Agastache – Hummingbird Mint: 

This may be the best perennial you’ve never heard of. Fragrant leaves and brightly colored, tube shaped blooms make this bright bloomer a plant that hummingbirds and butterflies can’t resist. The slightly hairy leaves mean agastache is both drought and pest resistant. The tidy growth habit makes this summer blooming perennial good for both pots and borders. You will find Agastche in shades of yellow gold, red, pinks and an impressive deep violet blue color on the award winning plant called Agastache ‘Blue Boa’. Plant this perennial in well-drained, sandy soil.

Tip: For containers and smaller gardens choose the Agastache Kudos series as the plants are more compact but still colorful.

Bergenia – Pig squeak: 

Huge paddle shaped leaves make this perennial a go-to plant for adding texture to the rock garden or dry perennial bed. This spring blooming plant thrives on neglect and will even grow in poor or sandy soil. If you live in a mild winter area the foliage will be evergreen. If you like early spring color, the wands of bright, pink bloom clusters will delight you. Bergenia may have been blooming in your grandmother’s garden. However, the newest varieties are making this plant the rock star of the rock garden. Bergenia ‘Lunar Glow’ has lime yellow leaves that highlight the bright pink blooms. The dwarf bergenia ‘DragonFly’ is more compact for tiny spaces.

Tip: In dry shade, plant bergenia in front of fall blooming Japanese anemone and alongside the fine texture of shade plants such as ferns, bleeding hearts and lamiums where you can enjoy the lovely contrast of foliage.

Campanula – Bell Flower: 

This cottage garden plant has many different varieties but all have bell shaped blooms in shades of blue, lavender, white or pink. Most of the campanulas are drought resistant especially when grown in the shade garden. There are dwarf rock garden campanulas often used in tiny fairy gardens and the hardy wall campanulas that will reseed and colonize piles of rubble and old rock walls and other spaces where no other plants seem to survive. Some of the easy to grow campanulas can become invasive so this perennial is recommended for areas with dry soil.

Tip: It is best to move, add, or transplant campanulas in early spring or in the fall. They need somewhat moist soil to get started. After, they are more drought resistant once established.