Perennials with Attractive Foliage

The following plants are especially valuable for their foliage effect. The notation (B) signifies a bold texture, (M) a medium texture, and (F) a fine texture.

The notation (G) indicates gray or silvery foliage, and (E) indicates that the plant is evergreen. Many plants that generally are evergreen may be only semi-evergreen if grown farther north.

Common Name Botanical Name
Basket-of-gold Aurinia (G)
Bear’s breech Acanthus (B)
Bergenia Bergenia (B, E)
Blue star Amsonia (F)
Christmas rose Helleborus (E)
Coralbells Heuchera (E)
Daylily Hemerocallis (E, some varieties)
False indigo Baptisia (M)
Goatsbeard Aruncus (B)
Groundsel Ligularia (B)
Heartleaf crambe Crambe cordifolia (B)
Japanese iris Iris kaempferi (M)
Lady’s mantle Alchemilla (M)
Lamb’s ears Stachys byzantina (G)
Lungwort Pulmonaria (M)
Meadowrue Thalictrum (F)
Olympic mullein Verbascum olympicum (G)
Peony Paeonia (M)
Perennial salvia Salvia x superba (G)
Pink Dianthus (F)
Plantain lily Hosta (B)
Red-hot poker Kniphofia (M)
Sea pink Armeria (F, E)
Siberian iris Iris sibiric a (M)
Solomon’s seal Polygonatum (M)
Spurge Euphorbia (M)
Stonecrop Sedum (M)
Threadleaf coreopsis Coreopsis verticillata (F)
Wormwood Artemisia (E, G)
Yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon (G, E)
Grasses All