They're nice, but they just take up space the rest of the summer. I had some nice Peony's once, we had to transplant them and they died. It never bothered me. When the blooms are gone, we're mostly stuck with plain old green foilage that's not too exciting to look at.

It's like my Forsythia bush, it's beautiful when it's yellow but the rest of the year it's simply UGLY. lol

I like a mix. Can't imagine being without some of the old timers: lilacs, peonies, etc. If the foliage continues to look good- great! - but I'll even put up with some that look like heck after they've bloomed.

I look forward all season to the next thing to flower. When I realize "that's it for the season" I'm bummed and think about what I can plant that blooms later. During that time the "ever" bloomers are still there but I want some new flowers to ooh and ah over.

I have a camellia that only blooms in the late winter. It's going to grow into a huge specimen one day. It's about 5' across and 4' tall already. I wouldn't give it up to plant a few rudbeckia that might bloom all summer. I think a cottage garden needs variety. I mix shrubs and flowers together so there's almost always something blooming, except in January.

I can't imagine not having my peonies. Or my lilac. Or my ditch lilies that only bloom once. I think too much goes into worrying about reblooming rather than a succession of blooms across the entire growing season. Daffodils only bloom once, and still I planted over 400 last fall. I'll do the same again this year if I have the chance. For a few weeks, it'll be stunning. Then the other plants have their chance to shine.

I too like a mix... I can not imagine a garden, that just tosses away the old...to me, it is kinda like devaluing senior citizens because the young ones have better ideas...ect ect ect...I think some fragrance is lost of the constant bloom varieties...but I DO LIKE the consistant color. But the rest times the old fashion varieties need seems to make their punch powerful. I think we need just green in the background to make our gardens pop...too much color without enough calm becomes too busy to appreciate in my eyes. I love old and I love new..and I like them to coexsist in my garden equally...for all the above reasons and more...

I'll take all the old one timers that no one else wants. I think part of gardening is in the planning. So that when one or two things are done there are one or two new things starting out. If your planning is good then your garden will look fresh and alive throughout the growing season. I'm still struggling with fall bloomers. Most plants that bloom in the fall can't take our cold winters so most of them must then be considered an annual here. Buying perennials to use as annuals is a little bit too pricey for me. Coneflowers, Gaillardia, Black Eyed Susan, Chrysanthymums, many of the Asters etc. will all winter kill for me here.

MeMo

Memo thats so tragic, mums and asters, coneflowers etc. don't survive in zone 4.. It must make gardening a real challenge. You must really love it.

Mark

MeMo- I got some coneflowers from Lowe's last year (regular lavender ones) and they did really well over the winter. They're supposed to be hardy to -30 F. As for the others, I don't know, but those coneflowers have been great...I just hope I can find a bunch more this year. Butterfly bushes have done well, too, but I don't trim off the old branches :)

I've been thinking about this today, too. I'm really charmed by old antique roses, etc... but then I think... is this rose really good enough? Would some modern variety that has a similar bloom, but blooms all summer be better? I keep second guessing my choices.
Because surely some things must have been improved over time...? But I'm so new to roses, I think it will take me a while to discover which "old timer" roses are "worth it" to me, and which modern roses are as beautiful as the oldies to me, but give me more bloom.

I have old hand-me-down irises from my grandmother. They aren't fancy bearded irises with fancy colors and they don't rebloom. But I wouldn't trade them for anything. They're very special to me. I am going to ALSO have some reblooming TBs, but,... they won't bring back those memories like the hand-me-down ones will.

I'm also a fan of camellia. They bloom in the winter when other stuff isn't and have a long blooming period, even if they're dormant in summer/fall.

I don't regret for a second my choice of two blooming cherry trees that only bloom for perhaps a week or two. I look forward to them all year and I think their leaves are pretty and their bones are pretty in winter.

What specific plants are considered "constant bloomers" other than annuals? Is that what you're talking about? or is this more of a zone thing?

I'm like memo. I think the biggest challenge in gardening is the timing/planning and my gardens are all about "old-fashioned" one-time bloomers. I really look forward to each bloom event. :)

memo, what are your soil and winter conditions that cause you to lose those plants in your zone? It gets *mighty* cold here in winter... we typically have a couple of weeks with nighttime temps of -20F to -30F (sometimes worse), and daytime highs stay below zero then, but we also usually have a ton of snow-cover to protect plants. Is it wet conditions without protection there? maybe a heavy mulch of chopped leaves would allow you to overwinter those plants?

There's pretty much always something blooming in my yard. One of the benefits of living in the deep south. I'd never give up the azaleas, camellias, gardenias, or star jasmine even though their bloom time is relatively short. I love the anticipation of that short, but sweet magical time.

Count me among those who like the old fashioned once bloomers. I do like to mix them with a few long-blooming plants for continuity. But the only annuals (not counting vegetables) in my garden are in pots by the front porch for fragrance. 'Pink Beauty' potentilla shrubs are my main continuity long-bloomer. They are late to leaf out in spring but then bloom from early summer into the fall. They only get to be about 30" tall so blend in well with perennials. Other potentilla shrubs I've tried have shorter bloom periods. The flow of color from spring to fall has more attraction for me than seeing the same thing all season, which feels stagnant to me.

Re zone 4 fall plants - have you ever used the Advanced Search function on the Heritage Perennials site? The link below is to the results of a search for zone 4, mid-fall perennials. I find it a handy site when I'm looking for a plant for a partictular time, or color, or condition. Because many garden centers here carry their plants, I know I can alvays get anything listed on their site, although sometimes it has to be a special order.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zone 4 mid fall

There will always be room in my garden for the old-time, once blooming perennials. I love the constant change in the palette. Otherwise, why not just plant annuals?? Which I do, to fill in. The lilacs are just coming into full-bloom here, and the air is filled with that magical scent. I live near Franktown, which is called 'The Lilac Capital of Ontario'. Unbelievable. If it was non-stop, it wouldn't be quite as magic!!

Nancy.

The USDA maps show that I am in zone 5 actually. But our winter temps are zone 3. It gets colder than -32 in winter and we don't have much snow cover most years. Summer temps exceed 110 frequently. I have kept about 3 inches of mulch on my flower beds over the years but it doesn't seem to matter that much. It is depressing because I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on plants that should grow here but they don't. And things usually don't flourish either. Daylilies looks the same at five years as they did at two years. The soil is a sandy clay and has excellent drainage. It's just unbearably cold here. The pickins are slim for zone 3, and difficult to find.

Sorry, LL, I didn't mean to sidetrack your post.

MeMo

MeMo- No worries. I have similar problems here, so I don't mind getting some good information on hardy perennials :)

The lilacs are all budding out here too, so I'm hoping they'll be blooming sometime this week! They are so wonderful and I agree with Nancy...if they bloomed all summer, it wouldn't be as magical.

I look forward to each "event" as the roses and other perennials bloom. I do have some annuals and a few repeat blooming roses (which are also beautiful) but I wouldn't give up my once-bloomers. The old-fashioned flowers have such a history about them...they're sometimes called "flowers from grandmother's garden" and I think that's what gives a cottage garden such a timeless appeal...IMHO.

Count me on the numbers of those who like a mix too. Part of the appeal of gardening for me is to watch the change of the seasons. And living in a warm climate I tend to garden with the whole year in mind, not just Spring and Summer.

A garden that looks the same year round, even if it's very pretty and well planted, is not nearly as exciting for me as one that changes with the seasons. So I have things that provide a backbone to the garden, such as evergreens, and then play around with the seasons.

Most of my roses are old fashioned once bloomers - damasks, gallicas, climbers or ramblers. They are breathtaking while in bloom. Once they're gone, my attention shifts to other things. I have lilac, lilies, star jasmine, hardenbergia, jasmine, my neighbor's wisteria, camellia, echiums, ceanothus... They're all once bloomers and provide bursts of color. I also love foliage in Fall, so I have things that have very fleeting flowers, such as serviceberry, just because of the Fall color. And Winter wouldn't be the same for me if not for the bright berries of the holly, the firethorn and the nandina.

Eduarda

I think natal put it best: I enjoy the anticipation of the short but sweet. Sure, I've got rudbeckia and coneflower pansies and lobelia ved. (which I love) but I would never give up the lilacs or mountain laurels or rhododendrons.

Ever since I was 10 yrs. old and my mother gave me my own patch to garden in I loved all the old fashioned perennials. Hollyhocks , Delphiniums, cup and saucer canterburybells, coralbells, you get the idea. So In every
place I have lived that has been my aim. Right now I have some early clematis,coralbells, columbines, peonies,and a few roses blooming. The japanese weeping cherry, apple trees,lilacs, and few daffodils and crocus I had were out earlier.The difficulty was getting a balance for that hot August
time period when most things are worn out, and the japanese beetles are after the roses that bloom then. Hydrangeas help and the echinacea,and late flowering clematis. It's like conducting a symphony, trying to get the most out of each season!
roseberri

I want it all. The once bloomers are more precious in a way because of the short time of bloom. I am not about to give up iris or tulips and I prefer the old azaleas to the newer repeat bloomers. Encore is not my azalea choice. I do love the Double Knock Out roses, but I'm having foxgloves and also clematis and...annuals will fill in bloom with the greenery. It wouldn't be my garden without old favortes.
kay

I tend to like things that flower for a very long time...but am not big on newer, re-blooming varieties...especially lilacs...i mean, come on, part of the reason it's so special when they bloom is because it only happens once a year.

A lot of my plants are once-bloomers. Some of my favorite plants have very short bloom times, but that is what makes them all the more special! I think the key to creating a colorful garden is, like Tom said, to mix the once bloomers in the right way so there is a succession of blooms rather than having it all happen at once.

That is what I am trying to work on in my garden. Planning an area so there is always something in bloom, or something interesting to look at (like with foliage color, texture, etc).

CMK- who is on the hunt for more spring ephemerals cuz' she loves them so much ;-)

Me! Seasonality is one of the wonderful things about working with nature. The hope and anticipation, the pleasure (and sometimes disappointment) and then the sad goodbye until next year. But it's that combination of emotions which make gardening such a wonderful activity. It's not like decorating a room and then it being done. You're working with living things. The same applies to food. The homegrown asparagus season is short but we wait for it, gorge ourselves and then do without til next year.

organic kitten,

Have you seen an Encore Azalea Chiffon? Very pretty clear pink.

Flora...that is PERFECTLY stated...half the fun of gardening is the anticipation of the show and then the bittersweet feeling as it passes :-)

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