27 Most Popular Perennial Flowers and Plants for Your Garden (2024)

When to Use Annual vs. Perennial Plants in Your Garden

How to Grow a Year-Round Garden With Color and Interest Every Season

Allium

These pretty (and edible!) blooms are a fun perennial to add to your garden, with those Seuss-like globe flower heads. You'll see flowers in late spring and early summer from these drought-tolerant plants.

Artemisia

Also known as sagebrush, these native perennial plants are prized for their lacy, silvery green foliage, Lenhart says. You'll get small yellow flowers in the summer, but the biggest benefit is an environmental one. "They're powerhouse habitat plants," Lenhart says.

If you have a dry, sunny spot, this is the perfect perennial to plant there, though they can take up some space—some cultivars can reach to three feet tall and 10 feet wide. Lenhart suggests smaller cultivars like Powis Castle if you're short on space.

Astilbe

Astilbe are noted for growing in many different sunlight conditions—they do best in part shade, but can handle full sun or full shade as well. They come in a variety of shades from white to pink to purple, and do best in a moist soil.

Bee Balm

The bee balm (AKA monarda) comes by its nickname naturally, as it's a magnet for pollinators like bees, moths, and hummingbirds, Lenhart says.

This perennial flower features fringe-like petals and comes in a variety of colors to match any garden color scheme. You'll want to plant it in full sun to help it thrive.

Black-Eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susans are a native plant that thrives pretty much anywhere in the U.S.—and since deers aren't a fan, they're a great pick if you have deer regularly chomping away in your garden. They're also a good pick if you live in drier areas, as they're drought tolerant plants, Lenhart says.

Blanket Flower

Wildflowers are an excellent choice for a perennial garden, since they're already known to thrive in that area. Lenhart suggests blanket flower for its striking bright blooms, and easy-to-grow nature. It thrives in poor soil and in prairie and meadow landscapes.

Butterfly Milkweed

Milkweed is essential for helping butterflies thrive, as it provides both food and shelter for monarchs and other butterfly species. "Butterfly milkweed lacks the milky sap common to most milkweeds, and is generally easy to get your hands on relative to other native milkweeds," Lenhart says.

Butterfly milkweed has pretty orange flowers, so it looks gorgeous in your garden.

Chrysanthemum

This fall-blooming staple comes in an array of colors, from fall-like crimson, orange, and yellow, to white, pink, and purple. They're easy-to-grow perennial flowers that thrive in a sunny and well-drained spot.

Coreopsis

While many perennial flowers have a short bloom time, coreopsis is an exception, blooming from late spring all the way through the summer. Coreopsis is also an exceptionally hardy perennial. "It’s tough—able to take drought, heat, and humidity, and happy in depleted, rocky soil," Lenhart says. That makes it an ideal addition to more arid, desert-like landscapes. And if deer are an issue, these blooms won't attract them.

Daylilies

While not a true lily, daylilies—which have each gorgeous bloom last for just a single day—are a super-popular perennial flower pick. "We love them because they are so low maintenance and vibrant and have such long bloom times," Wright says.

Gulf Muhly

When you're planning a perennial garden, don't sleep on perennial plants. "People tend to focus on flowering perennials, but non-blooming perennials like ornamental grasses and fine-textured sagebrushes frequently dominate modern planting designs," Lenhart says. Gulf muhly is an easy-to-grow grass that thrives throughout the Southeast, and features gorgeous pink bloom in the fall. "It looks like a fluffy pink cloud," Lenhart says.

Heuchera

This shade-loving perennial plant often sprouts tiny blooms, but also has gorgeous, colorful foliage that can brighten up the darker spots in your garden. "Heuchera cultivars come in a variety of colors, from peachy orange to deep purple, but I often steer clients toward green-leafed varieties, which avoid the risk of looking garish and tend to settle in more comfortably among other species," Lenhart says.

Hosta

Shade-loving perennial flowers are hard to find, but the classic hosta is one that provides not only gorgeous and interesting foliage, but pretty blooms as well. "Hostas create an atmosphere of simple elegance in garden spaces and complement more colorful plants and trees," Wright says.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea bushes are a perennial favorite, producing extremely long-lasting blooms in a variety of colors. They can do well in a variety of light conditions, and are extremely low maintenance.

Irises

Irises are a dramatic choice for a perennial garden, with their bold purple, yellow, white, blue, or pink blooms showing up in late spring or early summer. "We love them because there are so many color variations and flowers has such a distinct, unique shape," Wright says. "Pollinators love them, too."

Lavender

Add a touch of calm with this perennial flower, which features long-lasting, sweetly scented summer blooms in the sunny spots of your garden. It's a favorite of many bees, but It is also a great plant to keep away unwanted insects that don’t particularly enjoy the scent like humans do, Wright says.

Lily

True lilies, like Asiatic lilies, Easter lilies, and Oriental lilies, are a showstopping addition to your garden—and a popular perennial flower pick. They provide long-lasting blooms during the summer.

Little Bluestem

Little bluestem is a colorful ornamental grass, starting in a blue-green hue but turning rusty red in the fall and thorughout the winter, Lenhart says. "It’s deer resistant, and an important habitat plant across much of the U.S."

Peonies

They may not bloom long, but peonies make up for it with producing dramatic flowers. "Peonies have abundant full blooms full of fragrance and staying power," Wright says. The plant requires full sun and a drier location, and should be planted in the fall to give them time to get established.

Phlox

There are a ton of different varieties of phlox, including both ground cover and taller versions that'll add beauty to your garden. They thrive in partial shade, with tiny pink, blue, white, and purple blooms.

Purple Coneflower

Purple coneflowers are a native plant that thrives in most of the U.S., producing long-lasting flowers that attract plenty of pollinators to your yard. If you're planting a pollinator garden, this is a must-have.

Roses

Perhaps the most popular perennial flower out there is the rose, which comes in a variety of sizes (including climbing and miniature varieties) and colors to suit pretty much any garden color scheme or style, Wright says.

Roses do best in full sun, and well-drained soil to thrive in your garden.

Salvia

Both Lenhart and Wright recommend this native plant, which can thrive in even tough conditions like dry, hot climates and rocky soil. Salvia attracts pollinators to its spiky, long-lasting kblooms.

Scabiosa

Also known as the pincushion flower, these tiny blooms come in a variety of colors—red, pink, white, ivory, and purple—and bloom through the summer into early fall. You'll need to deadhead the flowers to keep it blooming, and keep it in a sunny or partially sunny spot to help it thrive.

Sedum or Stonecrop

Sedum comes in a ton of different varietals that can work in pretty much every landscape. "It is drought tolerant and low maintenance, which makes it a favorite for areas with high temps and lower amounts of rainfall," Wright says. "It does well where other perennials might struggle, for example, it can thrive in rock gardens and desert-like landscapes."

Sideoats Grama

If you're looking for a great ornamental grass to round out a perennial garden, Lenhart loves this particular variety. Sideoats grama is deer and drought resistant, native to most of the U.S., and a favorite of bees and butterflies.

Yarrow

You may not have heard of yarrow, bit this perennial flower is a perfect addition to gardens. "It's native to most of the United States, drought tolerant, and attractive to a wide range of pollinator species," Lenhart says. It's the kind of plant that can thrive in pretty much any kind of soil, and comes in an array of colors to fit garden design aesthetics.