Selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 Great Plants for American Gardens, Amsonia tabernaemontana (Blue Star) is an exceptional perennial with early-season blue flowers, attractive summer foliage, a sturdy habit and golden fall color. Amsonia tabernaemontana features clusters of delicate, pale blue, star-shaped flowers borne on erect, sturdy, leafy stems in late spring - early summer. The flowers attract long-tongued insects such as carpenter bees, hummingbird moths, and butterflies. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are also attracted to the nectar. The blossoms rise above a graceful, willow-shaped, upright foliage that pleasantly colors up in the fall. This beauty is also low maintenance, disease and insect resistant, making this eastern U.S. native a first-rate garden plant.

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.

Asarum europaeum (European Wild Ginger) is a slowly spreading ground cover that is primarily grown for its glossy, leathery, heart-shaped, dark green leaves (to 3 in across - 7 cm) which remain evergreen in mild winters. Small, bell-shaped flowers bloom in late spring to early summer but are usually unnoticed since covered by the dense foliage. Among the best foliage plants for shade. Grows 6 in. tall (14 cm) and spreads 8-12 in. (20-30 cm).

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.

Ideal for shady areas and heavy clay, Convallaria majalis (Lily of The Valley) is a low-growing rhizomatous perennial forming a lush, spreading groundcover. Blooming for 3 weeks in mid to late spring, up to 15 sweetly scented, nodding, bell-shaped, white flowers hang along slightly arching flowering stems. Renowned for their powerful floral perfume, they rise above the handsome foliage of paired elliptic green leaves. A real charmer and an outstanding performer, Lily of The Valley is trouble-free, requires little maintenance and is deer and rabbit resistant. Long-lived, it naturalizes easily to form extensive colonies.

One of the most elegant of perennials, Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is a graceful herbaceous perennial boasting gracefully arching stems studded with lockets of pink flowers, whose hearts are no doubt bleeding, adorned with protruding white petals. They hang above the attractive foliage of soft green, divided leaves. Blooming for 4-6 weeks in late spring to early summer, it tends to decline or even disappear in mid-summer. However, if it is kept well-watered during the spring, dormancy may be delayed until late summer or early fall. Great for shaded borders or woodland gardens.

Very fragrant, adaptable, and beautiful, Geranium macrorrhizum 'Czakor' (Cranesbill) makes lovely, semi-evergreen groundcover in the garden. This hardy geranium creates a thick mat of fragrant, rounded, light green leaves, topped with abundant clusters of magenta flowers in late spring to early summer. The lush foliage takes on attractive purple tints in the fall, extending the season of interest for this plant. Grows up to 12-18 in. tall (30-45 cm) and 12-24 in. wide (30-60 cm).

A vigorous spreader, Geranium x oxonianum 'Claridge Druce' (Cranesbill) is a superb hardy geranium cultivar featuring lovely rose-pink flowers (2in. wide, 5 cm) with interesting darker veins from late spring to early fall. Blooming profusely, they rise atop attractive mounds of glossy, rounded, gray-green leaves. Drought tolerant, this hardy geranium fares pretty well in hot climates. Reliable, and easy to grow, it will provide long-lasting color in the garden. Attractive to butterflies but deer and rabbit resistant!

Spectacular as a ground cover in the shade garden, Lamium maculatum (Spotted Dead Nettle) is a perennial plant whose appearance is unlike other perennial ground covers. With a long bloom period and colorful foliage, most varieties are eye-catching plants throughout the year. Their heart-shaped, trailing leaves, evergreen in mild winter climates, may be beautifully white or silver variegated. Their small, hooded magenta, pink or white flowers open in attractive whorls which offer a lengthy floral display from mid-spring to early summer and continue sporadically into fall. Spotted Dead Nettle is typically used as a ground cover in shady areas and can cover large areas quickly.

Extremely attractive when massed, Luzula sylvatica (Greater Wood Rush) is an evergreen perennial that creates a beautiful, dense, weed-proof carpet in dry shade gardens. Its delicate ribbon-like, glossy foliage is loosely clumped into handsome tussocks that are quite ornamental. Clusters of small brown flowers held on arching stems appear in late spring or early summer but are not showy. Typically grows in loose clumps, up to 12-24 in. tall and wide (30-60 cm). Self-seeds moderately but is not invasive.

Valued as a wonderful spreader making colorful groundcovers with its dense, attractive leaf rosettes, Carpet Bugle (Ajuga reptans) is a quick mat-forming grower which will thrive in shady areas where grass won't grow. Rising from the center of the rosettes are whorls of tiny blue-violet, purple, pink or white flowers arranged on spikes which create a striking display when in full bloom, from mid-late spring to early summer.

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.

Resembling Forget-Me-Nots, Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian Bugloss) are rhizomatous herbaceous perennials with large, ovate or heart-shaped basal leaves and pretty sprays of small bright blue flowers in spring. Although their clouds of bright blue flowers add cool and striking color to the landscape, Brunneras are mostly valued for their beautiful foliage which creates a lush carpet of deep green or variegated leaves.

Showy and long-lived, Campanula lactiflora (Milky Bellflower) provides a stately presence in the garden with its tall, multi-branched stems producing hundreds of small lavender or white star-like flowers in open clusters from mid to late summer. Romantic looking, its long-lasting blooms mix superbly with roses and are spectacular additions to the perennial border, whether planted in sweeping drifts or used as a backdrop at the back of the border.

Grown for its handsome and eye-catching foliage, Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra) is a long-lived, tough, ornamental grass that, unlike most grasses, loves moist shady conditions. Native to Japan, its foliage forms attractive, loose cascading mounds of gracefully arching, slender leaves that ripple in the slightest breeze. Ranging from solid green, to bright gold to creamy variegated throughout the spring and summer, the soft foliage changes to exquisite copper-orange shades in the fall as cooler weather sets in. Hakone Grass is invaluable for adding multiseason interest, color and texture to the shade garden.

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.

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.

Late summer and early fall often represent a challenge to gardeners as summer-blooming plants begin to fade while fall bloomers have not quite reached their apex. Fall-blooming anemones, commonly called Japanese Anemones or Windflowers, are fabulous perennials, helping with this transition from one season to the next.

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.