perennials library

The encyclopedia of perennials helps you select and care for perennials. Learn all about your favorite perennials in the encyclopedia of perennials.

Yarrow

Featured Article: Yarrow

Yarrow is a perennial flower that is excellent in garden borders, mass plantings or as cut flowers. These small wildflowers with fern-like foliage have an intriguing connection to Greek myth. Learn about yarrow. See more »

Agapanthus, Lily of the Nile

Agapanthus, Lily of the Nile

The Agapanthus, Lily of the Nile, is a perennial flower that has gorgeous blue or white florets arranged in large globes for a wonderful addition to the garden. Learn about agapanthus.

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Alstroemeria, Lily of Peru

Alstroemeria, Lily of Peru

Alstroemerias, or lilies of Peru, are lilylike perennials with trumpet-shaped flowers. Flowers come in pink, rose, purple, yellow, cream, orange, and white and are great in garden containers and flowerbeds. Learn about these showy flowers.

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Amsonia, Bluestar

Amsonia, Bluestar

Amsonia, or bluestars, are popular garden plants, and they grow wild in wooded areas and on river banks from New Jersey to Tennessee to Texas. Learn more about this easy-to-grow perennial.

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Anemone, Japanese

Anemone, Japanese

The Japanese anemone's name comes from the Greek word for wind. Its showy flowers can reach a height of four to five feet. Find out more about this poppylike perennial.

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Aster, Michaelmas Daisy

Aster, Michaelmas Daisy

Aster, or michaelmas daisy, is a North American flower that grows in wayside places with no care at all. You'll find garden asters in many sizes and colors. Find out about these perennial flowers.

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Astilbe, Garden Spirea

Astilbe, Garden Spirea

Beautiful perennials for the garden, the astilbes, or garden spireas, available today are usually the result of hybridization. Color may be white, pink, lavender, or cranberry. Learn how to grow this versatile flower.

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Avena Grass

Avena Grass

Avena grass, or blue oat grass, has yellow flower spikes in summer and silvery blue leaves. This interesting plant makes a fine structural accent and will thrive in a dry, sunny area. Learn more about this distinctive plant.

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Avens

Avens

Avens, a member of the rose family, sprouts brilliant blooms appropriate as garden borders or in front of rocks. Easy to grow, avens prefers cool summers. Learn more about avens at How Stuff Works.

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Balloon Flower

Balloon Flower

The unopened flowers of platycodons resemble hot-air balloons, for which they are named. The buds of these perennials open to bell-shaped flowers in pink, blue, and white. Learn about the balloon flower.

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Baptisia, False Indigo, Wild Indigo

Baptisia, False Indigo, Wild Indigo

A beautiful perennial all season long, baptisia, also known as false indigo or wild indigo, was originally planted to produce blue dye for early American colonists. Learn how to care for this beautiful blue flower.

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Basil

Basil

The basil plant is an annual grown as an herb for culinary purposes and for its good looks. Basil grows well near tomatoes and also pairs well with them in many recipes. Learn about this herb.

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Basket-of-Gold, Goldentuft

Basket-of-Gold, Goldentuft

Basket-of-Gold, or goldentuft, has attractive foliage that grows in dense mats, giving support to clusters of four-petaled, golden-yellow flowers floating 6 to 12 inches above the plants. Find out more about this perennial.

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Bergamot, Bee Balm, Oswego-Tea

Bergamot, Bee Balm, Oswego-Tea

Bergamot are hardy perennials considered garden favorites for decades. Sturdy stems are topped by crowns studded with lipped flowers. Find out more about these flowers, beloved by butterflies and hummingbirds.

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Bergenia, Pigsqueak

Bergenia, Pigsqueak

Bergenias, or pigsqueaks, grow thick, rounded evergreen leaves, often a foot long, and its white waxy or pink flowers bloom in drooping clusters. Learn more about these cold weather flowers.

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Big Blue Lily Turf

Big Blue Lily Turf

Big blue lily turf looks like grass but is a member of the lily family. Growing well in sun or shade, flowers bloom in dark blue or violet. Learn more about this great ground cover.

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Black Cohosh

Black Cohosh

Black cohosh, a towering 8-foot perennial, provides summertime shade and works well as a 'starry" backdrop for gardens when in bloom. Learn more about black cohosh and garden perennials in this article.

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Blackberry Lily, Leopard Lily

Blackberry Lily, Leopard Lily

Blackberry lily or leopard lily is a perennial flower that adds bright color in cuttings and floral arrangements or in the garden. In this article, learn about planting, growing, propagating, and using blackberry lily.

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Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Heart

Bleeding heart, a poetically named perennial flower, has heart-shaped pendant pink or white flowers with spurs at the base and attractive fernlike foliage. Find out about this garden favorite member of Dicentra.

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Blue to Purple Perennial Flowers

Blue to Purple Perennial Flowers

Some gardens offer a quiet escape from the stimulation of modern life. These latter gardens use blue and purple to create a peaceful atmosphere. Learn how blue to purple perennial flowers cool down your garden.

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Bluestar, Blue Dogbane, Blue Star-of-Texas

Bluestar, Blue Dogbane, Blue Star-of-Texas

Bluestar, also known as blue dogbane or blue star-of-Texas, sprouts blue flowers atop 2- to 3-foot stems which turn gold in autumn. Use bluestars to add visual appeal along or inside your garden.

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