Perennials

Though many perennials are grown for their flowers, a number of others are valued instead for attractive foliage. Leaves may be lacy and fernlike, narrow and grassy, or oversized and boldly dramatic; colors range from silvery white to bronzy red and include every conceivable hue of green. A handful of favorites are described below. Leave room for a few of these beauties in your garden.

Susan A. Roth
Artemisia 'Powis Castle'

• Foliage perennial
• Zones 1-24, 29-45
• Full sun
• Moderate to little watering

Grown for their silvery, lacy-looking leaves, these artemisias take poor soil (as long as it is well drained) and thrive with little water once established. To keep clumps from flopping, cut old growth back by a third each spring.

Wormwood (A. absinthium 'Lambrook Silver'). Borne on erect stalks, the 2- to 5-inch, finely divided, silvery gray leaves have a strong, pleasant fragrance. Plants reach 1 1/2 feet tall.

A. 'Powis Castle'. Covered with foliage so finely divided it looks fluffy, this one resembles a mounding, silvery fern and offers a nice contrast to many plants in both form and color. It soon reaches 4 feet high and wide, so give it plenty of room. In the coldest climates, take cuttings in the fall and replant new plants each spring.

David Cavagnaro
Polystichum munitum

• Foliage perennial
• Zones vary
• Shade
• Water needs vary

Among the countless ferns sold, you'll find excellent choices for every zone. The two below are widely grown.

Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina). Zones 1-9, 14-24, 31-43. Deciduous. An excellent choice for wet, shady corners of the garden; it will also take some sun in cool-summer climates as long as it receives the ample water it prefers. Delicate, lacy, arching fronds rise to 2 to 3 feet; they're broader at the base, narrowing toward the tip. Divide every 3 to 5 years.

Sword fern (Polystichum munitum). Zones 2-9, 14-24, 36-38. Evergreen. Extremely easy to grow. Leathery, shiny dark green fronds emerge from the clump's center and reach 2 to 4 feet long. Each plant eventually reaches 2 to 4 feet wide. Needs rich, well-amended soil. Prefers regular water but is not as thirsty as many other ferns once established, making it a good choice for shady but somewhat dry areas. This fern isn't a candidate for division, but the small new plants growing near the base of established clumps can be removed and planted elsewhere.

Charles Mann
Hosta varieties

• Foliage perennial
• Zones 1-10, 12-21
• Shade
• Regular watering

Hostas are favorites for the shade garden. Hundreds are available in nurseries and from specialty catalogs, from 6-inch dwarfs to 5-foot giants; the range of leaf shapes, textures, and colors is likewise tremendous. Foliage may be heart shaped, lance shaped, oval, or rounded; texture may be smooth or quilted; colors include all green shades, chartreuse, gold, and blue, and many have white, yellow, or cream variegation.

Grow hostas in rich, well-drained soil; never let roots dry out during summer. These plants are carefree in their preferred zones but somewhat difficult to maintain elsewhere. Where slugs and snails are a problem, hostas are a favorite target and almost impossible to protect. In these areas, containers offer the best refuge.

Charles Mann
Stachys byzantina

• Foliage perennial
• Zones 1-24, 29-43
• Full Sun or partial shade
• Moderate watering

The soft, thick, woolly white-green foliage of lamb's ears is a favorite of many, especially children: it's difficult to pass a planting without stopping to pick a leaf to feel its softness. These 4-inch leaves grow in dense, ground-hugging rosettes; clumps increase by sending out aboveground runners. A mature planting reaches about 1 foot tall and as wide as you let it spread. Lamb's ears is usually grown at the front of a border or along a pathway, where it's easy to see.

Marion Brenner
Phormium hybrid

• Foliage perennial
• Zones 14-28
• Full Sun to light shade
• Regular to little watering

Fanlike clumps of many swordlike, vertical leaves give these plants their dramatic looks. The largest reach 6 feet tall and wide, but newer cultivars are available in heights as low as 1 foot ('Jack Spratt'), and many are in the 2- to 4-foot range. Some are green; many are bronze or bronzy red; some are striped in green, cream, yellow, and/or red. New Zealand flaxes contrast well with a wide variety of other plants. They make nice accents around swimming pools; they also tolerate salt air and ocean spray.

P. tenax has stiff foliage; P. cookianum has laxer leaves that bend at the tips. Crosses between these two species have resulted in numerous cultivars of specific colors and forms. Those with stiffer foliage take full sun; those with bending leaf tips need light afternoon shade in hot-summer areas. All do well in ordinary garden soil, but they must have good drainage.

David Cavagnaro
Festuca glauca ' Elijah Blue'

• Foliage Perennial
• Zones vary
• Exposure needs vary
• Water needs vary

Ornamental grasses add a special touch to the garden. The fine, upright foliage of taller deciduous kinds ripples in the slightest breeze. Shorter kinds — both evergreen and deciduous — fill in nicely among other plants, either forming small clumps or spreading over a wider area. Hundreds of choices are available; the two below are manageable in size and easy to grow.

Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'. Zones 1-24, 29-45. The best of the blue fescues, this annual grass forms mounding, fine-textured (but somewhat stiff-looking) clumps of a wonderful blue. Each clump is about a foot tall and wide.

This grass grows well in sun or partial shade. It needs only ordinary garden soil and performs well with little water once established. Cut clumps to the ground at the end of winter dormancy; new stems will emerge in the spring.

Fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides). Zones 3-9, 14-24, 31-35, 37, 39. This is one of the smallest of the arching deciduous grasses, typically reaching 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Bright green leaves emerge in spring. As summer approaches, pinkish flower plumes rise above the foliage mound; with the onset of fall, leaves turn yellow, then brown.

Give regular water and ordinary to well-amended soil (plants accept acid or alkaline soil). Fountain grass thrives in full sun in cool-summer climates, partial shade in warmer regions. Cut foliage to the ground in winter. Division is rarely needed; do the job only every 5 to 6 years, if at all.

P. orientale, Oriental fountain grass, is similar to P. alopecuroides in growth habit and cultural needs. It too has pinkish plumes, but it reaches only 1 1/2 to 2 feet. In cold-winter climates, it is often grown as an annual.