Please could you recommend me some perennial plants

[iwouldgoouttonight]

I've grown bedding plants each year from seed and I've decided that I can't be bothered with all the faff any more. So I'd like some plants that come back and flower each year with minimal effort from me.

I have quite a few shrubs that have grown quite big - wiegela, ceanothus, buddleia, broom, azalea, which all flower, although it doesn't seem for very long. And things like laurel, red robin and ferns which don't flower.

So I'm looking for suggestions for plants to full the gaps that will have lovely flowers, ideally for a long time! And will come back each year. The garden doesn't get a lot of sun unfortunately as a lot of the neighbours have trees.

Campanulas come in a variety of types, large, small and ranging from white to deep purple.
Asters and Shantel Daisy's are pretty. Also, Day Lilies, which come in a variety of colours.

You need some shade-loving hardy perennials! Have a look at the shade thread, but obvious suggestions are things like brunnera, pulmonaria, shade-loving hardy geraniums, dicentra, hardy anemones, foxgloves, hellebores, persicarias, and all kinds of primula (beesiana, bulleyana, japonica)

If your garden is shady then have a look at hellebores and ferns.

I have a fairly shady garden. My perennials are: hardy geraniums, thalictrum delavayi, hostas, gallium odorata, foxgloves, japanese anemone (but nightmare if you don't want it in a certain place anymore, once you've got it, you've got it for life!), astilbe, and lammiums. There are more things in the garden but those do particularly well in the shade I have.

Lots of ideas, thank you. I'll look them up and see which ones look like they'll fit into the spaces i have.

Thanks for the recommendations.

I very quickly read your thread title.

And wondered what perennial pants were!

Campanula - portenschlagiana or poschaskiana (sp?) good ground cover, flower a long time and easy to pull our when tatty as grows back fast. Also heucheras. Hostas. Epimediums. Knautia Macedonia can cope with shade and flowers all summer but needs staking (easy from seed)

CountessYgritte pants you can wear year after year.