9 pink-flowered perennials

Valerian or Centranthus ruber: wildflower

Here is a perennial that we will certainly see more and more in gardens: valerian or Centranthus ruber is undoubtedly one of the best adapted to climate change! Its pink flowering in panicles is a delight, lasting almost 6 months of the year from May, as long as faded flowers are cut, as it produces new ones until early autumn. The shades of pink are diverse, from carmine pink to Indian pink, bright pink, and some cultivars are even white. The often blue-green leaves are fleshy. The plant has a very spreading and elongated habit as the season progresses, growing between 50 and 80 cm. Another advantage of this fast-growing perennial is that its flowers are highly visited by bees and butterflies, making it a trendy plant for our gardens.

Growing on walls and in rockeries, valerian adapts very well to natural flowerbeds where it offers its wild appearance. It is the perfect perennial for difficult, stony, arid, and dry soils, Mediterranean gardens, as well as coastal areas, country, or romantic gardens… It is a perfect companion that self-seeds abundantly, producing new clumps at will. It just needs sunlight and your pruning shears to cut its faded inflorescences.

Centranthus ruber

Japanese Anemones: Timeless

Essential for enlivening the garden from late summer until October, Japanese anemones are elegantly simple and incredibly refined! They are appreciated in white, but also in pink flowering varieties that astonish with their diversity of shades: a very pale pink in Anemone tomentosa ‘Robustissima’, pearly white in ‘Mont Rose’, and a vibrant pink in Anemone hupehensis ‘Splendens’ or Anemone hybrida ‘Pamina’. The latter features finer, semi-double petals, while most display the simplicity of their very fresh petals enhanced by a yellow centre.

They are undoubtedly the most cherished pink perennials for their late flowering, long bloom period, and hardiness. Some can grow quite tall, reaching over a metre, with a consistently light and graceful appearance, and they spread easily in semi-shaded beds, in rich, moist soil, where they bloom the longest and most generously.

Japanese anemone tomentosa and Anemone hupensis japonica ‘Pamina’

Oriental Poppy 'Patty's Plum': a fleeting beauty

The large crumpled flowers of Oriental Poppies (Papaver orientale) have an unmatched charm. As their petals open, they reveal dark macules and a collar of black stamens. Poppies can be found in many shades of pink, ranging from light to deep, even salmon. The variety ‘Patty’s Plum’ is one of the most well-known hybrids, both impressive and delicate with its wine-coloured or old rose petals tinged with plum. Everything is enchanting about this flowering, from the large villous buds gradually opening to release the silky petals, to the capsules formed once the petals have fallen. The deciduous foliage, villous, goes into dormancy in summer to reappear in autumn.

Very hardy like all Oriental Poppies, ‘Patty’s Plum’ can be planted anywhere in the hexagon, with these imperative conditions for it: sunlight (it tolerates bright partial shade), well-drained and light soil, ideally calcareous. Think carefully about its location, as it is nearly impossible to move. It is a perennial that stays in place for a long time in the garden, more than a decade, returning each spring more charming than ever!

Papaver orientale ‘Patty’s Plum’

Hellebores: Queens of Winter

Impossible not to include in this list of pink perennials, the Hellebores, true stars of winter. They brave the cold to reveal the sweetest pink flowers, especially found among the Oriental Hellebores with their multiple shades of pink and forms (anemone-flowered, double or single flowers), or the Helleborus ballardiae… For example, create beautiful pots with the speckled flowers of the Oriental Hellebore ‘Rose Guttatus’ or the Oriental Hellebore ‘Anemone Picotee’, a stunning variety with pink veining of mauve, or the gorgeous Oriental Hellebore ‘Peach with Red Centre’, with its irresistible salmon-pink hue…

These robust perennials bloom from January to April, a true boon for the garden, and require almost no care. Invite them into your shaded beds under deciduous trees to fill gaps, where they will brighten the area with their long-lasting presence, and of course in your pots on the balcony or terrace.

Hellebores kick off the winter flowering season, a festival of delightful pinks!

Dianthus plumarius: so quaint and so charming...

The Dianthus plumarius is also charmingly known as the Sweet William, and it’s true that one could almost eat them! Differentiating from the larger Carnations by their small size (about 30 cm tall), the Dianthus plumarius, native to the southwest of Europe, has given rise to countless horticultural cultivars in delightful shades of pink: dragee pink, candy pink, or violet (‘Lily the Pink’), salmon pink like the carnation ‘Doris’, margined in white or variegated like ‘Moulin Rouge’…, surprisingly bicoloured like ‘Scent First Raspberry Sundae’… Their petals are very laciniate (finely fringed) and emit a more or less spicy fragrance depending on the variety. Finally, their bluish foliage adds to their beauty. All these recent varieties bloom quite long from June to September and require a well-sunny exposure. A poor or ordinary soil, ideally calcareous, suits them best.

Their grassy and sturdy habit forms beautiful cushions for borders, pathways, rockeries, or pots and planters.

Dianthus plumarius

Verbena hastata 'Rosea': for a natural garden

While everyone recognises the Buenos Aires Verbena, widely found in urban spaces and gardens, its great ornamental qualities and drought tolerance, the Hastate Verbena or Verbena hastata is somewhat less utilised, despite being equally valuable.

One variety, Verbena hastata ‘Rosea’, even offers a lovely soft pink hue, which is a refreshing change from the typical mauve of verbenas. Growing to about 80 cm to 1 m, it also produces long-lasting beautiful inflorescences, not in panicles, but in multiple very fine spikes, upright at the top of the straight stem. The flowers bloom from the bottom upwards. Its dentate foliage is also ornamental.

This is a summer perennial that we love: structural, proudly upright, sun-loving, completely hardy, thriving in all soils, with a preference for cool soils… It’s perfect for you if you appreciate perennials with a wild and rustic appearance. It will pair well with some Eupatoriums, which also enjoy moist ground, but can equally accompany grasses suited to dry conditions.

Verbena hastata ‘Rosea’

Digitalis mertonensis: a beautiful verticality

Unlike other foxgloves that behave as annual plants, Digitalis mertonensis is a true perennial, hardy down to -20°C, returning each year in May or June, equally spectacular in a border. The colour of its flowers is a charming salmon pink, speckled with purple inside its throat. It prefers shaded to partially shaded areas. The flower spike rises up to 80 cm high, ensuring a lovely presence in a cottage garden, in bright woodland, or in a wildflower garden. Digitalis mertonensis requires fresh, light, and well-drained soil to thrive and prosper year after year. Plant at least 3 specimens for a beautiful group effect.

Digitalis mertonensis (photo on the right © Chuck b)

Alstroemeria 'Marcé': a record flowering

Considered rightly as part of the longest flowering plants, Alstroemerias or Peruvian Lilies also charm with their colour diversity, ranging from white to orange, including a whole range of beautifully striated pink flowers. They are tuberous-rooted perennials. The Alstroemeria ‘Marcé’ is one of its most beautiful representatives, flowering from May to October, supported by tall stems of 70 cm. The petals are of vivid raspberry pink maculate with brown and yellow.

It is part of the ‘Majestics’ series, the tallest Alstroemerias with an upright habit, allowing them to be planted in lush, exotic, or more classic borders. This Alstroemeria requires a sunny or lightly shaded position, with fresh, well-drained soil. It withstands temperatures down to -10 °C, provided that its base is properly mulched in winter.

Alstroemeria ‘Marcé’

Astrantia: romantic and trendy

Here are finally the Astrantias major, charming perennials in pink, valued for their inflorescences gathered in small, very elegant umbels and their ability to thrive in semi-shaded areas. Among the stunning pink varieties of Astrantias major (as there are also white and other reddish ones), the famous ‘Roma’, pale pink edged with a brighter pink, the gentle ‘Pink Pride’ in a soft pink, or the great Masterwort ‘Primadonna’ in a lovely slightly silvery pink… But they are all beautiful, to be honest: we let you discover them and surely fall for them!

Plant them in cool, well-drained soil, in full sun in the north, or in partial shade in southern regions, even in shade. They flower between mid-May and late July. With several plants, you will have the opportunity to create magnificent bouquets, and why not combine them with Alstroemerias, which are also champions of cut flowers.

Astrantia major ‘Roma’