Adding Under-Used Perennials to Your Garden

Cathy Isom tells you about adding some under-used perennials to your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Adding Under-Used Perennials to Your Garden

Most gardeners are familiar with classic perennials such as daylilies, peonies, hostas, and iris, but there’s a whole host of lesser-known, underused perennials that can add color and interest to your garden. You may have to search for them at your garden center or an online source, but they’re all worth the effort.

Globe thistle being one of them. This sun-loving perennial grows 2-3 feet tall and produces showy, bright blue or white thistle-like balls of bloom from mid to late summer. Because the flowers are borne on upright, stiff stalks, they work great in fresh or dried arrangements. Globe thistle is heat- and drought-resistant and will grow easily in any well-drained soil.

Bergenia, also commonly called Pig Squeak, simply because the leaves are said to sound like an outraged porker when you rub them between your fingers. But once you get past the plant’s silly common name, you’ll quickly discover that Bergenia is a tremendously useful groundcover plant in shady spots. Its thick, dark green, heart-shape leaves and spikes of bright pink spring flowers are a welcome treat under tall trees or dense shrubs.

An American native, Culver’s root, makes a bold statement in the back-of-the-border or meadow garden. Growing 4-7 feet tall, Culver’s root produces a nonstop display of white, candelabra-like flower heads throughout the summer.