Bushy, well-branched, with one of the longest blooming seasons, Red Valerian (Centranthus Ruber) is a popular perennial grown for its ornamental and showy star-shaped flowers. Fragrant, this border beauty is also easy to grow, fairly pest and disease free and attracts butterflies. What else to ask for? A prolific bloomer from early summer to fall, it produces abundant, rounded clusters of crimson ('Coccineus'), pink ('Roseus') or white flowers ('Albus'), rising atop a blue-green, lance-shaped foliage.

Requiring very little care and providing striking color as well as graceful movement in the garden or patio, Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' has become a real favorite among gardeners. How not to resist the spectacular rich burgundy foliage, the exceptionally long arching crimson plumes or the outstanding contrast provided with the surrounding plants and flowers? Fast grower, it typically grows in 3-5 ft. tall (90-150 cm) and 2-4 ft. wide (60-120 cm) rounded mounds. They are topped with soft and fluffy, red-burgundy flower plumes on arching stems from mid-summer until frost. Drought tolerant and ignored by deer!

Highly decorative with its profuse and attractive, lipstick-pink, bottlebrush flowers rising on tall slender stems, Sanguisorba tenuifolia 'Pink Elephant' is a lovely addition to the garden. Attractive to butterflies and pollinators, the flowers bobble in the air and produce charming floating dots of color in the border. This Japanese Burnet features an equally beautiful foliage of intricately cut, light green leaves. A billowy see-through perennial that is perfect to add a transparent effect in the border and create a beautiful hazy tapestry.

Adding a delicate airiness to the summer border, Cenolophium denudatum (Baltic Parsley) is a lovely hardy perennial plant with profuse, flat-topped umbels, 5 in. wide (12 cm), of creamy white flowers, floating atop mounds of dark-green, semi-evergreen fern-like foliage. Blooming over an extremely long flowering period, from mid-summer until mid-fall, Cenolophium denudatum is easy to grow, vigorous, adaptable, and requires very little care. A favorite of designers, it gracefully mingles with other plants, adding unmatched elegance.

Noted for its elegant, rosy-red feathery flowers, Pennisetum thunbergii 'Red Buttons' (Fountain Grass) is a graceful, deciduous grass that forms a compact, upright clump of narrow grassy leaves. In late summer, showy, elongated, red flower plumes are produced at the tips of long graceful stems. They rise high above the foliage, arching upward or outward, and gradually fade to buff as they mature. Long-lived, they can be admired over a long season and can be used in fresh or dry arrangements. The handsome, bright green foliage turns to a warm golden-tan color in fall and generally remains attractive well into the winter. Excellent addition to mixed borders.

Stipa tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass) is an exceptionally lovely and graceful ornamental grass that exhibits silvery-green thread-like leaves in late spring, that sway gracefully in the slightest breeze, delicately softening any landscape. All summer, it bears abundant feathery panicles, which are held a little above the foliage and can be used in dried arrangements. Native to the Americas, this perennial grass provides a fairly long-lasting display with its airy silky green leaves turning golden brown towards fall.

Highly praised by most gardeners, Selinum wallichianum (Milk Parsley) is a clump-forming perennial with a profusion of large, flattened umbels composed of tiny, star-shaped, white flowers. Sitting atop strong ribbed red stems, they float above a pretty dome-shaped mound of large, intricately divided, emerald-green leaves. Blooming over an extremely long flowering period, from mid-summer until fall, Milk Parsley is easy to grow, adaptable, and requires very little care. A favorite of designers, it adds unmatched elegance to the garden as an isolated specimen or placed among other herbaceous plants. Selinum wallichianum has a reputation for reliability and longevity.