Biennial Plants: 10 Favorites

Biennials are plants that need two seasons to complete their growth cycles. Year one produces leafy growth. Year two is for flowering and seeding. Here are 10 favorite biennials I enjoy in my garden.

1. Foxglove. These spiked beauties grow in whites, pinks, purples and yellows, 2 to 5 feet tall, and thrive in most soils, but extremes of wet and dry are not well tolerated. Treat the soil with compost, and deadhead after flowering to avoid seed spread. Zones 4-9.

2. Mullein. You have the more posh mulleins in pinks and whites, but my favorite is the common strain. I've never planted it. I've only let it stay when I spotted its little fuzzy rosettes in the yard. Year two they really take off, getting easily 8 feet tall. They have fuzzy pale green-gray leaves and small yellow flowers, but bees enjoy a visit, and I enjoy visiting bees. If you don't want too many mullein, make sure you trim the flowering stalks before they seed, because they seed prodigiously, even in poor soil.. But the flowers are great for ear trouble. I've used the flowers to make an oil. Put on a cotton ball and plug aching ears with, and it works like a charm. Zones 5-9.

3. Parsley. This herb is easy to grow. Just plant in full sun or partial shade, in well-drained, humus-rich soil. It's grown well for me, up to 3 feet tall, both seeded and from a pot I picked up at the garden center. And it's hearty, growing well into the chill of autumn, giving a welcome shot of green in the yard. Parsley, besides being a good seasoning (chop it and put it in mashed potatoes, soups, stews or toss in a salad), it also is good for the skin. Zones 3-9.

4. Hollyhock. These tall-growing blooms come in so many colors; Pinks, purples, whites, apricots. Butterflies and bees love them. They grow best in fertile, well-drained soil and love the sun. Zones 1-11.

5. Queen Anne's Lace. Also known as wild carrots, they produce delicate umbels loaded with wee white flowers, with one deep purplish-red flower in the middle, which looks like a little pin-prick of blood on delicate lace. I've never planted these; they just arrive and I keep them. They do well in heavy, clay-laden soils. The flowers look lovely in fall and winter, drying to a light brown, and provide interest and height, especially when cloaked in frost. One word of warning: These plants look like the poisonous hemlock, so do not eat if you don't know your plants!

6. Forget-Me-Not. I love these delicate, blue flowers (also available in white and pink). I used to find patches of them growing in the woods in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, so they have a sense of wildness to them. Full sun to part shade is best, with rich, moist soil. They bloom in late spring, and get to be between 1 and 2 feet tall. Zones 3-8.

7. Stocks. Sometimes these are labeled as perennials, but no matter. These blooms are available in white, pink, purple, magenta, lilac, yellow and more. There is also a night-scented stock, an annual, which releases a lovely fragrance at night. Stocks grow well from seed or transplant. They prefer sun, and if your soil is too heavy, neutralize it with compost or humus to ensure better drainage. They grow on average 1 to 2 feet in height. Zones 1-11.

8, Sweet William. These plants produce colorful clusters of flowers in pinks, reds and whites and grow to 1 footl. They do best in alkaline, well-drained, moist soils, and bloom all summer. You can grow from seed or transplant, and they work well in borders, for some nice bursts of color. Zones 4-9.

9. Clary Sage. These make a fine addition to a medicinal or culinary garden, and grow 3 to 4 feet tall, so their lavender flowers make for some nice drama. They bloom in summer and fall, and prefer neutral, well-drained soil. Fertilize well. If you're growing from seed, sow in late summer or early fall for blooms the following summer. Zones 1-11.

10. Thistle. I have a love-hate relationship with these flowers, and some aren't biennials, but there are so many varieties, I'm including them. They aren't always the prettiest of plants, especially with those pickers, but the purple blooms are pretty. They're a pain to weed, especially since I won't use pesticides, but I always let a few grow. Why? Because the bees love the flowers and goldfinches love the thistle down and seeds. I love to see nature enjoying these plants, so I let a few slide under my gardener's gaze.

Sources: Personal experience,
www.dulley.com/plant/bienn.shtml
Spence, Ian and Cathey, Dr. H. Marc, American Horticultural Society: Garden Plants and Flowers, New York, NY, DK Publishing Inc., 2003.