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Questions about a perennial garden.?

I am soon to start working on a garden at my house. It will come about 3 or 4 feet off the house, be bordered by some recycled bricks, and I am going to use the plastic sheeting to keep weeds at bay. I really want to plant it once and not mess with it again. This means I need to plant perennials right? What I was thinking of growing is Dahlia, Balloon Flower, Bleeding Hearts, Iris, Butterfly Bush, Bellflower, Daylily, Echinacea, and Hydrangea. I am still working on the layout, but I want to know if I just plant these once and then they bloom back every year. I don't want to pull up bulbs and roots every year and replant them. Like I said, I am using the plastic sheeting and don't want to mess it up every year.

Public Comments

1. I am not completely sure about some of the other plants, but I have tons of Irises in my yard and I know that they tend to grow and meld together. You don't have to pull them up and replant, but if you do more of them will bloom.
2. Yes - you want perennials. Dahlia are not perennials in your above list. Perennials are plants that have a life span of more than two years. However, when it comes to gardening, perennial generally means a flowering plant that blooms during the growing seasons and then either goes quiescent or dies. The following season, it starts to grow again. Most perennials require two or more years to cycle from seed to flowering. Perennials have a great diversity in size, shape, color, growth rate, and even texture. More About Perennials - http://www.perennial-gardens.com/flower-articles/perennials-101.htm
3. Those look to be good choices, although the perennials will have to be lifted up and divided in about three years time.Whilst Dahlias aren't perennial, but a bulb, and depending on where you live will possibly have to be taken out every year and then replanted in spring.