Narrow, fuzzy foliage resists the leaf spot that plagues Goldsturm. A worthy upgrade.
Glossy-leaved heat champion (botanically unrelated to true Vinca minor) that blooms through humidity that wilts everything else.
The grand finale of the garden season. Essential for fall pollinators.
Broccoli-like heads open pink and age to copper-bronze. Four-season interest, zero maintenance.
Tall green spikes lined with bell-shaped calyces. A florist favorite that brings architectural lime-green texture to any arrangement.
The signature grass of the tallgrass prairie, turning copper-bronze in fall with distinctive turkey-foot seed heads.
Brilliant scarlet semi-double blooms above near-black foliage. The contrast between leaf and flower is unmatched in the dahlia world.
Golden prairie workhorse that lights up late summer meadows.
Fiery bicolor pinwheels that bloom nonstop in the worst heat and soil.
Blooms in spring, then reblooms summer through frost. Compact habit with classic lilac fragrance.
Short clumping grass with distinctive eyebrow-shaped seed heads thrives in dry soils.
Dwarf paniculata smothered in blooms. Perfect front-of-border plant that needs almost no care.
Star-shaped electric blue flowers that bees go absolutely wild for. Self-sows freely.
Dinner plate blooms up to 10 inches across in a creamy blush-beige tone florists have built entire wedding industries around.
Bright daisy-like blooms in pumpkin orange and gold. Edible petals brighten salads and the plant keeps blooming through cool weather.
Screaming scarlet spikes. The most vivid red in the native plant world.
Tidy, dome-shaped habit that never flops open. Stays compact without shearing.
Billowy lavender-blue haze that blooms all season if you shear it back.
Flame-shaped or crested flowers in electric colors that dry beautifully. Heat lovers that thrive in summer.
The queen of flowering vines. Over 300 species, something for every spot.
Spider-flower with whisker-like stamens and airy blooms. Tall, dramatic annual that self-sows freely.
Tall stems with large yellow daisies tower over deeply cut basal leaves that align north-south.
Tough prairie native with long bloom season and medicinal history.
Airy, dancing flowers on thread-thin stems. Effortless cottage garden charm.
Endless forms from dinner-plate to pompom. The obsession of flower farmers.
Cheerful golden-yellow daisies that bloom for months on a tough native perennial. The sunniest, most reliable workhorse in the border.
Upright cones open pure white and transform to deep pomegranate red as the season ages. Strong stems that never need staking.
Tubular flowers that release sweet fragrance at dusk. A cottage garden classic that attracts moths and hummingbirds.
Billowing clusters of fragrant summer color. A butterfly magnet.
Wrongly blamed for allergies. A vital late-season pollinator magnet.
The gold standard rudbeckia. Uniform, floriferous, and utterly reliable in any soil.
Papery clover-shaped pom-poms on wiry stems. Drought-proof, deer-proof, and dries perfectly for winter arrangements.
Lemon-yellow rebloomer with light fragrance. A bit taller than Stella with softer color.
Warm-toned daisy-like flowers with raised centers bloom as summer turns to fall. Loves moist soil.
Reliable rebloomer with pure white ruffled falls. Blooms spring, then again in fall.
The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.
Massive 6-9 inch golden daisies on a short-lived plant. Bigger and bolder than perennial black-eyed susans.
The first pink Annabelle-type hydrangea, with strong stems holding hot-pink globe blooms upright through the season.
Towering native with mauve domes that butterflies swarm in late summer.
Velvety dark burgundy waterlily blooms that read almost black in low light. Strong stems built for the vase.
Blazing star. Spikes that bloom unusually from top to bottom.
Cone-shaped blooms open chartreuse, mature to white, then blush pink in fall. Tough as nails.
Rose-like ruffled blooms with the vase life of a chrysanthemum. The flower farmer's secret weapon for high-end arrangements.
Upright clumps turn coppery orange in fall and stand well through winter.
Compact Limelight. Same color show in a smaller package perfect for borders and containers.
Compact form of Quick Fire that blooms early on a container-sized plant. Same flame-toned color shift in a much smaller footprint.
The gold standard coneflower. Flat, non-drooping petals around a bold copper cone. Perennial Plant of the Year.
Bulletproof color all season long. The workhorse of warm-toned borders.
Deep indigo-blue hooded flowers on tall spikes in late summer. One of the few genuinely blue flowers that grows in shade.
Fast-climbing vine with trumpets that open fresh every morning.
Spikes of snapdragon-like flowers that can be pushed and stay where moved, earning a very literal common name.
Tall vase-shaped fronds that unfurl from fiddleheads in spring. Spreads to form dramatic colonies.
Compact cranberry-red with a yellow-green throat and one of the best reblooming habits in the entire family.
Cactus-form dinner plate blooms in swirled peach, coral, and yellow with twisting petals. Each flower looks like a sunset in motion.
Star-shaped flower clusters that hummingbirds and butterflies hit on every pass. Blooms nonstop in heat that stops impatiens cold.
Cascading color for containers and beds. Blooms nonstop until frost.
Huge cone blooms up to 15 inches long open white and age to dusty pink. One of the largest flowered paniculatas you can grow.
Spikes of violet-blue flowers above glossy arrow-shaped leaves. Native pond and stream bank staple.
Two-tone blooms with white tips and pink bases. Strong stems hold heavy flower heads upright.
Succulent-leaved sun lover with silky rose-like blooms that thrives where pavement, rock, or sand defeats everything else.
Deep rose-purple petals and a bronzy cone on a compact reblooming plant that won't sprawl.
Huge basal leaves and tall stalks topped with yellow daisies give strong prairie structure.
Fine-textured mounds send up airy fragrant flower sprays that persist into winter.
Blooms a full month before other paniculatas. White cones age to deep rosy pink by fall.
Brilliant red with a small yellow center, compact and one of the earliest daylilies to kick into rebloom.
The queen of the garden. Modern varieties are surprisingly low-maintenance.
Soft rose-pink blooms with a cream throat that keep coming from late spring to frost, absolutely tireless.
Glossy green leaves and pure white fragrant flowers on tall stems. Takes more sun than most hostas and perfumes the entire shade garden.
Vertical flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees cannot resist.
Pincushion blooms on long wiry stems dance over fine foliage. Pollinator magnet that keeps producing if you keep cutting.
Electric red spikes that hummingbirds zero in on. Common bedding plant that earns its spot every year.
Succulent leaves, tough as nails. Ages to deep crimson in autumn.
Upright spikes of bright yellow flowers feed late-season pollinators on dry prairies.
Vertical flower spikes with squeeze-open blooms. Kids love them.
Stiff papery flower clusters that dry to keep their color for years. A cut-flower farmer staple for wreaths and dried bouquets.
The most planted perennial in America. Compact, reblooming, and basically indestructible.
Papery petals that already look like dried flowers when fresh. The original everlasting, hanging on long after every other bloom fades.
Pure joy on a stalk. Birds love the seeds, kids love the spectacle.
Honey-scented carpet of tiny flowers. The best living edging plant.
Soft peachy-pink ball dahlia with perfect rounded form. A cut-flower farmer favorite for the way it holds up in arrangements for days.
Upright native grass with airy seed heads. Gold and red fall color.
Rich royal purple dinner plate blooms with formal decorative form. One of the few true purples and a showstopper in late-summer beds.
Thread-fine foliage and masses of tiny yellow stars bloom for months with zero effort. A perennial you can actually neglect.
Cheerful native daisy that blooms for months with almost no care.
Snapdragon-like flowers shaped exactly like a turtle's head. Loves wet feet.
Cone blooms open creamy white, age to soft pink, then deepen to strawberry red while new white cones keep emerging above them.
Wine-purple petals that age to rose on a robust, well-branched plant. One of the most floriferous echinacea you can grow.
Perennial Plant of the Year. Billowy lavender-blue spikes that rebloom hard after a shear.
Pure white drooping petals around a bronze-orange cone. Elegant and underused.
Bulletproof Canadian Explorer climber that survives zone 3 winters without protection. Strawberry-pink semi-double blooms in massive clusters.
Flat-topped clusters on ferny foliage. Thrives on neglect in poor soil.
Easy-grow annual with electric colors. Cut-and-come-again champion.
Spidery yellow flowers and intoxicating clove fragrance on bare branches in late fall. The last native shrub to bloom each year.