Hello -

In my potager I have just a few annuals - marigolds, allysum, and sunflowers. I have three separate perennial beds besides the potager and have been leaning in that direction for several years now. I get a real kick out of seeing perennials come up every year, and you can divide and place them elsewhere - which I plan to do in my potager - thus gaining more plants and saving money (which I need to do with two kids in and heading to college).

I rcecently purchased daisies, coreopsis, black-eyed susans, bee balm and coneflowers to plant in the perennial gardens, but also to divide and plant in the perimeter around the potager later. I am hoping for a sort of meadow effect there eventually.

So I lean in favor of few annuals in the potager, and whatever perennials will do well there and won't cost you a fortune. I am looking forward to having more color from the perennials in the potager later this summer.

I do also have a dwarf red delicious apple tree to plant in one corner of the potager.

I'm glad that you said that, because I've been thinking of putting those same flowers on the outside of my potager fence :)

I was also thinking of adding some small spirea and a few butterfly bushes, but all the other flowers were on my list!

I love alyssum, so I'm hoping with the perennials it will self-seed (my mom's does) and then I won't have to buy as many plants every year.

It sounds like your garden is just beautiful. Do you have any pictures? Mine is still in the rototilling stages (LOL) but I'm hoping to be able to put in beds in the next few weeks...if it ever stop raining :)

Hi lavender,
I love having perennials in the potager. I keep them in my perimeter beds as you were thinking. That way their roots won't be disturbed by veggie rotations, etc. They're all up and green. Right now, my chives are starting to bloom.

I have Russian sage, yarrow, bee balm, lemon balm, catmint, coneflower, daylily, speedwell, aster. I also keep the perennial herbs in the side perimeter bed - sage, oregano, winter savory, curry plant, chives, more bee balm (it really spreads), more yarrow (it really spreads too). Then, there's the strawberries and asparagus at the back.

BTW, chickadee, I started 3 yrs ago with a little quart container of the bee balm and lemon balm. I did a major division last year and will do it again this year. If you're looking for an inexpensive perennial and don't mind keeping it tamed.

P.S. - I love hearing what plants others have.

As an added bonus many of the plants mentioned on this post attract birds and butterflies. I've been developing our backyard into a habitat and read that about these flowers. So there's another benefit!

Another perennial that is lovely is wild bergamot, in the same family as bee balm, I have it in pretty lavender shades.

Yes, the wild bergamot. It showed up one year in one of my beds and is taking it over. I've sadly neglected that bed in favor of the garden.

You're right about the bees. It's good they don't bother me since they seem to always be buzzing around. Outside my fence, I have anise hyssop and its very critter resistant. It is a huge bee magnet. One would think the flowers are yellow and black with all the bees on them.

Chickadee, for your backyard habitat--I tried Joe-Pye weed, coneflower, and yarrow outside the fence and apparently either the deer or the groundhog found them quite tasty. I tried hiding them by the catmint and butterfly bush. Nope, still got to poor Joe-Pye. I moved him and my pink coneflower into the fenced pool area. The yarrow never grew back. I have had great luck with catmint, anise hyssop, lavender, butterfly bush and lamb's ear outside my fence.

Ali-b - I've never tried Joe-Pye weed - been wondering if I should but maybe I shouldn't - three of my coneflower plants lost all their leaves to some critter (probably one of our bunny family) last week. You can't even tell what the plants are now. I can't get too mad about it because we all love these bunnies, we've seen three at a time in our yard and they seem to love it here.

Thanks to a poster here I got some kale yesterday to put out near the garden where the offending bunnies hang out - so that they have something better to eat than perennials (and will leave them alone!)

Thank you for your additional flower ideas - I have also been thinking about adding lamb's ear - I appreciate the ideas.

Glad to pass along my thoughts. I've picked up some great ideas on this forum myself.

I enjoy all the wildlife, too, despite the extra challenges. It's a bit of a bunny heaven where I am. They've taken to congregating in the backyard. Although they have learned to run very fast when the sliding door opens because that means two dogs are on their way out.

Well, I am planning mostly annuals in my potager at the moment, but I have already planted a catmint (surprise surprise, LOL!) at one corner of a perimeter bed, and there's a new perennial bed very close by--sort of a foundation bed against my house. So I guess my answer is really "yes"! Knowing me I will include more perennials as the year goes on, probably many of the same ones already mentioned such as coneflowers and black eyed susans. I'm trying to figure out a way to include roses somewhere too, possibly as potted standards. We ended up nixing our idea for an arbor, for a variety of reasons, at least it won't be in the place where we had initially planned it.

Two months later...and I definitely want to have more perennials! The annuals are being taken over by weeds and my seeds didn't do much, with all the rain. I think next year, I'll just have a few things (like beans and peas, a few tomatoes and cabbage, lettuce and spinach) and the rest can be in a separate garden. One I can rototill, mulch heavily with hay to keep the weeds down and water with a sprinkler! No roses in that area...only annual flowers like nasturtiums, marigolds and sunflowers :)

Has anyone else decided to go with more perennials? The other thing I've noticed is that using annual veggies in the potager design is pretty...but eating them messes up my whole layout! LOL

So true... Once you start harvesting, the design is kaput. That's why I had the great plan to have seedlings ready and waiting to pop in place for continuity. Well, that never transpired so I have some bare spots. But, since this is the best spot for a veggie garden in my yard, I'll keep the same veggie/herb/perennial mix for next year but with hopefully, more sunflowers (lots more).

I've realized that there's going to be days when the garden looks fantastic. That's the day to be sure the camera's batteries are charged! Then, there will be the days when the weeds are taller than the veggies, the veggies are bolting, and a rabbit has found a hole in your fence and made breakfast out of your carrots.

Personally, I like perennials in my front yard and along the side, but in the back where I plant vegetables and herbs (I haven't graduated to a planned "potager" garden yet), I like the flexibility of annuals. I did plant some perennials when I started out, but then I decided to change things and ended up having to move them (and in the process lost a few). Annuals make it easy to change things around rather dramatically. Maybe when my design is more "grown up" perennials will make more sense.

I'm even reluctant to put in asparagus (though I'm now thinking it might fit in with the perennials in my side yard) because I can't decide on a permanent location.

I think you have to ask yourself some basic questions before you begin your potager. Principally, what is the primary goal of your potager? Food? Flowers? Herbs? Your lay-outs will completely depend on your answers. I have seven large perennial borders in my yard, and they are a great joy to me (and lots of work:). On the other hand, I really mainly want food from my potager, though I want beauty too. I am looking for the main part of the beauty from the overall structure of my potager: layout, bed design, hardscape like bench and arbor, arch, sculpture, etc. The smaller beds help me control the impulse to plant enough food for the entire city, and either work myself to death or let it all go to weeds. My 8x3.5 foot beds are perfect. I keep fresh food coming to my table virtually all 12 months a year, but I am not expending vast amounts of time and effort (compared to a traditional row garden).

I plant vegetable crops throughout the season. For instance, I planted a bed of tomatoes in April, in May, and again, in June. Ditto for cowpeas and cucumbers/squash. This is for the purpose of having a continuous supply of fresh food throughout the summer. I will continue planting summer crops this way until August, when I will start planting fall/winter crops. Because of the constant turnover, flowers are not very practical, unfortunately, and perennials would be a disaster. I did plant annuals in my tomato beds this year since those plants will stand well into fall. But in the other beds, no flowers. Perennials typically only look their very best after two to four years in one place (depending on the variety). Digging them and moving them every time you plant a food crop will never allow them to fulfill their true potential.

Definitely, exclusively perennial borders around your potager would be a great compromise. I just don't have the room. You should check out the perennials forum. There are lots of great, knowledgeable people over there who can recommend plants that do well in your area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of my perennial gardens