Hello Fiona,

Thanks for contacting the UVM Extension Master Gardener Helpline with your question ! Your question has as many answers as there are plants I think ! The old gardening adage “The right plant in the right place” comes to mind right off. Since you’re interested in a low maintenance perennial garden the first thing to consider is the cold hardiness for your area. Windsor county ranges from 4b to 6a according to the 2023 USDA map included here : https://www.uvm.edu/d10-files/images/2024-10/VT300_HS.png

Any of the plants you’ve referenced would be fine assuming they are cold hardy for your region and are not an invasive plant. Be careful about particular plants being ‘low maintenance’ though as it’s a very subjective term. The amount of maintenance I’m willing to do has changed greatly over the years, so take an author’s characterization into consideration.

Beyond the ‘will they grow here’ consideration is what are your goals for your garden(s) ? Attract pollinators ? Support natives ?Increase biodiversity ? Nice to look at ? All of the above ?
I’d suggest spending some time thinking about design of your garden(s) – giant topic by itself ! Here is a link that has a nice section of designs of gardens through various perspectives.
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scenee40a.html

Next step is getting a soil test if you haven’t already done so. Getting your soil amended with the appropriate nutrients and organic matter is probably the single most effective thing that you can do for any plant that you may choose. You can certainly try to growing a plant in an area to which it’s not well suited but doing so will certainly not be low maintenance ! Get a soil test here : https://www.uvm.edu/extension/agricultural-and-environmental-testing-lab

Next take a good hard look at your prospective garden area. Draw a sun map – how much sun does it receive daily. What level of moisture does your soil have – dry, moist, wet, etc.

And now the fun part of choosing plants. The right plant is one that pleases you and fits in your garden environment (Right plant, right place). Here is a link that provides excellent recommendations for Native Plants (trees/shrubs/perennials) -https://plantnative.org/rpl-nen.htm . We want to be especially careful to not plant anything that is on the list of introduced invasives. Please visit this website and review prior to purchasing or planting -
https://www.vtinvasives.org/

Here is a link that consolidates many different resources in convenient categories to peruse.
https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/gardening-resources

Best of luck with your gardening !