Peace lily blends handsome leaves with nearly nonstop blooms. Peace lilies are often given as a housewarming orsympathy gift, and they have health benefits too. This NASA-backed, air purifying plant helps remove household toxins,according to Healthline. Credit:Getty Images A Blooming, Tropical Houseplant Native mainly to tropical America, peace lily (Spathiphyllumsp.) is a perennial with leaves and stems rising directly from the soil. Happy peace lilies surrender constantly, producing bloom after bloom....

The key to beautiful blooms is planning ahead of time. Peonies are a garden staple in the South. The shrubs unfurl their petals around Mother’s Day, adding romance to spring gardens. Credit:Southern Living/Adrienne Legault Disclaimer: These beauty queens are anything but low-maintenance.Planting peoniesrequires planning and patience. Both are from Chinese species: herbaceous peonies are chiefly fromP. lactiflora, tree types fromP. Paeonia lactiflora ‘Festiva maxima’.Credit:Olga Seifutdinova / Getty Images Most garden peonies are hybrids....

Add these easygoing perennials to your flower beds. Southern Living/Adrienne Legault Youve probably grownannual geraniums(in the genusPelargonium) for years. But those plants are cousins to true geraniums (Geraniumspp.) Credit:Southern Living/Adrienne Legault These under-utilized flowers deserve a place in your garden for their hardiness and beauty. Perennial geraniums bloom from spring through summer, and some varieties bloom into the fall. The fast-growing plants dont require a lot of care, which makes them good for beginners....

This shiny green ground cover can fill in your planting beds, around trees, and more. Periwinkle makes a great choice to plant around trees as it can successfully compete with surface tree roots. Note that periwinkle is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Credit:Southern Living/Evgeniya Vlasova Here is what to know about growing and caring for periwinkle. Plant Attributes Periwinkle Care This plantdoesn’t require a green thumbto maintain. It’s pretty hardy and thrives in various environments....

If you love philodendron as a houseplant, youll be thrilled to know it grows outside in the South. Philodendron (Philodendronspp.) is a fast-growing and nearly indestructible garden plant with beautiful leathery, glossy leaves. Credit:Adrienne Legault / Southern Living Once established, this plant might even dazzle with a bloom that resembles that of calla (Zantedeschia). Philodendrons fall into two main classes: arborescent and vining. Arborescent philodendrons are relatively hardy. Credit:Adrienne Legault / Southern Living...

The pincushion is a long-blooming flower that adds pretty garden color. Scabiosaare flowers that look a little like something you’d stick your sewing needles in. Their gray-green, lance-shaped foliage surrounds long stems. Credit:Achim Mittler / Getty Images Besides their notable appearance, they’re also prized for blooming from spring to frost in the right conditions. Read on for where pincushion flowers grow best and how to care for them. Pincushion flowers can grow to 32 inches tall and 12 inches wide....

This evergreen tree or shrub will add structure and a beautiful green color to your garden. One thing we love is the way they also provide structure and privacy. (Think about planting podocarpus to block an unsightly view.) Credit:Getty Images Given staking and tying,P. elongatustypes eventually become upright trees, though their foliage mass persists in drooping for some time. Podocarpus tolerates drought and salt spray, making it a good choice in the coastal South....

Grown as an annual garden plant or houseplant, its cheery foliage brightens up any spot. The most popular variety has green leaves speckled with pink; other varieties have deep red or cream specks. Small, tubular purple flowers grow as spikes, though the plant is primarily grown for its foliage. Credit: skymoon13/Getty Images Plant it in the spring after that last frost. It grows rapidly, maturing at 1 to 2 feet tall and wide....

Their tasty seeds make this plant perfect for edible landscaping. Getty Images A familiar fruit in the Bible, pomegranates (Punica granatum) have been cultivated since antiquity. These are long-lasting, drought tolerant plants when established. Credit:Getty Images They also are very malleable. There are dwarf forms for containers and ornamental types grown primarily for their flowers. The flowers support bees and hummingbirds. Credit:Getty Images The fruit is known for itsjuicy seedsthat are tasty as well as nutritious....

Perky portulaca brightens the garden with festive blooms all summer long. The flowers of portulaca close at night and reopen the next morning. Its lushsucculent leavesand vibrant colors evoke a sense of the tropics. Credit:Diana Kirby The slow-spreading, low-maintenance, xeric plant thrives in even the hottest, driest summers. Portulaca attracts pollinators such as wild bees, but not every hybrid flower is equally attractive to pollinators. Experiment with different varieties to see which gets the most visitors....

If you want privacy, plant privet. With regular pruning, this quick growing shrub can be shaped into an ideal landscape feature. Southern Living/Evgeniya Vlasova Although one species makes a fine landscape tree, privets are first and foremost hedge plants. Credit:Southern Living/Evgeniya Vlasova They take well to shearing and can be clipped into almost any shape. Clipped hedges produce fewer flowers, as shearing removes most of the flower buds. Blossoms are followed by small, berrylike, blue-black fruit....

This pretty, purple, and practically indestructible perennial will add color to pots and garden beds. Purple hearts are often planted in pots or displayed in hanging baskets. They’re aptly named, as their foliage appears in silvery purple and violet hues. Credit:Southern Living/Adrienne Legault Its purple leaves are long and oval-shaped, and it produces small purple flowers during the summer months. Plant Attributes Most varieties of purple heart plant are virtually indestructible with long, trailing stems....

This trailing plant with pretty purple foliage shines along borders and hanging baskets. Key Takeaways Purple heart (Tradescantia pallida) is a hardy plant with a stunning color payoff. It’s a beautiful perennial with long, trailing stems that resemble rambling vines. It is commonly planted as aground cover, along borders, or driveways. Native to the Gulf Coast region of Mexico, purple heart grows up to 1.5 feet tall and wide. Its purple leaves are long and oval-shaped....