Easiest perennials to grow
Living the Country Life Radio Program with Betsy Freese
Radio interview source: Doug Jimerson, garden editor-in-chief, Better Homes & Gardens
I love flowers in my garden, but I discovered over the years that I don't always have the time to mess with their upkeep. Fortunately, I can enjoy our 90-year-old lilac bush, 20-year-old irises and an abundance of lilies that propagate on their own each year. My favorite is the fuchsia-colored peony by the old cellar. It blooms so big and bright every summer without fail.
Doug Jimerson, the garden editor-in-chief for Better Homes & Gardens magazine says there are more easy-care perennials out there, and most are native to the Midwest. But because of their toughness, they've spread over the rest of the country.
"For example, black-eyed Susan grows well almost across the entire country in some form," Jimerson says. "It's not the original native one, but the varieties that developed from that. It's heat resistant, drought resistant, can survive heavy rain, blooms like crazy, attracts butterflies, and is a great cutting flower."
