Armeria maritima (Sea Thrift) is a compact, evergreen perennial boasting round clusters of pink to lavender (or sometimes white) flowers borne atop slender stalks that rise well above the foliage. Blooming profusely in mid to late spring, sporadic additional flowering may occur throughout the summer. Sea Thrift forms a dense, mounded tuft of grass-like, dark green leaves that will spread slowly. A charming little plant that is ridiculously easy to grow and is perfect for edging walks or borders. The flowers can be used as cut flowers too.

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!

One of the most popular foliage plants, award-winner Artemisia schmidtiana 'Nana' is a compact, semi-evergreen perennial forming a low, spreading mound with soft, silvery leaves divided into hair-like segments of extremely fine foliage texture. Tiny, yellow nodding flower-heads appear in mid or late summer, but they are ornamentally insignificant and are best cut off to keep the foliage at its best. A great choice as a neutral spacer or framing plant, Artemisia schmidtiana 'Nana' is a graceful addition to the landscape. One of the few Artemisia that is not invasive by underground rhizomes.

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.

Blooming profusely in late spring and early summer, Cerastium tomentosum (Snow-In-Summer) is a low-growing, short-lived perennial that forms a dense mat of silvery-gray foliage dotted with star-like, pristine white flowers with notched petals. Evergreen, it spreads quickly by reseeding itself and makes a great ground cover for sunny areas.

One of the best and most colorful of all Blue Fescue varieties, Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' is a wonderful dwarf ornamental grass, mostly grown for its superb, evergreen, bright silver-blue foliage. Densely tufted, the foliage of finely-textured, blade-like needles forms a neat mound topped by upright flower plumes in summer. At first, the flowers are colored like the foliage before maturing to light tan. Stunning when massed as a ground cover, Blue Fescue adds a superb color accent to the landscape all year around. Drought tolerant, deer resistant, it requires low maintenance and low watering

Santolina or Lavender Cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus), a favorite of Mediterranean gardens, is a beautiful evergreen shrub noted not only for its dense, fine, silvery gray-green foliage all year around but for its drought tolerance. Blooming occurs in summer with a display of small button-like bright yellow flowers, but Santolina is mostly grown for its foliage.

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!

Adding outstanding contrast, interest, and color to the summer garden while being trouble-free and low maintenance, Echinops (Globe Thistle) makes an invaluable contribution to the landscape. Blooming from mid-summer to early fall, their bold and ornamental, steel blue or pristine white, globe-shaped flowers (the size of a golf ball) are truly lovely and enchanting. Borne at the end of sturdy stems, they dance gracefully above their handsome foliage of thistle-like dark green leaves.

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!

Kniphofias, commonly known as Torch Lilies or Red Hot Pokers, always make a bold statement in the garden with their brilliant show of bright-colored, dense, erect spikes resembling glowing pokers or torches. Blooming from late spring to early fall, depending on the varieties, their stately flowers are noted for their long-lasting display of reds, oranges, yellows, or creams, adding eye-catching splashes of color to any border.

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.

Sedums are almost the perfect plants. Vigorous, carefree, good-looking, with a season of interest lasting more than 6 months, who could resist? Even the bees and butterflies can't! These standout perennials grow more or less erect, up to 2 ft. (60 cm), and form a clump of thick, fleshy sage green to blue to dark red foliage topped with flower buds resembling broccoli. Gradually, these densely clustered buds reveal tiny, star-like flowers, in shades of white, pink or red, in late summer or early fall. As the weather cools, their colors grow deeper and richer. Both foliage and dead inflorescences remain attractive through winter, providing some additional interest.