Perennials Forever

Alliums, or ornamental onions, bloom mid-spring and into the summer depending on the variety. They don’t grow from crowns and they have hollow stems but we still treat them as perennials and use them in perennial gardens. Varieties like Globemaster can be quite stunning and make great cuts. ANDREW MESSINGER

An early spring glimpse of my English-inspired island bed. The view is from the north end, and the first 25 feet where the plantings look thin was just added late last summer. The bed is 150 feet long and ranges from 8 to 20 feet wide with undulating edges. Unseen is the dry laid rock wall down the spine, which separates the upper portion from the lower. The wall is home to Campanulas, creeping phlox and other plants that like to "hang." In the center is a large lilac that provides shade to one of the hosta collections below it and to the left (not visible). ANDREW MESSINGER

A small portion of the island perennial gardens by Alan Bloom at Bressingham Gardens. The perennial and dwarf conifer gardens cover some 15 acres. IKCUR/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 4.0

Alan Bloom’s famous "Dell," which is composed of island beds of mixed dwarf conifers and herbaceous perennials. This picture is on the cover of the 1980s Hampton Gardener booklet “English Gardens Adapted for the U.S.” AIRWOLFHOUND/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 2.0