Plant It Once, Let It Thrive Forever

Posted on 2025-06-122025-07-02 by Bert Swope

If you hate replanting your garden every year, you’re not alone. Buying new plants, prepping soil, and starting from scratch gets old. Fast. That’s why perennial plants are a game-changer. You plant them once, and they come back on their own year after year. No fuss. No drama.

This isn’t about some fancy, high-maintenance landscape. We’re talking about simple, tough plants that can handle themselves. Some of them even feed you. Others bring bees and butterflies. And all of them save you time, money, and hassle.

Let’s go through nine of the easiest, most reliable perennial plants you can grow. You don’t need to be a gardening expert to make these thrive. Put them in the ground, give them a little love at the start, and they’ll handle the rest.

Walking Onions

Also called Egyptian onions or top-setting onions. These are some of the most low-maintenance, self-sufficient plants you can grow. Instead of producing seeds, they grow little bulbs at the top of their stalks. When those bulbs get heavy, they fall over and start a new plant.

It looks a little wild, but that’s part of the charm. Once established, they spread themselves without taking over. You get fresh green shoots in spring and more mature bulbs later in the season. And they keep multiplying without any work from you.

Lavender

You probably already know lavender smells great. But what you might not know is how durable it is. Once established, lavender thrives in dry, poor soil. It doesn’t ask for much. And the more it grows, the fuller and stronger it gets.

Bees love it. It flowers every summer with those soft purple spikes. You can use the dried flowers in sachets, teas, or just leave them on the plant to enjoy. Prune it once a year to keep it looking good, and it rewards you for decades.

Chives

Chives are one of the easiest herbs to grow. They come back early in the spring, often when the rest of the garden is still sleeping. Cut them, eat them, and they grow right back.

You can use them in almost anything you cook. Eggs, soups, potatoes, salads. Plus, their purple flowers are edible too and look great in your yard. They’re a great herb to have just a few steps from your kitchen.

Echinacea (Coneflower)

Echinacea is the kind of plant that makes people stop and stare. Big, bold blooms. Long petals that droop down. A central cone that bees go nuts for.

These flowers are native to North America and built for survival. They don’t need much water once they’re going. And they don’t mind poor soil. They spread slowly, filling out your space over time. And yeah, they look good while doing it.

Black-eyed Susan

Bright yellow petals. Dark centers. Black-eyed Susans are the kind of plant that announces itself. Like echinacea, they’re native to North America, so they know how to handle rough conditions.

They reseed themselves naturally, so over the years, you’ll see more of them popping up. They bloom for a long time in summer and fall. And they don’t just look good—they bring in butterflies and bees. That helps your whole garden.

Bee Balm

Bee balm is one of those plants that does a little bit of everything. It’s edible. It smells nice. It brings in pollinators. And it’s hard to kill.

The flowers look a bit like fireworks—bright, wild, and fun. You can use the petals in teas or salads. And hummingbirds love them. Once planted, it spreads gradually and comes back stronger each year.

Thyme

If you want a plant that takes care of itself, thyme is it. It doesn’t need rich soil. It doesn’t need a lot of water. It even handles being stepped on.

It’s a ground cover herb that smells amazing and tastes great. Use it fresh or dried in cooking. Once it’s established, thyme just keeps going. You can plant it along paths, in containers, or between stones. It’s tough and beautiful.

Asparagus

This one takes patience. The first year, you don’t harvest. Same with the second. But by the third year, you start getting real food. And it doesn’t stop.

A good asparagus patch can keep producing for 20 years or more. That’s a solid investment. It likes full sun and well-drained soil. Once it’s in, it just needs a little care in spring and fall. That’s it.

Rhubarb

Big, bold leaves. Thick red stalks. Rhubarb makes a statement. It’s one of those plants that looks like a lot of work but isn’t.

Once it settles in, rhubarb grows bigger every year. The stalks are edible, but the leaves are not (they’re toxic). You can make pies, jams, or sauces with the stalks. Harvest it in spring, leave it alone the rest of the year, and it will reward you.

Why Perennials Matter

These plants aren’t just easy. They change the way you think about gardening. When you plant perennials, you’re investing in your future self. Less work. Less waste. More beauty.

They also help your local ecosystem. Bees, butterflies, and beneficial bugs rely on consistent food sources. Annuals don’t always offer that. But perennials? They keep showing up.

And you don’t have to re-buy them every year. That adds up. Plus, you reduce soil disturbance since you’re not constantly digging and planting.

How to Get Started

Pick a few spots in your yard that get decent sunlight. Don’t worry about having perfect soil. Most of these plants are forgiving.

Start small. Choose two or three plants from this list. Plant them where you’ll see them often. Somewhere you’ll remember to water if needed. Somewhere you can enjoy them.

Once they’re in the ground, give them a little water to get going. Maybe mulch around them to keep weeds down and moisture in. Then wait. Watch. Let them do their thing.

You don’t need to babysit these. You just need to give them a good start.

One Final Thought

Perennials aren’t flashy. They’re not going to give you instant results like a tray of annual flowers might. But what they offer is something better.

They stick around. They grow with you. They come back when you’ve forgotten them. And one day you’ll look outside and realize your garden is fuller, brighter, and more alive than you expected.

And you didn’t even have to replant a thing.

So go plant something that sticks around.