My Perennial Flower Garden My favorite place to spend time in is my perennial flower garden. This year the blooms have been explosive and more vibrant in color than in the past. I have tended this garden, which follows along both sides of our front sidewalk which curves in two directions when it meets the front steps, for almost twenty years. I have added new genus species annually, I have purposefully grouped certain cultivars together to create color and leaf texture contrast, and I always keep in mind as I plant new breeds the timing of the flowering. I want to make sure there are flowers in bloom throughout the season. I don't follow the standard design of putting the taller plants in the back, with the shorter plants in the front. Instead, I plant so the eye weaves in and out of the garden, exploring and discovering, resting and enjoying what it sees. Scent is also an important part of the garden. Some flowers have a more potent fragrance, with some it is very subtle. One of my favorite scents comes from the iris - not particularly sweet, yet it reminds me of my mother's flowers gardens and brings back pleasant childhood memories. Don't forget the smell of the rich loam and decaying humus which surrounds the plants. There is a richness in the scent, especially after a rain, that equals the most fragrant scent of a tea rose.