12 Easy-to-Grow Perennials

Want a garden that doesn’t need your help to thrive? Then you want a garden full of easy-to-grow perennials. Perennials are plants that come back every spring. You plant them once and forget about them (except for cutting back their dead stems each winter). Here’s a list of easy perennials.

Heat- and drought-tolerant coneflowers are a staple of summer gardens. It blooms all summer and its purple flowers last a long time on the stem. It’s a native prairie wildflower that can be grown all over the country. Plant in full sun for the most blooms.

This hardy yellow flower is an iconic garden plant. It blooms from early summer to frost. It’s drought-tolerant, will grow in poor soil and is a sun worshiper. This easiest-of-easy perennial grows about two feet tall, so it’s perfect for the middle of a mixed bed or planted around a mailbox. Pinch off spent blooms and flowers just keep coming.

These shade-lovers are prized for their large, tropical-looking leaves in shades that range from chartreuse to blue-green to multi-color. They also send up spikes of pink, pale purple or white flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. They look more fragile than they are and are almost impossible to kill.