Often, flowers that are used to decorate serve their purpose for a week and then die. But recently, people are starting to get flowers that will last much longer and don’t have to be replaced every week. Unlike pets, plants require very little maintenance, and make great decorations that give any house a natural touch, whether it’s a small flower in a pot, or a big garden with several types of flowers.

For those who are really into gardening, perennial flowers are the best option. Perennial flowers are flowering plants that live at least two years, although some live longer than that. The opposite of perennial flowers are annual flowers, which only last a year and die in the winter. The main advantage of perennial flowers is that they don’t have to be planted again each spring, like annual flowers do. This might not seem much of a problem to some people, but those that like to keep several plants in their garden know how much of an advantage is not to replant their whole garden every spring.

There are many types of perennial flowers. And they differ a lot between themselves in their resistance to winter climate. Some of them resist mild winters and some can resist harsher winters. That’s why it’s a good idea to get information about the perennial flowers you want to buy as well as exact information of the winter conditions in your area, such as lowest temperature, humidity, etc. This will allow you to better select perennial flowers that will survive the winter in your area. As a general rule, the more to the north you live, the more resistant your perennial flowers have to be. And of course, no perennial flowers can resist floods, blizzards, hurricanes, and the like, no matter what any unscrupulous florist might tell you.

So, if you have a big garden and are considering flowers for it, consider perennial flowers as an option. They come in many different types and colors, and it’s a great satisfaction to see them flower spring after spring.

When planting flowers or shrubs or even trees, you need to match the plants with the weather of the area you live in, not the other way around. While this may sound like good common sense that anyone would use, it’s forgotten more often than you’d think, mainly because people base their decisions only on how the plant looks. Of course, this leads to disappointment when the plant dies, even after they took care of it.

If you live in an area where rain is not common, or water is scarce as it is, you can still enjoy some plants in your garden. In those cases, drought resistant perennials are a good idea, specially if you’re the type that tends to forget to water your plants.

In case you don’t know, perennial plants are plants that live for at least two years, although most people use the term to refer to any long living plant. Drought resistant perennials are plants that need much less water than the average, although they will still die without any water at all.

In addition, you should get familiar with the average temperature, hours of sunlight in winter and summer and lowest temperature in winter before you make your purchase. Always ask questions about the resistance and special conditions of the drought resistant perennials you want before buying them. Also, be aware that drought resistant perennials won’t be as showy and flashy as annuals, but on the other hand, you won’t have to replant your whole garden each spring.

Usually, the most famous drought resistant perennials are the flowering kind. Because taste in flowers is subjective, it’s difficult to recommend drought resistant perennials that will appeal to everybody. Nevertheless, here are some example of low maintenance drought resistant perennials that look great: Autumn Joy, Coronation Gold, Purple Coneflower, Tall Bearded Iris, Lavender and Rosemary.

However, gardens aren’t made of only flowers. If you want to complement your flowers, Silver Artemisias and Common Sage are non flowering drought resistant perennials that will set that green background for your flowers, and they smell great too.