7 Great Perennials You've Never Heard of

Whether you are a seasoned gardener, a newbie, or just looking to break out of the "Hosta & Day Lilies" box, you will enjoy this list of "7 Great Perennials You've Never Heard Of." At The Barn, we pride ourselves on finding unique, quality perennials, along with the best of the mainstays, so that customers have the ability to find the plants that are right for their needs. Come see what we have to offer!

Astrantia

Astrantia, commonly known as Masterwort,  features airy cymes of ruby-red to pink pincushion flowers from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's deeply cut ferny palmate leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season. Astrantia grows best in part sun to shade. 

Acanthus spinosus

Bear's Breeches features showy spikes of white flowers with purple “hoods” rising above the foliage in late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's attractive large spiny lobed leaves remain glossy green in throughout the year.

Bear's Breeches has a rigidly upright and towering form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage. At maturity, Acanthus spinosis will grow to 3 feet tall and wide!

Dracocephalum - such as variety 'Altai Blue'

Dragonhead features beautiful spikes of blue hooded flowers rising above the foliage in mid spring, which are most effective when planted in groupings. It's narrow leaves remain forest green in color throughout the season.  It’s called Dragonhead due to the Dragon shaped blooms.

Aralia 'Sun King'

You may be familiar with aralia as a thorny small tree or shrub but the herbaceous forms are not mean like their woody cousins. Robust, compound foliage with clusters of purple black fruit offer great texture. If you like big perennials this plant is for you! Large bright yellow foliage brightens up any shady area. Clusters of tiny white flowers appear mid-summer and are followed by fruit in the fall.

Aristolochia macrophylla tomentosum

This deciduous, woody, climbing vine is an eastern American native which typically occurs in the wild in rich, moist woods and along streams. Can rapidly grow to 20-30'. An old-fashioned favorite that is grown for its large, heart-shaped, densely overlapping leaves (6-12" long) which can quickly cover an arbor or trellis with attractive, glossy, deep green foliage. Commonly called Dutchman's pipe because the unusual, 2" long, yellowish-green flowers (each flaring at the calyx mouth to form 3 brownish-purple lobes) superficially resemble Dutch smoking pipes.

Prunella - such as variety 'Summer Daze'

This perennial is low growing, spreading, and tough as nails! They have heavy spikes of hooded flowers whorled around the stem and bloom heavily in spring and summer and sporadically until frost. The Summer Daze is a clump forming variety with spikes of rich pink flowers.

Spigelia

This native wildflower has deep red flowers with a yellow throat in May and June and often reblooms towards the end of summer.  A hummingbird favorite for part sun. 

We hope you enjoyed our suggestions. If you need help planning, choosing or designing a perennials garden, feel free to stop in. We are here to help. The Barn Nursery is located at 8109 S Rt 31 Cary, IL 60013. Our phone number is 847-658-3883. Our current store hours are M-F 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-6pm and Sunday 10am-5pm. Visit our website www.BarnNurseryLandscape.com for more information about our products and services.