance plant sales have already started.

Fall planted larkspurs and poppies will bloom next spring and if allowed to set seed, every year for years. (I still have a strain of poppies that I planted 25 years ago.) Other annuals that take heat are the zinnias, marigolds dianthus--which surprised me, but the ones I planted last spring survived the drought with very little water and started blooming again when it rained in Aug. The petunias planted at the same time died. Celosia, both crested and plume, is very tough as is gomphrena. And of course geraniums love a sunny spot.