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The fothergilla blooms with large clusters of petalless, very fragrant, white flowers. In the fall, its leaves turn bright shades of yellow, red, and orange. Learn more about this shrub.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Heather grows beautiful small flowers with tiny leaves that stay on all winter. Blooming in winter and early spring, it's perfect for winter gardens. Heather also makes a good ground cover. Learn about this shrub.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Michigan holly's red berries make it an attractive winter plant. The shrub's green leaves turn yellow in fall. The holly's red berries last through winter, if not eaten by birds. Learn about this accent plant.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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Hydrangeas are shrubs with large flower clusters, which may be mounded, globular, or spiked. The flowers can be nearly 2 inches in diameter and can be white, pink, purple, or blue. Learn about the hydrangea.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Hypericum, a medium-sized shrub with bright yellow flowers, is also known as St. John's wort. Flowers appear in summer. Fruits are popular in flower arrangements. Learn about hypericum.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Lilacs are cod resistant flowering shrubs. Their tall, upright shrubs have clusters of perfumed, lavender or white flowers and green leaves. Lilacs make a great accent plant or blooming hedge. Learn about this flowering shrub.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Mock orange has long branches loaded with pure white, fragrant flowers. This is a large deciduous shrub, best used in a shrubbery boarder or as an informal hedge. Learn about this flowering shrub.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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Primrose is a perennial flower. Gardeners enjoy its beautiful shades of colors, including red flowers, yellow flowers, purple flowers and orange flowers. Grow primrose in the outdoor garden bed or as a house plant. Learn about primrose.

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

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.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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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.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Several coreopsis species are popular in the garden, all of them sporting bright daisylike flowers. These perennials bloom pink, orange, and yellow flowers. Learn to grow this great drought-resistant flower.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Ferns are perennials grown for their ability to thrive where less-hardy plants can't. Some are evergreen, while others die down in fall and return in spring. Learn more about versatile ferns.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Low-growing foliage of great distinction and spring flowers make epimediums, also known as bishop's hat or barrenwort, a good choice. Flowers in soft colors sometimes bloom before plants leaf out. Learn about this shade-loving perennial.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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There are nearly 300 types of iris flowers that draw fascination from gardeners around the world. Learn how to welcome this rainbow of color into your garden!

By Betty Barr Mackey

Ligularia is a bold perennial for garden use. The plants bear sprays or spires of yellow or orange flowers in summer, on strong stems. Find out more about the ligularia.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Amaranthus, or summer poinsettia, is an annual plant capped with a swirling crown of hot-colored yellow and red leaves. The upper third of the plant eventually takes on red and yellow leaves. Learn about amaranthus.

By Betty Barr Mackey

The bachelor's button is an annual that grows one to three feet tall with innumerable fluffy but trim round flowers held above the rather sparse, long and narrow gray-green leaves. Learn about this flower.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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Wax begonia and fibrous begonia are annuals equally at home in full sun or full but bright shade. They have white, pink, rose, or red blossoms. Find out about these flowers.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Cleome, or spider flower, is an annual flower known for its exceedingly long seedpods. They develop below the flowers to give the plants a spidery look. Find out more about Cleome.

By Betty Barr Mackey

The geranium, zonal, is a South African annual flower with a horseshoe-shaped band of dark leaf color. You can grow it in the garden or as a house plant. Find out about the zonal geranium.

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

Lantana is an annual flower abundantly covered through the summer with brightly colored blossoms. This woody shrub comes in white, yellow, gold, orange, and red flowers an is a great container plant. Learn about lantana.

By Betty Barr Mackey

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Marigold is an annual flower that blooms well over a long season. American marigolds can be tall, up to 36 inches. French marigolds, or triploids, are bushier and more compact. Learn about the marigold.

By Betty Barr Mackey

Nasturtium is an annual flower that is popular as an introduction to gardening. Salad lovers enjoy the peppery tang of nasturtium leaves and its edible flowers among their greens. Learn about nasturtium.

By Betty Barr Mackey