The stunning contrast of its eye-catching, shiny, bright violet-rose flowers with a very dark center against the deep bronze foliage is simply irresistible. The semi-double flowers, up to 6 in. wide (15 cm) blend in nicely with other plants and add welcomed color and form to the late summer and fall borders. A great dahlia variety that is perfect for pollinators, lovely in herbaceous borders and stunning in containers. This winner of multiple awards grows up to 36 inches (90 cm).

Try tearing your eyes away from Dahlia Karma Prospero's profusion of spectacular, soft lilac-pink flowers set against its dark green foliage! The fully double flowers, up to 4-6 in. wide (10-15 cm) rise atop sturdy stems and are not top-heavy. They stand up nice and straight even when it rains. Especially suited for cutting, Dahlia 'Karma Prospero' is an eye-catching beauty which benefits from an outstanding vase life (7-12 days). Grows up to 48 inches (120 cm)

Can leave no one untouched! Dahlia Park Princess' is a magnificent Cactus Dahlia with its masses of showy, bright pink flowers delicately exhibiting their creamy-yellow centers. The flowers, up to 4 inches across (10 cm), are incredibly beautiful and are not top-heavy. They stand up nice and straight even when it rains. Winner of multiple awards (140 according to the American Dahlia Society!)

For summer to fall exquisite beauty on easy care plants, few perennials can compare with Aster x frikartii 'Monch' (Frikart's Aster). One of the first Asters to bloom, this lovely perennial plant creates a bold splash of color in the landscape over an extraordinarily long season with masses of attractive, soft lavender-blue, star-shaped blossoms, 2 in. wide (5 cm), with slender rays and golden-yellow centers. Such a gentle color that it blends with almost any other color in the garden. Free flowering, well-branched with sturdy stems that do not need staking, this aster is easy to grow, trouble-free, mildew-resistant and a great source of nectar for butterflies!

Tough but delicate and incredibly pretty, Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies' features tall, airy-looking flowers dancing and dangling along thin stems. It adds a unique texture in the garden with its 4-petaled, white butterfly-like flowers borne at the top of the airy spikes. More compact than its parent, this cultivar produces more crisp white flowers on reddish stems and doesn't self-seed. It enjoys a long blooming season, typically from early summer into fall and forms a vase-shaped clump, about 2-3 ft. high (60-90 cm). Tolerates drought, heat, humidity, partial shade and dry soils. Deer and rabbit resistant, Gaura attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

Award-winner Sedum 'Herbstfreude' or 'Autumn Joy' is probably one of the best of all border sedums. Vigorous, hardy, carefree, good-looking, with a season of interest lasting more than 6 months from early summer until well into winter, who could resist? Easy to grow, this standout perennial forms a 2 feet tall (60 cm) clump of thick, fleshy blue-green foliage topped with flower buds resembling broccoli. Gradually, these densely clustered buds will reveal tiny, star-like soft raspberry pink flowers in mid to late summer, which will softly change to rich rose and then coppery-rust in the fall as they die.

Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina) is a wonderful evergreen perennial, mostly grown for its rich rosettes of showy, velvety, silvery tongue-shaped leaves, resembling lamb's ears and bringing interest to the border. Pink-purple flower spikes appear in late spring or early summer. Their fuzzy flowers add textural interest, but cutting them off promotes foliage growth and improves the plant's vigor.

One of the tallest, Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' (Floss Flower) is a frost-tender annual boasting fluffy lavender to purplish-blue flower clusters, up to 3 in. across (7 cm), from late spring to frost. Attractive to butterflies, the blossoms are borne on long, sturdy stems and float above the neat foliage mound of heart-shaped leaves. Best used for edging or borders of beds or in containers. Great for cutting.

Native to Asia and Australia, Pennisetum alopecuroides (Fountain Grass) is among the most beautiful and graceful ornamental grasses with its cascading foliage that rustles in the wind. Requiring very little care and providing almost nonstop drama in the garden. This cold-hardy grass typically grows in 2-3 foot tall (60-90 cm) rounded mounds of dark green foliage turning golden yellow or beige in fall. The flowering season begins as early as early summer or as late as early fall when the foliage is topped with soft and fluffy, reddish purple to coppery tan bottlebrush-like flowers, resembling large foxtails, on arching stems. They make excellent cut flowers for fresh and dried arrangements.