Blazing Star Kobold

Superb for garden or vase!
A Colorful and Compact Bright Violet Dwarf!
18-inch bloomspikes are content in full sun or partial shade!
More compact but no less colorful than its taller cousins, this dwarf Blazing Stars offers bright rosy-purple plumes on neat 18-inch stalks for the summer garden! Blooming abundantly, the plants are happy in full sun or part shade, remaining attractive long after its midsummer bloom with fresh, grasslike foliage that stays neat and colorful well into fall.

A hardy perennial that blooms reliably and attracts butterflies to the garden, this Gayfeather is a long-lived joy. Pkt is 50 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Butterfly Bush Violet

Sweetly scented.
Huge Violet Flowerspikes Really Bring in the Butterflies!
Blooms from summer to fall! This easily-grown sun-lover flowers the first year!
Every garden deserves this heavy-blooming, sweetly fragrant, violet Butterfly Bush! From summer to fall, it bears huge foot-long trusses so laden with blooms that they bend outwards from the shrubby 6 to 8-foot plant! Butterflies arrive in droves to sip its nectar, adding their own magnificent color to your garden. The aroma is heavenly -- no wonder it's called "Summer Lilac".

A snap to grow from seed, Buddleia's only problem is knowing when to stop! Left unpruned, it will reach 14 feet tall, but since it flowers on new wood, you'll want to cut it back to about 10 inches each spring before the new growth begins. If started early, it will even bloom the first year from seed. What a performer! Packet is 100 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Gayfeather
Blazing Star Floristan Violet

Superb for garden or vase!
Tall Batons of Airy Violet for Sun to Part Shade!
3-foot bloomspikes arise in midsummer.
Welcome in the garden or vase, these tall wands of airy violet arise in abundance on strong, erect 3-foot stalks. Happy in full sun or part shade, Floristan Violet remains attractive long after its midsummer bloom, with fresh, grasslike foliage staying neat and colorful well into fall.

A hardy perennial that blooms reliably and attracts butterflies to the garden, this Gayfeather is a long-lived joy. Pkt is 50 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

This perennial plant reaches 16 to 18 inches tall in full sun or part shade, with lush deep green foliage that complements the blooms nicely. Pink Goblin is a wonderful edging or accent plant blooming from early summer all the way till frost. Very easy, long-blooming, and trouble-free! Packet is 100 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Editor's Note:
This plant can be invasive.

Direct-sow this Salvia in midsummer for spring bloom, or begin the seeds indoors in late winter for first-year bloom. Not fussy about soil, it flourishes in blazing sun, tolerating drought and often reblooming. Pkt is 50 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Blooming in late summer, when the garden needs a fresh infusion of color, Rose Crown is a flower arranger's dream come true. The long, 2-foot spikes of soft pink blooms are superb for cutting, because their stems are very pliable, enabling you to twist them in any shape you like as part of decorations and bouquets! If only all plants could be so "obedient!" Obedient Plant is one of the easiest perennials to grow, springing up in the sunny garden with little attention. Hardy almost everywhere in the contiguous U.S., it is compact and carefree! Pkt is 50 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Pampas Grass Pink

Note:

Beautiful as it is, it's been brought to my attention that Pampas Grasses are extremely invasive; we're talking as bad as purple loose-strife!

Like Purple Loosestrife, this is a poor plant for sustaining wildlife, and it strangles out native plants that do support wildlife. In effect it leaves local wildlife without adequate food or shelter in the area it takes over.

Much thanks to Mimi in California for writing in to let me know about this plant. It seems wise for seed sellers to discontinue selling this plant, or at the very least, to mention it's invasiveness in catalogs! ~Amy

The foliage on these sun-loving plants is gray-green, nicely offsetting the soft blooms. Although it freely self-sows, it is never invasive. Tolerates even poor, dry soils. An under-appreciated treasure for the perennial border, Linaria will provide you with many years of color!Pkt is 100 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Pumila is a neat, very easy-to-grow plant, more tolerant of dry soils than other Astilbes and just packed with rosy-pink color! Perfect as a ground cover, a container plant or a shinning gem for the front of the shade garden. Pumila is a trouble-free joy. Blooms begin in midsummer and continue until fall. Best in shade. Packet is 100 seeds. Buy this plant, from Park Seeds.

Suggestions Emailed in:

Anise Hyssop, Delphiniums, and Clethra. --Frieda
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How about Foxglove? --Judy,  Edmonds, WA
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You could list Fireweed as another
alternative, it is beautiful! --Nora, Vancouver
...Unfortunately, Fireweed is also invasive. Too bad, eh? ~Amy
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Salvia leucantha
Mexican Bush Sage

"As I was looking over your pictures I thought of a plant that I grow in my own gardens which might also be a good alternative for some. Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha). They can reach 6' here, very slowly spread by underground runners, are perennial, and come in an assorted of colors and bicolors. The flowers are like chenile and hummingbirds here love them."

Jenra
Zone 9, California

Note: This is not a perennial in most areas (only hardy to 25 degrees). ~Amy