Perennial Profiles

Detailed guides on specific perennial flowers, categorized by blooming season, sunlight needs, and USDA hardiness zones.

Yarrow (Achillea): Grow, Prune, and Divide for Bold Borders

Yarrow is one of those perennials that feels like a little garden miracle in hot, dry summers. While other plants sulk, Achillea keeps sending up sturdy stems topped with flat, dinner-plate flower clusters that pollinators can land on like a runway. It is tough, generous, and nearly always in bloom...

Autumn Joy Sedum

There are a few perennials I plant when I want peace of mind. Autumn Joy sedum is one of them. It shows up reliably, shrugs off dry spells once it is settled in, and saves its best color for that moment when the garden starts to look tired. In late summer the flower heads swell into soft pink...

Designing with Coral Bells (Heuchera)

Coral bells, also known as Heuchera , are the perennial I reach for when a bed needs color even when nothing is blooming. They are basically living paint chips, with leaves in caramel, lime, plum, smoky silver, and nearly black. And because that color sits low and tidy, Heuchera is one of the...

Creeping Phlox Plant Profile

Creeping phlox is one of those plants that makes you feel like you did something big in the garden, even if all you really did was give it sun and a decent start. In early spring, it turns into a quilt of color that spills over rocks, softens hard edges, and lights up slopes where mowing is a...