Welcome to New England! How lovely that your apartment has a place to garden. Are there already plants there, either a garden or lawn, and is your landlord OK with you planting things?

I haven't planted a whole lot of perennial seed but this has been my experience. Whether they need stratification may depend on what kind of seed they are and how old they are, and how they have been treated. Some seeds will sprout immediately if fresh, but need stratification or soaking if dried. Some only sprout well if they are fresh and some aren't fussy at all. It really depends on the type of seed. The commercial seed I've planted has always sprouted for me, but much of the seed I've started hasn't been commercial; it's been from other gardeners.

Regardless, perennials won't flower this year from seed since we are well into the season. Some perennials will flower the first year if they are started early, but even if started early, many won't. For flowers this year, you can see if other gardeners have plant divisions they can share, though some of those won't flower until next season since they need to grow new roots and settle in. If you want to drive north to just a few minutes north of Concord, NH, I'd share a bunch of divisions with you, but it is about 90 miles from central Boston.

Annuals may well flower this year even though it's a bit late, and regardless of whether its annual or perennial, most seed you find now will probably be marked down, so you can get flowers for little cash, either this year (annuals) or next (perennials.)

In order to get recommendations of favorite perennials, we need some idea of whether you have mostly sun, mostly shade (and whether it's deep shade or bright shade) or a mix. If you have some idea what your soil is like (dry or moist, sticky clay or sand or average) that will help also. Favorites can be really personal also. Do you have favorite colors or are you looking for foliage with fun colors or shapes or big bold flowers or long bloomers or mostly easy-to-grow plants? Do you like shrubs?

Thank you so much for the thorough response. So it turns out that I won't be allowed to plant much (aside from containers) on the property of my apartment. However, I am likely getting a community garden plot from someone who is giving theirs up. So, I should be more clear about why I am interested in perennials and what I hope to achieve. I have mostly been an edible landscape type gardener and I don't know much about perennial and wildflower/meadow type plants. I know from experience that growing plants is the best way to really learn about them. I love watching their lifecycle and knowing how to identify them from seed to flower to fruit and foliage. I can do this with many vegetables and herbs because that is what I have grown in the past. So, perennials are my new garden interest.
Here is more information about my conditions so that people may be better able to recommend plants. I'm also open to finding these plants in the nursery/mail order or getting divisions from other gardeners.

My apartment: A square patch of mostly full sun. I have to keep the plants in containers. I would like plants that are special, weird, rare, or sculptural. I'm thinking that there must be some special "specimen" plants that are not on the typical garden list.
Community garden plot: A raised bed of full sun. I will keep half of it for vegetable growing and the other half for flowers. I would prefer flowers that make good cut flowers, and/or good flowers for attracting polinators.

Thoughts?

Welcome to New England and this forum. For unusual and sculptural plants that love full sun, which should do well in containers, there are cold-hardy cacti, yuccas, a large and diverse number of sedums, and also sempervivums (hens and chicks). These will all do well in containers. The only caution is that containers that are planted year-round must be freeze-proof. If the product says "frost resistant" that won't do. I've found that cast concrete seems to be good. I have a bonsai style pine in a cast pot that's been outside for 30+ years no problem. The shape is important though. If the sides flare out at the top, this will allow a frozen block of soil to move up as it expands thereby minimizing the chances of cracking. Good luck!

{{gwi:5901}}

Welcome! Of course, researching is best, as what is special to one is in the eye of the beholder. Annuals are great for this, as they are relatively inexpensive, and you can buy some this year to think about what colors/combos/heights you may like as well as how much "room" you truly have. And *most* annuals can be started from seed you gather this fall, some are annuals in our zone so you can either dig up and put in the basement (such as canna, dahlias, glads) or winter indoors, bringing in a bit to remind you of summer)

Something to think about...do you want your plants to also attract hummingbirds, butterflies?

Because of your limited space, I'd recommend annuals
for the time being, because something that you find you cannot live without one day you're sick of the next. lol At least that's how I am.

andrewsgreenhouse.com, whiteflowerfarm.com, brentandbeckysbulbs.com, and plantdelights.com have some "sprecial" plants, great for reference. Of course your local gardens, clubs, etc will have (most likely) better ideas, sources, but it's a start to get your feet wet.

Good luck and have fun! That's what it's all about.

If you go to the monthly "show us your gardens" thread, you'll find photos of what various folks are growing. I don't generally grow grasses, but I do grow ribbon grass in a container. I started doing this since it spreads badly in a regular bed, but I like the way it looks in a container. I then put containers nearby with other plants for contrasting foliage and flowers. None of the plants in the vignettes from my garden below are particularly uncommon, but the foliage contrasts give them a long season of interest. Though they are growing in the ground, these would work in larger containers.

I like the contrast between the deep green of the hosta and the flowing gold of the golden Hakonechloa grass. The dying columbine foliage just adds a bit of color that could as easily come from a Heuchera.
{{gwi:258831}}From June 2010

The old-fashioned Geranium sanguineum has woven itself around this yellow-flowered daylily which begins blooming around the time the Geranium flowers end. The Geranium's flower color is echoed a darker shade by the Euphorbia, but I mostly love the way the daylily foliage sort of explodes out of the Geranium.
{{gwi:226222}}From June 2010

This is a terrible photo, but I like this combination of the large blue-green hosta, the delicate-looking cranberry which would trail over the side of a pot, and the white-edged Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice' which blooms for me all season with tiny scented white or pale lavender flowers.
{{gwi:227203}}From June 2010

If you use the search function near the bottom of the main New England forum page and look for Bill _RI_z6b he has posted some photos of his gardens and you can get an idea of some of his plants.

For what you plant in containers, the general rule of thumb for selecting perennials is to chose ones hardy to 2 zones colder than your zone since they will freeze deeply without the ground around them to insulate them.

My containers that stay out year round are wooden whiskey half-barrels and clay chimney liners AKA chimney tile. The chimney tile is buried a 6-8 inches deep to keep it upright, and it is bottomless. Craigslist or Freecycle might be a good source of damaged chimney tile. I haven't found that metal or plastic pots stand up well to the weather since they sometimes have split on me, though perhaps heavier metal or plastic would do OK. I have heard that the foam fake terracotta pots do well, but I haven't tried them.

Before buying plants mail order, check with the G*arden W*tchdog (replacing the * with a) for honest reviews. You'll find that White Flower Farm varies in quality, and you can often get better quality for less $ elsewhere in my experience. I will second ctreynards's recommendation for Brent and Becky's bulbs, however. I also have done well with mail order from Avant Gardens. http://www.avantgardensne.com/

nhbabs, great pic of the daphne! I've been thinking about that one...and of course Briggs Moonlight...lol

In any case, I second the G$$den W$$chdog suggestion. Just putting it out here that I recommended those sights as reference. I do go to Andrew's quite a bit, but as for WFF?! They have yummy pics, and one of the things I find most useful is that they have reviews. The prices on most things are laughable.