Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) is one of the most popular of all ornamental grasses: a large, clump-forming, warm-season grass that builds a fountain of arching, narrow leaves and then crowns it in late summer and autumn with showy, silvery-pink to coppery, feathery plumes held well above the foliage. As the season turns, the plumes fade to a soft, pale silver and the whole clump dries to warm tan, standing right through winter to give superb autumn colour and bold, four-season structure. POWO (Kew) places it as native to East Asia — China, Japan, and Korea — and it carries one load-bearing honesty caveat into the garden: the straight species self-seeds and is invasive across much of the eastern and central United States, listed as invasive or discouraged in many states. So plant a sterile or low-seeding named cultivar, deadhead the plumes before the seed ripens, and never plant it near wild or natural areas. Cut the old foliage to the ground in late winter before new growth begins.

A long-lived native perennial of central and eastern US woodland borders and prairie meadows with deep blue pea-shaped flowers in late spring, blue-green leguminous foliage, attractive black seed pods for winter interest, and a nitrogen-fixing root system (Fabaceae). Larval host for 6 documented butterfly species per NC State (orange sulphur, clouded sulphur, frosted elfin, eastern tailed-blue, hoary edge, wild indigo duskywing) — among the highest Lep-host-count perennials in the eastern flora.

An architectural, branching perennial grown for the metallic steel-blue flush it takes on in summer: small, egg-shaped flowerheads, each ringed by a collar of spiny, silvery-blue bracts, are held on rigid, blue-tinted stems above a basal rosette of leathery, heart-shaped leaves. It is a tough, genuinely drought-tolerant plant for hot, dry, sharply drained, even poor sandy or gravelly soil in full sun — it resents rich, wet ground, where it rots and flops — which makes it ideal for gravel gardens and coastal, seaside plantings, and one of the best long-lasting cut and dried flowers. At the height of summer it is a magnet for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. It is grown purely as an ornamental and is not eaten.

An architectural clump-forming perennial grown for its striking spherical, metallic steel-blue flowerheads — drumstick "globes" held on tall stems above spiny, deeply cut grey-green leaves that are white-woolly beneath. It blooms in mid to late summer and is one of the very best garden plants for pollinators: at the height of summer the blue globes are smothered in bees and butterflies. Genuinely drought-tolerant, it thrives in poor, dry, sharp-drained soil in full sun, where it earns its place as bold summer structure and stands well into winter as dried seedheads that feed goldfinches and other small birds.

A bold, moisture-loving native perennial of eastern North America that dies back to a woody base each winter and returns to throw up stout 2-6 ft stems topped with enormous 4-8 inch saucer-shaped flowers — white, pink, red, or burgundy, each with a contrasting central eye — from June into September. NC State Extension describes a herbaceous perennial hardy across USDA zones 4a-9b that thrives in wet to constantly moist soils, tolerates heat, humidity, and even brief flooding, and draws hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The tropical-looking dinner-plate blooms make it a dramatic focal point for rain gardens, pond edges, and the back of a sunny border.

Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) is an evergreen Mediterranean shrub grown for its bold foliage and its distinctive tiered flowers. Through spring and into early summer the stems carry whorl upon whorl of hooded, butter-yellow blooms stacked in neat tiers up the stem, set against sage-like, wrinkled, grey-green leaves that are softly felted with hairs. Despite the name it is not a true sage and is not culinary — it is grown purely as an ornamental. It is a tough, sun-loving, drought-tolerant shrub for hot, dry, sharply-drained places: gravel gardens, Mediterranean-style borders, and hot sunny banks. The honest caveat is that it resents wet, heavy soil and cold winters; it is only borderline hardy (RHS H4), so in cold-winter areas it needs a warm, sheltered spot and very sharp drainage to come through. Trim it lightly after flowering to keep it bushy and compact, leave the dried seedheads for winter structure, and enjoy it as the good bee plant it is.