Garden Planning 101: Getting Started with Perennial Gardens

by Rachel Bosley November 20, 2025

Perennial gardens are the gift that keeps on giving. Unlike annuals, which need to be replanted each year, perennials return season after season—filling your space with reliable colour, structure, and habitat for pollinators. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refreshing an existing bed, thoughtful planning is the key to a thriving, low-maintenance garden.

Here’s how to set yourself up for perennial success:

1. Start with Your Site

Before choosing any plants, take a good look at your space.

Sunlight: Track how much sun your garden gets—full sun (6+ hours), partial sun, or full shade. Does the site receive southern or western exposure? Or is it on the north side of your house fully shaded? This will make a big difference in what you can grow there.
Soil: Dig a small test hole to get a sense of texture and drainage. Is it sandy, loamy, or clay-heavy? Unless you've been having consistent problems growing in your soil, or you have a reason to believe there is a contaminant or pH imbalance in your soil, there is usually no need for a home gardener to have their soil lab tested.
Moisture and Drainage: Does water pool after rain, or does it dry out quickly?
What's Growing: Is there anything already growing here you would like to keep, or is it a blank slate? Are there trees nearby that will grow to shade the space? Are there shrubs or other vegetation thriving here that can give you hints about what other plants with similar needs will thrive here?

Your site conditions will guide every planting decision to come.

2. Define Your Goals

Ask yourself: What do I want this garden to do?

Add curb appeal?
Support pollinators and native species?
Provide seasonal colour or low-maintenance beauty?
Create privacy or erosion control?
Feed you with edible perennials?

Knowing your purpose(s) will help you pick the right plants and layout. You can achieve multiple of these goals at once with intention.

3. Choose a Cohesive Plant Palette

When planning a perennial garden, think about:

Bloom time: Choose plants that flower at different times for continuous colour and nectar for pollinators.
Foliage texture and colour: Mix fine, medium, and coarse textures to keep things interesting even when plants aren’t in bloom.
Native species: Incorporate native perennials whenever possible—they’re adapted to local conditions, support biodiversity, and often require less maintenance once established.
Seasonal interest: Include some shrubs and evergeens that will provide some visual interest in winter. Shrubs that hold their berries like Winterberry Holly, or evergreens like Juniper are great additions to a perennial garden for winter interest.
Your hardiness zone: This determines what plants will actually be perennial where you live. Your hardiness zone is defined by the extreme low temperature reached in winter where you live. Plants that are perennial in the southern parts of your province/state may not be perennial where you live if it gets significantly colder. Confirm your growing zone or hardiness zone with a google search, and make sure the plants you choose will survive in that zone. For Canadian gardeners in zone 2, 3, or 4, your options will be more limited.
Try a pre-selected collection to simplify: There are so many options when it comes to selecting what to grow, so if that part doesn't interest you or feels overwhelming, check out our curated wildflower collections as a place to start. Choose one or two that matches up with your garden goals and add on from there.

4. Map It Out

Sketch your garden bed before planting. Even a rough drawing helps visualize spacing and flow. This does not need to be detailed or pretty, it just needs to help you plan the layout.

Consider height and structure. Place taller plants at the back (or center, for island beds) and lower-growing ones at the front.
Allow room for plants to grow to their mature size. Gaps can be filled with annuals for the first 1-2 years if desired.
Group plants in odd numbers (3s or 5s) for a more natural look.
If one of your goals included visual appeal, consider planting larger clumps of each type of plant together for stronger visual impact.
Larger groups of a plant species will look more intentional and more like typical landscape design than smaller plantings (1-3 plants) of many different species. When starting out, scale back on variety, and you can always incorporate more species variety later.
Leave access paths for weeding and maintenance.

Image from Great Garden Plants

Illustration by Lizzie Harper

5. Prepare the Soil

Healthy soil is the foundation of any successful garden.

Remove weeds and unwanted turf.
Loosen compacted soil to about 12 inches deep. Add 2-4 inches of compost.
If you want to skip the digging, use the no-dig lasagna method.

If you’re planting natives adapted to leaner soils, skip any heavy amendments—many prefer poor or sandy conditions.

Pro tip: use a hose or string to lay out your bed shape before digging.

6. Plant and Mulch

When planting, follow spacing recommendations and water deeply after each planting session. Start from seeds to cut down on costs, or visit your local native plant nursery if you want a head start on some key plants to start filling out the space in the first year.

Add 2–3 inches of mulch to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and moderate soil temperature.

7. Plan for the Long Term

Perennials often take one to three years to establish fully, so patience is key. Once settled, they’ll reward you with years of beauty and resilience.

Mark your plants, take seasonal notes, and don’t be afraid to rearrange or divide them as your garden evolves.

Final Thought

A well-planned perennial garden is more than a collection of plants—it’s a living ecosystem that grows richer with time. Start with your site, plan with intention, and your garden will flourish year after year.

With cottage gardens and potager gardens becoming more popular in recent years, it's only natural we're seeing more gardeners shift towards low-maintenance perennials. Bonus points if you choose to plant native perennials, but it's ok to not be a purist. Add in the peonies, roses, or tulip bulbs if they bring you joy!