These easy-care perennials may be low-maintenance, but they are high value assets when it comes to creating garden vignettes that will look fantastic in your garden month after month — they give, give, give, and ask for so little in return! All of the perennials on this list will thrive on a well-timed, once-a-year maintenance task. The secret is in knowing what to do, when to do it, and what clues to look for to help figure it out. See below for plant recommendations under one the following maintenance tasks: ..

Who doesn't want this scene in their garden? This summer blooming perennial border that includes Echinacea 'Merlot' and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a magnet for butterflies, bees and hummers.  ..

A simple plant combo recipe emphasizing textural contrast of two plants, this green-on-green planting scheme is an easy planting combination to replicate in your woodland garden. ..

Plants in this combo were selected with consideration for a color theme and for delivering reliable blooms, even in a shady location. The light and bright foliage and flower will brighten up a dark area in your garden. It's best with morning sun and afternoon shade or it would really love an open shade situation offering filtered light all day. That said, this combo can take a fair amount of sun in Pacific Northwest gardens, though do avoid situating it in the afternoon blast and do make sure it receives regular summer irrigation if it's in a sunny spot.  
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WHY IT WORKS: This planting combination for your garden is ultra low maintenance without sacrificing style. With its reliance on foliage, not flower, this tough, drought-tolerant quartet relies on a variety of colors and textures that keep the scene interesting year-round.   ..

Aralia cordata 'Sun King' (middle) with its bold foliage offers its steady presence from spring to frost and is complimented by the long-blooming Fuchsia magellenica 'Aurea' (left). The bold versus fine foliage delivers lively textural contrast that is further enhanced by the exceptionally long bloom period of the hardy fuchsia. The gold foliage of both brighten the scene all summer long. This duo is the epitome of EEEE-ZEEEEEE and becomes a no-brainer when paired with the Hinoki cypress (right) with its rich, luscious green foliage providing the year-round back drop that delivers the steady background beat.  ..

This drought tolerant perennial combination for full sun is an easy way to add a carefree planting scheme to your home and it lends a stylish and modern flair to your garden.   ..

This trio of perennials, selected primarily for foliage, is best suited for a part shade situation; morning sun and afternoon shade would be ideal.  ..

This perennial planting combination for sun provides a succession of summertime blooms in blue. This vignette showcases a planting combination that successfully navigates the delicate balance of enough “sameness” to unify, and and enough “differentness” to energize. ..

This is an easy and low maintenance planting combination for full sun gardens in temperate growing zones, zone 8a or warmer. ..

This super easy, low maintenance planting combination for full sun is easy to replicate in your garden.  The harmonious color scheme in combination with the variation in the shape of the blooms is what makes this scene engaging. Both of the featured plants are top performers that are very easy to grow in a variety of full sun garden situations. ..

The bright, glossy, and resilient evergreen foliage of Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' makes a wonderful all-season edger in a variety of conditions but does best in afternoon shade with regular irrigation.  Its golden tones in combination with the vibrant and succulent yellow foliage of Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart' make for a stunningly vibrant pairing that shines especially bright in spring when the bleeding heart is adorned with pendulous drops of pink blooms. Peeking in on the upper right corner is Impatiens omeiana; adding a harmonious backbeat with its multi-tone green foliage. This dynamic trio will light up your shady border for months on end.
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