Fabulous at adding architectural height and late summer blooms to a shaded border, award-winning Actaea simplex 'James Compton' (Baneberry) is a striking, compact, bronze-leaved bugbane variety. Opening from pink buds in late summer to early fall, attractive, purple stemmed fluffy spires, packed with deliciously fragrant white flowers with a pink tinge, gracefully bob and sway in the breeze. They rise elegantly above a bronze, almost black, lacy foliage which provides excellent texture and color to the landscape throughout the growing season. This Baneberry is trouble-free and easy to care for.

Resembling the delicate Astilbe, Aruncus dioicus (Goat's Beard) is a great-looking perennial with highly attractive feathery plumes of tiny, starry, creamy-white flowers that rise well above the dark green foliage. Blooming from early to mid-summer, it should be noted that the male plants (with many stamens per flower) feature more attractive blooms than the female plants (3 pistils per flower). Once the flowers are less prominent, the handsome billowing mounds of fernlike leaves take over, extending the visual appeal through fall.

A wonderful perennial for fall color, Chelone lyonii (Pink Turtlehead) is an upright, clump-forming perennial with abundant terminal spikes of fascinating, two-lipped, pink to rose-purple flowers from late summer into fall. The hooded flowers are shaped like turtle heads just emerging from the shell, hence the common name of 'Turtlehead'. They rise above a lustrous foliage of broadly, lance-shaped, dark green leaves that are arranged in pairs along the stiff, square stems and remains attractive during the growing season. This beauty is also low maintenance, disease and insect resistant, making this U.S. native a first-rate garden plant.

Tall and spectacular, award-winning Queen of the Prairie 'Venusta' (Filipendula Rubra) is a splendid herbaceous perennial with large, elegant sprays of small deep pink flowers borne on leafy stems well above the foliage from early to late summer. Pleasantly fragrant, the graceful blossoms mature to pale pink over time and are nicely complemented by deeply cut, bright green leaves that are equally fragrant. Tough, long-lasting, this U.S. native perennial is valued for both its leaves and its flowers. Growing up to 4-8 ft. high (120-240 cm), Queen of the Prairie is easy to grow, requires very low care and is pest and disease-free! Deer and clay tolerant too!

A top performer that is perfect for the late summer garden, Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) is a popular, upright, clump-forming perennial boasting a profusion of flower spikes densely packed with brilliant, cardinal red, two-lipped blossoms, 2 in. long (5 cm), from midsummer to early fall. Borne on erect, alternate-leafed stalks rising above a rosette of lance-shaped, glossy bright green leaves, this architectural plant adds vertical interest to the landscape. Extremely hardy, low care, and fairly pest and disease-free, Cardinal Flower tends to be short-lived, although it may self-seed in ideal growing conditions (without becoming invasive)!

Noted for its unique form and texture, Osmunda regalis (Royal Fern or Flowering Fern) is a tall, robust, deciduous fern forming a large rosette of elegant, broadly divided, bright green fronds. Emerging pinkish in spring, they are crowned with rusty-brown fertile flower spikes at their tips, thus giving rise to the common name of 'Flowering Fern'. The lovely foliage turns attractive shades of red-brown in fall, adding visual interest in the garden. Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society

Stunning focal point for the garden, Phormium tenax (New Zealand Flax) is a very ornamental and robust evergreen perennial featuring a basal rosette of rigid, sword-shaped, upright leaves up to 10 ft. long (3 m), ranging from green to bronze to chocolate-brown. Some cultivars produce variegated leaves, beautifully striped or edged with pink, red, orange or purple, adding a bright note to the garden year-round. The architectural foliage is topped in summer with a dramatic flowering stalk reaching up to 12 ft. (360 cm) and bearing panicles of tubular flowers, about 2 in. long (5 cm), in shades of deep red or reddish-orange. Showy, they attract nectar-seeking birds. Native to New Zealand, Phormium tenax is primarily grown for its attractive foliage.

Handsome and fragrant, Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' (Fragrant Solomon's Seal) is a rhizomatous, shade-loving perennial with slightly arching stems covered with sweetly scented, vase-shaped, creamy-white flowers tipped with green in late spring to early summer. Gracefully hanging from the leaf axils, they are followed in fall by attractive blue-black berries. Highly ornamental, the elegant foliage of bright green, elliptic leaves is splashed and streaked with creamy white and turns attractive shades of yellow in fall. Native to shaded slopes and woodland areas in temperate regions of Europe and Asia, Variegated Solomon’s Seal is a classic beauty for the shady woodland garden or the part-shade to full-shade border

Astilbes are fabulous plants for shady, moist conditions. Admired for their graceful, colorful flower plumes rising elegantly above mounds of fern-like foliage which remains attractive all season long, they light up your shade garden for weeks and add a dazzling splash of color in the landscape. Each plume consists of hundreds of densely packed tiny flowers, each opening in succession from late spring to late summer, providing a long season of bloom before turning progressively a rich caramel color.

Native to South America, Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) is considered one of the most spectacular ornamental grasses. Extremely eye-catching, it features magnificent, dense tussocks of arching, narrow green leaves with margins like razors, that are gracefully topped from late summer to midwinter by huge, silky, silvery white, cream or dusty pink plumes.

Native to North America and Central America, Helenium is a great perennial for the late season garden as it provides weeks of splashes of color, from early summer to early fall, when many other perennials are starting to fade.

Ridiculously easy-to-grow and long-lived, Hostas (Plantain Lilies) are shade-loving perennials that are highly prized by gardeners for their elegance and attractive foliage. Native to eastern Asia, these low-maintenance foliage plants are fabulous for shady areas and combine beautifully with other shade perennials. The world of Hostas is incredibly rich in terms of size, color, texture, leave shape. There are thousands of Hosta cultivars available reflecting their immense popularity with gardeners, and new varieties are legion. Growing from 6 inches to 3 feet tall (15-90 cm), the attractive foliage is topped in early-mid summer with taller funnel-shaped or flared flowers, in shades of white, lavender, or purple. Some flowers are even sweetly fragrant.

Native to Japan, Japanese Irises (Iris ensata) are among the most elegant and breathtaking Irises. More refined and less conspicuous than the Tall Bearded Irises, these Beardless Irises feature huge orchid-like flowers that are a delight to gaze at. Usually ruffled and flat in form, they rise on erect, sturdy stems atop a dense clump of sword-shaped, linear green leaves, up to 24 in. long (60 cm), with prominent midribs. They have been cultivated in Japan for over 500 years and are referred to as Hanashobu in Japan.

Monarda has very distinctive, brightly colored flower-heads that create impressive border displays and provide a great impact when used in a mass planting. The blooms consist of asymmetrical, two-lipped tubular flowers borne in dense, globular terminal heads, which rest upon a whorl of decorative bracts that attract scores of butterflies and hummingbirds. It is also grown for its aromatic foliage that can be enjoyed in salads or simply by passing by.