Large flat clusters of creamy flowers in early summer give way to dark berries for jams and wildlife.
Chartreuse needle-like foliage turns golden orange in fall. Tiny yellow flowers are a bonus.
Enormous snowball blooms on a native species. Blooms on new wood, so prune hard in spring.
Glossy-leaved heat champion (botanically unrelated to true Vinca minor) that blooms through humidity that wilts everything else.
Upward-facing blooms in a wide range of vivid colors. Easy to grow and brilliant in the summer border.
Feathery plumes that light up shady, moist spots like nothing else can.
True cornflower blue that almost no other flower can match. Cottage garden classic that self-sows reliably.
Streaked and splashed purple-and-white pattern unlike any other iris. Each bloom is unique, like brushwork on silk.
Shaggy, crown-shaped flowers that hummingbirds fight over.
Deep, near-black purple with a small yellow-green throat, the darkest and most dramatic daylily you can grow.
Coral-pink blooms with a tangerine beard. Named for the opera star and just as elegant.
Fiery bicolor pinwheels that bloom nonstop in the worst heat and soil.
Arching sprays of heart-shaped flowers for shady woodland gardens.
Blooms in spring, then reblooms summer through frost. Compact habit with classic lilac fragrance.
Lupine-like spikes on a native that lives forever. Gets better with age.
Steel-blue tufted mound. Perfect edging or rock garden accent.
Star-shaped electric blue flowers that bees go absolutely wild for. Self-sows freely.
Hot pink outer petals cup a creamy center of narrow petaloids. Dramatic and unmistakable.
Graceful cascading white plumes on dark stems. Luminous in a shady corner.
Deep maroon-black semi-double blooms with a heart of golden stamens. The most dramatic dark peony, blooming early when nothing else is open.
Cream-white standards over butter-yellow falls. The first dependable yellow-and-white Siberian iris ever introduced.
Vivid orange-red flat-topped clusters that monarchs and swallowtails cannot resist. Drought-proof once established.
Tall stems hold rich violet-blue flowers above grassy foliage. The Siberian iris benchmark, blooming earlier and longer than bearded types.
Bright daisy-like blooms in pumpkin orange and gold. Edible petals brighten salads and the plant keeps blooming through cool weather.
Tall spikes of starry flowers rise above strappy foliage in late spring.
Open, nodding bells in clear blue on tall graceful stems. Self-sows into refined cottage garden drifts.
Dark purple stems set this apart from every other salvia. Vertical, architectural, electric.
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.
Tiny daisy flowers with apple-scented foliage. Brew into tea or let it naturalize between pavers.
Scarlet red with a velvety texture. One of the best true red daylilies available.
Cheerful purple pom-pom flowers on a kitchen staple. Edible blooms make any salad Instagram-worthy.
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.
Delicate, spurred flowers that dance on wiry stems. Hummingbird favorite.
Tough prairie native with long bloom season and medicinal history.
Grown mostly for dramatic foliage, but the tiny bell flowers are a bonus.
Semi-double blooms open vivid coral-peach, age through apricot, and fade to soft butter cream. A color shift unlike any other peony.
Deeper, longer-lasting coral than Coral Charm with semi-double form. The flowers hold their warm tones for nearly two weeks.
Airy, dancing flowers on thread-thin stems. Effortless cottage garden charm.
Fragrant, walkable ground cover. Bees love it, foot traffic can't kill it.
Virtually indestructible perennial with trumpet blooms in every warm hue.
Towering spires of true blue. The tallest, most dramatic back-of-border plant.
Spicy clove-scented pinks with fringed petals in pink, red, white, or salmon, one of the best long-blooming edgers and front-of-border perennials for sun.
Fully double coral blooms like a small peony on a daylily, lush and completely unexpected.
Pure white double blooms with a hint of yellow at the heart and a powerful lily-of-the-valley fragrance. A heritage favorite since 1856.
Slow-growing dwarf with dense rounded habit. Perfect for small gardens and foundation plantings.
Cheerful golden-yellow daisies that bloom for months on a tough native perennial. The sunniest, most reliable workhorse in the border.
The deepest garnet-red of any astilbe. Dark bronze foliage makes those plumes glow.
Pure white double blooms flecked with crimson at the center. Beloved since 1851 and still unmatched.
Tubular flowers that release sweet fragrance at dusk. A cottage garden classic that attracts moths and hummingbirds.
Clouds of tiny sky-blue flowers carpet the ground in spring. Self-sows freely under shrubs and around tulips.
Stately spires of spotted, bell-shaped flowers. Cottage garden royalty.
Giant creamy plumes like an astilbe on steroids. Native woodland giant that anchors a shade border.
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.
Tight rosettes that multiply by producing offsets. The mother plant flowers once, then dies, replaced by chicks.
Towering spires of saucer-shaped blooms in vintage colors. The icon of every English cottage garden, biennial but generous with self-sown seedlings.
Tubular, nectar-rich flowers with a fragrance that defines summer evenings.
Dramatic burgundy-red foliage all season with white tubular flowers in late spring. The most striking native penstemon for gardens.
Tall, pale lemon-yellow, sweetly fragrant blooms on an heirloom variety that's been cherished since 1925.
Reliable rebloomer with pure white ruffled falls. Blooms spring, then again in fall.
The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.
Annabelle's bigger sibling with stronger stems that don't flop. Blooms the size of basketballs.
The first pink Annabelle-type hydrangea, with strong stems holding hot-pink globe blooms upright through the season.
Elegant sword-leaved perennials with intricate, ruffled blooms.
Deep ruby-red double blooms with ruffled petals on strong stems. One of the most reliable red peonies and a heritage cultivar still unmatched.
Single bowl-shaped flowers with crinkled white petals around a brilliant yellow boss of stamens. Elegant, airy, and adored by bees.
Chartreuse frothy flowers and pleated blue-green leaves that hold water droplets like mercury. The ultimate filler plant.
Tall spires of spurred flowers in deep blue and purple. The annual cousin of delphinium, easier to grow from seed and just as dramatic.
Rose-like ruffled blooms with the vase life of a chrysanthemum. The flower farmer's secret weapon for high-end arrangements.
Compact form of Quick Fire that blooms early on a container-sized plant. Same flame-toned color shift in a much smaller footprint.
Dramatic spikes in every color. Short-lived but self-seeds generously.
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.
Ruffled golden-yellow flowers with a lavender eye, large, showy, and sweetly fragrant in the summer border.
Perennial Plant of the Year. Dense indigo-violet spikes that rebloom if deadheaded.
Compact lilac with pale lavender blooms and outstanding fragrance. Burgundy fall foliage as a bonus.
Fast-climbing vine with trumpets that open fresh every morning.
Sky-blue bell flowers on tall arching stems along mountain streams. The showy western cousin of Virginia Bluebell.
Exquisite geometric buds open to cupped flowers. A native evergreen gem.
Sky-blue flowers wreathed in feathery green bracts give way to ornamental striped seed pods. Self-sows freely once you start.
Peeling bark, burgundy foliage, and white puffs. A native multitasker.
Single, apple-pink blooms followed by large rose hips that persist through winter on a vigorous Pacific Northwest native.
Tall vase-shaped fronds that unfurl from fiddleheads in spring. Spreads to form dramatic colonies.
Western native that blooms much longer than its eastern cousin. Ferny foliage all season.
Compact cranberry-red with a yellow-green throat and one of the best reblooming habits in the entire family.
Tubular flowers on upright stems. Native hummingbird magnet for dry gardens.
Star-shaped flower clusters that hummingbirds and butterflies hit on every pass. Blooms nonstop in heat that stops impatiens cold.
Lush, ruffled blooms with intoxicating fragrance. Lives for decades.
Cascading color for containers and beds. Blooms nonstop until frost.
Spikes of violet-blue flowers above glossy arrow-shaped leaves. Native pond and stream bank staple.
Vivid coral-pink semi-double blooms that fade to peach-cream. Early bloomer with a sweet fragrance and one of the most photographed peonies on Instagram.
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.
Nodding wine-red flowers transform into feathery pink seed plumes that persist into summer. Native prairie gem.
Deep purple-red blooms on a compact Stella-sized plant. Brings rich color to the front of the border.
Brushy purple flower spikes rise over fine foliage and feed prairie pollinators.
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.
Flat clusters of white flowers and berries give way to vivid red stems that shine in winter.
Big, bold trusses of bloom over glossy evergreen foliage.
Huge leaves and thick red stalks give a lush look while supplying tart harvests.
Large blue-and-white spurred flowers bloom in late spring above lacy foliage.
Spikes of deep blue tubular flowers rise above glossy evergreen foliage in early summer.
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.
Vertical flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees cannot resist.
Fully double, apple-blossom pink blooms so heavy they nod on their stems. The most planted peony in history.
Pincushion blooms on long wiry stems dance over fine foliage. Pollinator magnet that keeps producing if you keep cutting.
Tubular red trumpets on a wiry biennial that hummingbirds adore across the Mountain West. Blooms its second year, then self-sows.
Electric red spikes that hummingbirds zero in on. Common bedding plant that earns its spot every year.
Grassy tufts topped with round pink pom-poms. Loves lean soil and coastal conditions.
Classic white-and-gold daisies that look fresh from a meadow painting.
Tiny pastel pink blooms on a miniature plant, perfect for container gardens and tight spaces.
Vertical flower spikes with squeeze-open blooms. Kids love them.
Arching stems hung with dangling white bells. Pairs of leaves create graceful, layered architecture.
Tidy spikes of blue that add vertical punch to the front of the border.
Flat-topped flower clusters on tidy mounds. The easiest flowering shrub.
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.
Dense spikes of clove-scented blooms in soft pastels. Cool-season cut flower that fills a room with spicy perfume.
Papery petals that already look like dried flowers when fresh. The original everlasting, hanging on long after every other bloom fades.
Sulfur-yellow flower clusters on a silvery-leaved cushion plant. One of the toughest and prettiest natives of the Mountain West.
Soft mauve-pink clusters that monarch butterflies seek out for egg-laying. Thrives where it's consistently wet.
Clear pink single blooms on a native rose that thrives in wet spots, ditch edges, and rain gardens where other roses would drown.
Honey-scented carpet of tiny flowers. The best living edging plant.
Ruffled, intensely fragrant climbing flowers in every pastel shade. Cool-season annual that hates heat.
Dense flat clusters in zoned bicolors with a sweet clove fragrance. Old-fashioned cottage charm that returns reliably.
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.
Intense, almost electric blue trumpet flowers on a low mat. The holy grail of alpine gardeners.
Fragrant snowball clusters in spring, then berries for birds in fall.
Evergreen mat with periwinkle-blue flowers. Tough shade ground cover.
Perennial Plant of the Year. Billowy lavender-blue spikes that rebloom hard after a shear.
Tubular blooms smother arching branches in late spring. Hummingbird haven.
Cylindrical white flower spikes with orange anthers on a delicate, drought-proof prairie native that feeds bees all summer.
Pure white drooping petals around a bronze-orange cone. Elegant and underused.
Loose clusters of sky-blue flowers float above woodland floors in spring on a fragrant, mat-forming native.
Nodding red-and-yellow spurred flowers that hummingbirds love on a self-sowing native that naturalizes along woodland edges.
Soft pink blooms over deeply-cut foliage. A woodland edge staple.
Bulletproof Canadian Explorer climber that survives zone 3 winters without protection. Strawberry-pink semi-double blooms in massive clusters.
Inconspicuous blooms, but covered in brilliant red berries all winter long.
Flat-topped clusters on ferny foliage. Thrives on neglect in poor soil.
Easy-grow annual with electric colors. Cut-and-come-again champion.
Narrow, fuzzy foliage resists the leaf spot that plagues Goldsturm. A worthy upgrade.
Glowing gold foliage all season, and one of the best hostas for brighter spots with some morning sun.
Tall green spikes lined with bell-shaped calyces. A florist favorite that brings architectural lime-green texture to any arrangement.
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.
A mammoth shade-garden hosta with thick, corrugated blue-gray leaves up to 18 inches long that slugs leave alone, topped by fragrant lavender flower spikes in midsummer.
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.
Dinner plate blooms up to 10 inches across in a creamy blush-beige tone florists have built entire wedding industries around.
Screaming scarlet spikes. The most vivid red in the native plant world.
Tall stems with large yellow daisies tower over deeply cut basal leaves that align north-south.
Tall tapering spires of tiny white flowers that bees mob. Vertical and elegant at the back of the border.
Endless forms from dinner-plate to pompom. The obsession of flower farmers.
Creeping mat of burgundy-tinged foliage with starry red flowers. Turns deep red in fall.
The world's largest hosta. Individual leaves can exceed two feet. A bold statement in any shade garden.
Stark white centers with deep green margins, high contrast that jumps out from a shady border.
Upright cones open pure white and transform to deep pomegranate red as the season ages. Strong stems that never need staking.
Classic blue-green heart-shaped leaves with wide gold margins that make this one of the all-time great hostas.
Billowing clusters of fragrant summer color. A butterfly magnet.
Perfectly spherical steel-blue globes on white stems that dry to perfection. Bees are absolutely obsessed.
Small, fast-spreading mound with chartreuse-gold margins and one of the easiest hostas you can grow.
The gold standard rudbeckia. Uniform, floriferous, and utterly reliable in any soil.
Gracefully arching white flower spikes that curve at the tips like a goose neck. Spreads vigorously in moist soil.
Chartreuse-gold leaves with dark green margins and sweetly fragrant white flowers that perfume the shade garden.
The bluest hosta you can grow. Thick, heavily textured leaves resist slugs better than most.
The undisputed queen of shade gardening. Foliage in every green and blue.
Massive 6-9 inch golden daisies on a short-lived plant. Bigger and bolder than perennial black-eyed susans.
Towering native with mauve domes that butterflies swarm in late summer.
Gold center streaked with blue-green margins. Color shifts through the season. A collector's favorite.
Velvety dark burgundy waterlily blooms that read almost black in low light. Strong stems built for the vase.
Stately vase-shaped form with silvery-blue leaves on long stems. Tall lavender flower spikes rise five feet above the foliage.
Blazing star. Spikes that bloom unusually from top to bottom.
Large blue-green leaves with wide creamy yellow margins that whiten as the season ages. Bigger and brighter than First Frost, its parent.
Cone-shaped blooms open chartreuse, mature to white, then blush pink in fall. Tough as nails.
Compact Limelight. Same color show in a smaller package perfect for borders and containers.
Deep burgundy-red with a black eye and yellow throat, smoldering in the summer border.
Spikes of snapdragon-like flowers that can be pushed and stay where moved, earning a very literal common name.
Huge, intensely fragrant blooms in deep pink and white that perfume the entire garden. The lily that defines summer.
Dark green leaves with crisp white margins. Classic variegated hosta that brightens shady spots.
Cactus-form dinner plate blooms in swirled peach, coral, and yellow with twisting petals. Each flower looks like a sunset in motion.
Huge cone blooms up to 15 inches long open white and age to dusty pink. One of the largest flowered paniculatas you can grow.
Two-tone blooms with white tips and pink bases. Strong stems hold heavy flower heads upright.
Huge basal leaves and tall stalks topped with yellow daisies give strong prairie structure.
Glossy green leaves and pure white fragrant flowers on tall stems. Takes more sun than most hostas and perfumes the entire shade garden.
Huge gray-blue leaves with creamy margins on a stately, vase-shaped plant that wins awards for good reason.
Glossy gold center with dark green margins, like light through a cathedral window.
Chartreuse giant that can take more sun than most hostas. Heart-shaped leaves grow enormous.
Spikes of intensely sweet-scented white flowers in midsummer, one of the best fragrant natives for shady spots.
Pure joy on a stalk. Birds love the seeds, kids love the spectacle.
Soft peachy-pink ball dahlia with perfect rounded form. A cut-flower farmer favorite for the way it holds up in arrangements for days.
Rich royal purple dinner plate blooms with formal decorative form. One of the few true purples and a showstopper in late-summer beds.
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.
Compact and more drought-tolerant than most astilbes. Dense, rosy-pink plumes.
Blue-green leaves with wide creamy-white margins that age to a clean white, a standout performer in any shade garden.
The wild cousin of bee balm. Lavender puffs alive with pollinators. Tougher and more mildew-resistant.
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.
The signature grass of the tallgrass prairie, turning copper-bronze in fall with distinctive turkey-foot seed heads.
Wrongly blamed for allergies. A vital late-season pollinator magnet.
Warm-toned daisy-like flowers with raised centers bloom as summer turns to fall. Loves moist soil.
Upright clumps turn coppery orange in fall and stand well through winter.
Deep indigo-blue hooded flowers on tall spikes in late summer. One of the few genuinely blue flowers that grows in shade.
Fine-textured mounds send up airy fragrant flower sprays that persist into winter.
Succulent leaves, tough as nails. Ages to deep crimson in autumn.
Upright spikes of bright yellow flowers feed late-season pollinators on dry prairies.
Upright native grass with airy seed heads. Gold and red fall color.
Snapdragon-like flowers shaped exactly like a turtle's head. Loves wet feet.