Resembling the delicate Astilbe, Artemisia lactiflora (White Mugwort) is favored for its deep green foliage, its attractive plumes of creamy-white flowers and its elegant vertical lines. Unlike its Artemisia cousins whose yellow-gray flowers are inconspicuous, White Mugwort features lovely sprays of tiny flowers, on slightly arching but self-supporting stems from late summer to fall, atop toothed, deep-green leaves with silver undersides. This is an excellent selection for the garden thanks to its airy texture and is perfect for lightening the effect of brightly colored flowers in the landscape.

Grown for its magnificent silver-white foliage, Artemisia ludoviciana (White Sage) is a fast-spreading perennial that adds light and contrast to the landscape and combines well with almost everything. Typically growing in a bushy clump, 2-3' tall (60-90 cm) and as wide, its lance-shaped foliage is aromatic when bruised. Its tiny, yellow-gray flowers are inconspicuous and should be removed as they appear. Drought, deer, and rabbit tolerant!

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!

One of the most popular blue-flowered geraniums, 'Johnson's Blue' forms dense, spreading mounds of neatly cut leaves, topped with abundant clusters of large, saucer-shaped, sky blue flowers, 2 in. wide (5 cm), from late spring to midsummer. Compact, its foliage remains attractive throughout the growing season and makes it useful as a low ground cover. Turning showy red and gold in fall, it creates a pretty contrast. This sturdy performer is not only easy to grow, but it also requires very little maintenance and is pest and disease free!

A favorite for cut flowers and arrangements, Baby's Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) also deserves a place in the landscape. Its airy clouds of white or pink tiny flowers add both contrast and texture to the perennial border from early summer to fall. Their billowy appearance is most attractive and has a softening effect on the surrounding plants. Growing in decorative mounds, up to 2-3 feet tall and wide (60-90 cm), covered with myriads of long-lasting, single or double flowers on plants with very small, blue-green leaves, this plant is low maintenance and highly disease-free.

Covered with abundant, showy rose-like flowers in shades of orange, pink, yellow and white in late spring to early summer, Helianthemum nummuralium (Rock Rose) is a charming low-growing subshrub with an evergreen foliage of gray-green, lance-shaped leaves. Each flower opens for only one day, but new buds keep opening - enabling a long-lasting display (up to 2 months). Great choice for rock gardens, edging, ground cover or border fronts.

A fabulous little plant that you should not be overlooked. Iberis sempervirens (Evergreen Candytuft) is an enchanting low, sprawling, woody-based perennial that will charm your garden in mid to late spring. Among the purest garden whites with its abundant clusters of 4-petaled white flowers, enhanced by delicate yellow dots on each petal, the blossoms stand out starkly against the foliage of narrow, dark green leaves.

Very free flowering and one of the tallest, Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' (Catmint) is a vigorous herbaceous perennial noted for its billowing, aromatic, gray-green foliage that is topped with 9-12 in. spikes (22-30 cm) of rich violet-blue flowers in early summer with repeat blooms throughout the growing season. Although the stems are 2-3 ft long (60-90 cm), the arching habit of this Nepeta brings the height down to 18 to 24 inches (45-60 cm). Plant large drifts of Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' along a walkway to create a garden space that overflows with color and enjoy its lemon scent when bruised!

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage) is a bushy, woody-based deciduous perennial with long terminal panicles of small, lavender-blue flowers, borne on thin white stems, clad with finely-dissected, aromatic gray-green leaves. Blooming for weeks from mid-summer to fall, this delicate-looking plant is a toughy that is resistant to drought, heat, pests, and poor soils. Pretty and excellent for xeriscaping, its long blooming season, makes it an extremely valuable addition to the garden - even in winter when the stems create a beautiful feature in the landscape.

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.

Adding striking colors to the garden in early or mid-summer, Tanacetum coccineum, commonly called Painted Daisy or Pyrethrum, is a fabulous perennial. Why? It produces masses of very showy, 3 in. wide (7 cm) daisies with a large central golden disc, elegantly contrasting with the white, red, purple, or pink rays. They last over a very long season to the delight of butterflies but also repel insects, helping to keep your garden pest free! They rise above a strongly-aromatic foliage mound of soft, finely-divided, fern-like bright green leaves which remain attractive after blooming is over. Finally, Painted Daisies have always been popular as cut flowers thanks to their sturdy, straight stems that prolong their blooms' life in a vase.

Named after Achilles, hero of the Trojan Wars in Greek mythology, who used yarrow to heal the wounds of his soldiers, Achillea is valued for its pleasantly fragrant, feathery foliage and its long-lasting, conspicuous, flat umbel flowers. Vital ingredient of herbaceous borders, cottage gardens, meadows or prairies, Achillea typically blooms for weeks from late spring to late summer, in a wide range of colors. Easy care, drought, deer and rabbit resistant, Achillea is rich in many qualities!

Tough as nails, Coneflowers (Echinacea) are wonderful additions to the landscape with their brightly colored blossoms to be enjoyed over a long flowering season. Simple to grow, mostly trouble-free, thriving on neglect, these members of the Asteraceae family (along with daisies, sunflowers and asters), are reliable performers that are tolerant to almost everything! Loved by butterflies, birds and bees, Coneflowers have won the hearts and minds of many gardeners and are increasingly in vogue as garden perennials, as cut flowers or landscape plants. They enjoy such a long list of virtues that should not be overlooked!

Drought tolerant and delightfully colorful, Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia) are short-lived perennials renowned for their profuse, long-lasting, colorful mounds of bright, single or double daisy-like flowers atop an attractive gray-green foliage from early summer to fall. Named after the native Indian blankets, whose color pattern they resemble, their 2-3 inch wide flowers (5-7 cm) are a real magnet to hummingbirds and butterflies!

Native to Texas and Louisiana, Lindheimer's Beeblossom (Gaura lindheimeri) is a remarkably pretty perennial plant with tall, airy-looking flowers giving the appearance of butterflies floating in the garden. It adds a unique texture in the garden with its 4-petaled, pink tinged or white, 1 in. long (2.5cm), butterfly-like flowers borne at the top of the airy spikes. Enjoys a long blooming season, typically from early summer into fall. Forms a lovely vase-shaped clump of erect or arching, densely clustered wand-like stems. Tolerates drought, heat, humidity, partial shade and dry soils. Deer and rabbit resistant, Gaura attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

Often called the 'perfect perennial' because of its numerous qualities: showy flowers, wide array of vibrant colors, drought tolerance, heat stress immunity, ability to grow in most hardiness zones and low care requirements, Daylily (Hemerocallis) is a remarkable and stunning addition to the garden! Each flower typically lasts no more than 24 hours, opening up in the morning and withering during the forthcoming night, possibly replaced by another one on the same flower stalk the next day.

Rudbeckia hirta, commonly known as Black-Eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy or Yellow Oxeye Daisy is a cheerful, widespread wildflower that belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is renowned for its showy golden-yellow or orange-red, 2-3 in. wide (5-7 cm), daisy-like flowers with dark chocolate central cones. The single or double blooms rise atop sturdy, upright, scattered stems. Their foliage of oval green leaves is covered with bristly hairs that give it a slightly rough texture. Black-Eyed Susans flowers are attractive to butterflies, bees, and other pollinators and beneficial insects. They are considered deer-resistant plants due to their typically rough leaves and stems.