Bushy Yellow Perennials

Spring Blooms

• Aquilegia is a bushy perennial with yellow flowered cultivars in several different heights and one variety that has yellow foliage. A. canadensis "Corbett" is 1 1/2 feet tall, with dark green foliage and pale yellow flowers. A. chrysantha var. hinckleyana is 2 feet tall with slightly blue tinted foliage and butter-yellow, fragrant blooms. A. chrysantha "Yellow Queen" grows to between 1 1/2 and 3 feet tall, with bright yellow flowers. A. fragrans is 1 1/2 feet tall, with fragrant, creamy-yellow and white bicolored flowers. The Swallowtail cultivar is 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall with bicolor lemon and pale yellow flowers. A. vulgaris "Woodside Golden" is 2 feet tall, with yellow foliage and burgundy, white or purple flowers. All varieties bloom in the spring. They prefer moist organically rich soil in partial shade, but can also be grown successfully in average soil and full sun.

Summer Blooms

• St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) grows to a height of 2 to 3 feet as an herbaceous perennial or semiwoody subshrub. It produces clusters of bright yellow, 1- to 1 1/2-inch diameter, star-shaped blooms from June through August. The 1- to 1 1/2-inch oval leaves are soft, dusty-green. There are several types of St. John's wort available with variations in leaf and bloom size. All varieties are easy to grow in most types of soil with a full sun or partial shade exposure. They prefer consistently moist soil but are somewhat drought tolerant. These plants regularly self-seed. St. John's wort is considered a noxious or invasive weed in some areas where it has escaped cultivation and naturalized.

Late Spring to Autumn Blooms

• Coreopsis verticillata "Moonbeam" grows to a height of 1 1/2 to 2 feet with narrow, delicate-looking medium green foliage. The 1- to 2-inch diameter, pale yellow, daisy-type flowers bloom in loose clusters. Leucanthemum x superbum "Sonnenschein" is a type of Shasta daisy that produces 3- to 5-inch diameter pale lemon yellow flowers. It grows to a height of 2 to 3 feet tall, with dark, glossy green foliage. Both of these bushy herbaceous perennials should be grown in full sun. They can be planted in average soil as long as it drains well.

Autumn Blooms

• Chrysanthemum "Jessica" and "Virginia's Sunshine" are fall-blooming shrubby perennials. They grow to a height of 1 to 2 feet, with dark green foliage. The Jessica cultivar has double-form, bright yellow flowers with short petals. Virginia's Sunshine produces soft yellow, single-form flowers that resemble a daisy. Both mum cultivars grow best in full sun except in hot southern locations where they should have afternoon shade. They grow best in fertile soil that is high in organic matter. The soil should be kept consistently moist.