Analysis and ways to expand the species diversity of the assortment of perennial herbaceous flowering plants for landscaping urban areas of the Kola Polar region

The paper analyzes the selection of species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants to enrich the existing range in the landscaping of the cities of the Kola Polar region. The selection of the assortment of perennials for landscaping of the cities was carried out by the Polar-Alpine Botanical garden institute for the first time. Currently, the assortment of perennial flowering plants has enriched and it is represented by 115 species in 28 families. New species have a high decorative value, stability and passed a long period of tests on collection nurseries and in urban conditions. Analysis of the existing range and the study of the results of long-term tests of various plants in nature provide an opportunity to identify the main families and species, whose representatives have a high decorative value and stability in the Far North. Families Primulaceae and Rosaceae Juss are the most promising to replenish the landscaping assortment. When forming the assortment, the number of species is very important as well as their ratio in different groups by flowering period, color tone and height. As the analysis of species diversity showed, it is necessary to increase the early-flowering perennials, especially with yellow-orange and purple-red shades of flowers. It has been noted that the percentage of border plants with compact shrubs was low. In the existing assortment, the positive aspect is the balance of warm and cold tones. Due to the resistance to the harsh climatic and environmental conditions of the Kola North perennial herbaceous plants are perspectives for landscaping the cities of the Kola Subarctic.