Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' is easy to
grow from seed or transplant.

Sunny Stalwarts

Perennials are a wonderful addition to any garden. Here are six of our favorites--ones we like especially because of their relatively long bloom period.

Our first three nominees for the longest bloom are right at home in any sunny situation. They reward the eye particularly when massed in sweeping drifts, when blended in the border, or when left to fend for themselves in the wild garden. And they're drought-tolerant.

Rudbeckia Goldsturm offers up showy yellow-orange petals and bronze-brown central cones that make it ideal for cutting, especially considering the flowers' three- to four-inch span.

The Top 10 Perennials

The needlelike leaves of this
coreposis is a wonderful contrast
to the sunny yellow flowers.

Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' is shorter -- about 14 inches tall compared with the rudbeckia's two to three feet -- and more delicate in appearance, if not in performance. Its two-inch soft, yellow flowers also like to be brought indoors.

Easy to Grow Perennials

Plant Penstemon 'Husker Red' at
the back of your bed for an
eye-catching background.

The "red" in Penstemon 'Husker Red' refers not to its flower but its dramatic bronze-red foliage. Another floriferous toughie, this 30-incher sends up a score or more of airy flower stalks topped with hundreds of tubular white flowers.

Free Perennial Garden Plans