Herbaceous ornamentals add interest to our yards and gardens with bright, beautiful flowers and interesting foliage. Whether native, non-native, sun-loving or shade-tolerant, herbaceous plants invite wildlife, provide for pollinators, and bring us enjoyment with color, texture and fragrance.
Native & Naturalized Selection
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Picture a plant from tropical west Africa that has clusters of inflated white flowers with a red “bleeding heart” emerging from the center. Maybe you’d like to try growing this twining evergreen shrub indoors if you have plenty of light. You can learn more about exotic Clerodendrum thomsoniae in this article…
Native prairie grasses are well adapted to our region and can be a nice addition to the manicured garden as well as in natural settings. Little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, is one with nice blue summer foliage and reddish fall color. Read more about this pretty grass in this article…
Asters, mums and pansies are the standard flowers for fall. But there are other perennials that are just getting going in the fall, too. The late-flowering Allium senescens var. glaucum offers purple-pink flowers at this time of year, and a fun display of swirled blue-green foliage the rest of the growing season. Read more about this ornamental onion in this article…
It might feel too warm right now to think about fall decorations, but now is the time to plan for colorful displays this autumn if you want to use cabbage in the mix – or at least the ornamental version of this crop. To learn more about colorful ornamental kale and cabbage, read this article…
Are you familiar with Cerinthe major, an herbaceous plant from the meadows and grassy plains of southern Italy and Greece? To learn more about this unusual flower grown as an annual in our climate, read this article…
Flowers that resemble an exotic lily, leaves like an iris, seed clusters that look like a blackberry, and lots of different names – put them all together and what do you get? The former Belamcanda chinensis, of course! For a more extensive explanation of this plant and its new name, read this article…
There are few grasses that perform well in the shade that also have ornamental value. One of the best is Japanese Forest Grass or Hakone Grass, Hakonechloa macra. Learn about this perennial grass in this article…
Corydalis lutea is a small plant that forms neat mounds of finely cut, delicate-looking light green to blue-green foliage and bright yellow flowers. If you’re interested in learning more about this pretty perennial, sometimes called yellow corydalis, read this article…
Looking for an easy-to-grow, warm-season annual flower with brightly colored flowers? Nasturtium is the common name of Tropaeolum majus, a welcome addition to any sunny garden. To find out more about this spicy annual, read this article…
Iris are blooming (or will be soon), but for most the flowers are the only time we notice the plants. Iris pallida, however, is more known for its attractive foliage than the pale blue flowers. Find out more about this pretty herbaceous perennial plant by reading this article…
Spring has sprung, and the earliest flowers are finally opening. Pasque flower is one of the first to bloom. Learn more about this pretty herbaceous perennial plant in this article…
The delicate white flowers and early bloom of these perennial bulbs (even pushing through the snow in cold areas) have given them the common name of snowdrops. Several of the 19 or so species of Galanthus are planted as ornamentals, with most hardy to zone 5, but some to zone 2. Learn more about this hardy group in the amaryllis family in this article…
