I adore fall. All of it, and everything about it—the cooler temps, the changing light, the shifting of gears. I'm even okay with the return of rain. I enjoy the feeling of abundance that the garden exudes at the pinnacle of its fullness. And of course, I love the fall foliage colors.  ..

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: ..

Unfazed by fall, these stalwart perennials finish strong—with style, and full of color. ..

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. ..