Lady's Mantle is a classic beauty long cherished for velvety, scallop-edged foliage and chartreuse blooms. Growing in soft mounds, the light green to olive foliage is ignored by deer and rabbits. Sprays of loosely clustered flowers create an airy halo above the plants in late spring and early summer. Lady's Mantle makes a lush groundcover and easy complement many other perennials. With a luxuriously soft, touchable texture, tuck these plants into a cottage gardens or grow at the edge of a path. (Alchemilla mollis)

Dwarf Larkspur is a gorgeous native wildflower, with uniquely-shaped, deep-purple blooms. A shorter variety that's perfect for border edges or small-space gardens, Dwarf Larkspur comes into bloom in early to mid spring. Although it draws in a myriad of insects, this plant has a special relationship to both hummingbirds and queen bumblebees, who serve as its only two effective pollinators. (Delphinium tricorne)