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Variegated sweet flag is a deciduous, aquatic perennial with 5-foot-long bright green leaves with creamy, longitudinal stripes. Its flowers are insignificant, but its leaves are aromatic and resemble the foliage of an iris. Sweet flag makes a striking statement at the shallow end of a pool, in a bog garden, or in a marshy woodland area.

Actaea racemosa is a native woodland perennial with white, somewhat fuzzy flowers in midsummer that wave above astilbe-like, deeply cut foliage. The flowers can be unpleasantly scented, thus the name "bugbane." Formerly in the genus Cimicifuga, this plant is great for use in a woodland garden or moist border.

(3 user reviews)

This clumping woodland perennial with deep green foliage up to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide bears spikes of  fragrant white flowers 1 to 2 feet long in fall. Cultivars exist with varying leaf colors and forms.

(1 user review)

This chocolate-leaved cultivar up to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide bears compact spikes of white flowers in late summer. This plant may languish in very warm temperatures. The flowers remain ornamental for three to four weeks.

(2 user reviews)

This hummingbird mint boasts large spikes of reddish-pink tubular flowers with an orange tint over a long season in summer and early fall. The whole plant is aromatic. Grow in a bed, border, rock garden, or xeric garden.

(1 user review)

This is an erect, bushy perennial with scented gray-green leaves. Its raspberry-red flowers grow on loose, foot-long spikes from midsummer to late fall. The flower spikes have a long bloom period and attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other insects.  

(2 user reviews)

A classic plant for both herb gardens and borders, anise hyssop is composed of erect branches of mint-and-licorice-scented, medium green leaves ending in fuzzy spikes of small lavender flowers. The plant grows to 3 to 5 feet tall and 1 foot wide and reseeds freely. The flowers are edible and are charming crumbled into salads. The flowers are highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

In summer, this plant bears large rounded flower heads up to 4 inches across with a multitude of star-shaped lilac-pink flowers.

(1 user review)

Amaranthus cruentus makes a striking statement in beds or borders. Growing to 6 feet in height, it bears somewhat fuzzy-looking spires of purplish red flowers in summer, followed by seed heads that can be red, purple, or yellow. It is native to tropical regions of North and South America, and is one of three Amaranthus species cultivated for their grain.

This hardy annual has vibrant, ornamental red, yellow, and green foliage that lends a tropical effect to the garden. Small flowers, borne from summer to early autumn, are inconspicuous in comparison to the effect of the foliage. Cultivars feature yellow and maroon-shaded leaves, but the species still offers the showiest foliage.

'Pawnee' has an upright habit and warm fall colors that persist into winter. This refined offbig bluestem has the bluish purple stems typical of the genus. In late summer, Purplish red flowers appear in groups of three or six, which look like a turkey foot—hence the nickname: "Turkey Foot Grass." The root system that can extend down more than 10 feet. Each year, a third of these roots die, opening up channels for water. -Scott Vogt, Native grasses, Fine Gardening issue #124

This beautiful ornamental grass has upright, glossy green foliage and interesting, animated leaf tips that resemble party favors. Evergreen to 25°F, these plants gain reddish purple hues in the fall and winter. This plant is extremely adaptable—it thrives in desert and damp conditions, it is used for erosion control, and it works well in containers or as a screen. It looks especially beautiful when backlit by the sun.

(2 user reviews)

This tall, woody-based perennial is distinguished by its elegant flowers. This cultivar displays the purity of a single, white, open-faced flower with a delicate center ring of golden yellow stamens. Every moment of floral development from bud to seed brings satisfying interest.

This beautiful, pale pink, semi-double-flowered anemone with notched petals grows to 4 feet tall and blooms from September to October.

This beautiful, lavender-pink anemone reaches 32 to 40 inches tall. 'Kriemhilde' blooms from September to October.

Japanese anemones are slightly taller than the species, sometimes growing to 4 feet. The creamy pink flowers with yellow centers rise above the foliage on branched stems from midsummer to autumn. This perennial is beautiful in the woodland garden or border and planted in masses, although they can become weedy in some areas.

(1 user review)

Japanese anemones are slightly taller than the species, sometimes growing to 4 feet. The deep rose-pink semi-double flowers with yellow centers rise above the foliage on branched stems from midsummer to autumn. This perennial is beautiful in the woodland garden or border and planted in masses, although they can become weedy in some areas.

Angelica is a striking ornamental biennial or short-lived perennial with jade green, glossy, bold leaves and large umbels of white flowers. It makes a unique statement in the garden.

This is a short-growing aster with lilac-blue flowers and creeping rootstocks. Many cultivars exist. It can be used on steep slopes for erosion control.