The best low-maintenance perennials

Creating a beautiful garden is a cinch when you stick to low-maintenance perennials that are as easy to care for as they are gorgeous.

These are easily recognized by their woolly, silvery-gray foliage. Lambs' ears are reliable bedding plants and ground covers. They requires full sun to partial shade and bloom from early summer to frost. Usually a purple flower, the Silver Carpet variety provides grayish-white leaves and does not flower; Margery Fish produces silver leaves and mauve flowers.

Bee balm flowers not only add brilliant colour to the garden, but also attract butterflies and hummingbirds. They require full sun and bloom in summer. Flowers can be scarlet, purple, pink and white. For mildew resistance, choose Marshall's Delight, Gardenview Scarlet, and Jacob Cline.

A low-maintenance garden staple, Siberian irises produce richly coloured flowers that also are beautiful in bouquets. They require full sun to light shade and bloom mid-spring to early summer. Flowers can be blue, pink, white, yellow and purple. Choose White Swirl for pure-white flowers; Steve for two shades of blue; and Butter and Sugar for yellow and white.

Blazing star is also known as gayfeather, a tall, spiky plant that is attractive to butterflies and bees. It requires full sun and blooms late summer to early fall. Floristan Weiss and Snow Queen produce white flowers; Blue Bird yields blue-purple flowers.

Coralbells have tall, airy spikes of brightly coloured blooms rising elegantly above mounds of evergreen foliage. Coralbells work well as edging along the front of a perennial garden. They grow in sun to partial shade and bloom late spring to early summer. Flowers are usually red, pink, coral and white. Choose Plum Pudding for silvery, plum-coloured foliage and white flowers; Paris for green foliage and deep-pink flowers.

Aster has more than 250 varieties available and easily finds a home in most gardens and growing conditions. Their extensive range of sizes and colours makes asters one of the most popular plants for late-season blooms. They grow in full sun to partial shade and bloom summer to fall. Flowers can be red, pink, salmon, purple, yellow and white. Purple Dome is a dwarf variety that features semi-double purple blooms; Barr's Pink produces semi-double pink blooms.

Well-suited to most growing conditions, yarrows provide a long season of bloom. They're a good cutting flower, too. They need full sun and bloom early summer to fall. Flowers are white, yellow, red or pink. Gold Plate flowers are more golden than yellow; choose Moonshine for its light-yellow blooms.

Peonies are big, showy flowers and a top choice for colourful beds and bouquets. They need full sun or partial shade and bloom late spring to early summer. Flowers are white, pink, red and yellow. Recommended varieties are Sarah Bernhardt for double flowers in rose-pink; Peppermint Stick for ruffled white blooms with pink-red streaks; Prairie Moon for semi-double creamy-white flowers.

Stonecrop are low and creeping varieties of succulent sedums and often planted in rock gardens or tucked into stone walls. Bushy sedums are favourites in borders and beds. They require full sun and bloom summer to fall. Flowers are yellow, pink, white and shades of red. Autumn Joy yields pink flowers that deepen to coppery-red in the fall; Ruby Glow produces ruby-red flowers.