I'm putting in a sunny flower bed in the middle of our yard. It will be viewed mostly from 2 sides. I'm in zone 6, in higher elevations of Berks Co, PA. I'm seeking to hide a 12 inch diameter pipe that rises 2 feet from the ground.

The colors I want to use are blues/purples & peach/apricot, possibly a cream or white. I'd like choices that bloom from spring to summer as much as possible. I'd also like to include a grass with some movement. We live out in the country, so deer, rabbits & groundhogs are potential problems.

I was hoping to find a pre-planned garden plan, with all the flowers, colors, heights, textures, & bloom times figured out for me, but haven't been able to locate any that suited me. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Thanks for any help!

I have been gardening for 28 years. It took that long for me before I am especially happy with the results.

Gardening is a process of trials and errors. Many factors affect the results: your own inclination, time and energy dedicated to the garden, your own terrain and most specifically your own microclimate.

I learned that plants and combinations that look stunning in books or any pre-planned garden or in someone else's garden do not translate well in real life because of these factors. You will have to try the plants yourself to see what works for you.

I have not found many perennials that bloom from spring through summer. What I did was planning for a succession of blooms, choosing plants that offer long interest, and varying the shapes, shades, textures, heights and colors instead.

My favorite grass is Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'. It is stately, maintains its shape and stays beautiful from spring through winter. I gave a few pieces to a friend who has a garden in the country. He said the deer have not touched this grass.

I do not know if the following suggestions are attractive to deer or not but these are some of what I have for the succession from late winter through November/December:

-snowdrops to jump start your spring
-Iris reticulata (purple/white/yellow)
-Eranthus
-Daffodils (there are several white/creamy/peach Naricissi to choose from)
-Tulips (deer love this - so I heard)
-Schilla
-Puschinia
-Chionodoxa
-Epimedium
-Mertensia virginica
-Bleeding Heart
-Allium
-Anemone
-Ajuga reptans
-Centaurea montana
-Bearded iris
-Monarda
-Salvia
-Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'
-Little Blue Stem
-Geranium Rozanne
-Penstemon 'Husker Red'
-Platycodon
-Jacob's ladder
-Nepata
-Feverfew
-Clematis (many white and purple/bluish)
-Blue annuals such as larkspur, centaurea cyanus
-aster

The choices are endless.

As pitimpinai pointed out, few perennials have the extended bloom habit of annuals such as marigolds and zinnias. I created a chart on which I identified various perennials by bloom period and now my garden starts blooming in March (Hellebores/Lenten roses) and continues into October (Tricyrtis/toad lily).

An ornamental grass, perhaps less impressive size-wise than Miscanthus, is Calamagrostis/feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster.' It has a tidy, upright habit and doesn't take up as much real estate as Miscanthus. Dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) 'Hameln' is an elegant, low-growing (2 1/2 ft.) grass that requires nothing more than a haircut in Spring. Deer have never bothered either grass in my garden.

You might also consider checking out a book or two on perennials from your local library as an additional resource. I found it to be an excellent source of information when I was planning my garden beds.

It's been my experience that most of the items listed above are not on a deer's menu. I have all but a few of them growing in my garden beds and the deer prefer my sacrificial hosta to any of the listed plants.

Platycodon grandiflora/balloon flower is available in blue/lavender, white & pale pink.

Dicentra spectabilis/Bleeding Heart is available in a white ('Alba') variety.

Geranium 'Rozanne' blooms until frost sometime in October and is a blooming machine. The flowers are pinkish/lavender.

Hemerocallis/daylilies bloom in a rainbow of colors that include cream and white. I have a lovely creamy white one called 'New Falling Stars.'

Some others you might want to consider:

Agastache/anise hyssop blooms most of the growing season in feathery plumes of lavender.

Caryopteris x clandonensis/blue mist shrub blooms late (September) in lovely, feathery plumes of blue that attract pollinators.

Cimicifuga racemosa/black snakeroot has white plumes in August.

Check out Aquilegia/Columbine for both white and blue varieties. It's a spring bloomer.

Gaura lindheimeri/wandflower is a delicate and elegant bloom on thin stems that wave in the breeze. Mine is blooming now and will continue until frost. The bees love it.

Liatris spicata/gay feather/blazing star blooms purple or white and is another favorite of pollinators.

Lobelia siphilitica/great blue lobelia is another that's popular with pollinators.

Perovskia atriplicifolia/Russian sage is a maintenance-free perennial that blooms mid- to late-season in both purple & blue.

Nepeta faassinii 'Walkers Low'/catmint blooms early and continues all season with zero care.

Stokesia laevis/Stokes’ aster blooms mid-summer with large, frilly blue/lavender flowers that attract pollinators. It's also low-maintenance.

Veronica spicata/spike veronica/speedwell also blooms mid-summer, has a long bloom period and attracts pollinators.

FYI--none of the plants identified above require any help from me to thrive--once established, they're all self-sufficient in healthy garden soil.