Colorful perennial plants can be used for both shade gardens and backyard areas getting constant full-sun. It is important to select the right one for the specific area of your yard you want to dress-up.

By choosing the right perennials, you can combat three landscape problems - hot and dry locations, wet and swampy areas, and windy or exposed sites.

Most perennials that will work best in dry and sunny spots flower during the summer months. Some of these perennials that are both heat and drought-tolerant include: blanket flower, a daisy-like, yellow-and-red plant; coneflower with pink, rose, or white flowers; daylilies coming in numerous colors; evening primrose or sundrops in yellow, pink, or white flowers; fairy fan-flower that has blue or white flowers and blossoms from spring to fall; gazania rigens with yellow, orange, red, or pink flowers; globe thistle that has round blue flowers; lavender, an aromatic plant with purple, pink, or white flowers; red-hot poker with red, orange, or yellow flowers; Russian sage with light blue flowers flowering from summer into fall; yarrow that flowers in many colors; blazing star or gayfeather, a liatris having purple or white flowers during the summer; and butterfly weed named so because it attracts butterflies, flowering orange blossoms throughout the summer.

When you are dealing with a wet, moist or even swampy area, you should plan to use the following perennials: angelica archangelica with greenish-yellow or reddish-purple flowers growing up to 6 feet tall in the summer; astilbe with plumes of red, purple, pink, or white also flowering in the summer; cardinal flower with red, pink, or white flowers growing in full sun/partial shade; gooseneck loosestrife, white flower spikes also growing in full sun/partial shade; Joe Pye weed with light purple or violet flowers growing up to 7 feet tall from summer to fall in full sun/partial shade; ligularia with daisy-like yellow or orange flowers in summer growing in partial shade; meadowsweet or queen of the prairie having plumes of tiny pink or white flowers in summer and growing up to 8 feet tall, depending on species; obedient plant with purple, pink, or white flowers; spiderwort with rose, purple, blue, or white flowers in summer; swamp hibiscus or common rose mallow crinkly pink, red, or white flowers in summer; turtlehead, a pinkish-purple flowers; and Virginia bluebells, tubular blue or white flowers that flower in the spring.

If you have a spot in your yard that is exposed to the wind, the suggested perennials to plant are: coneflower or Echinacea, a daisy-like flower in pink, rose, or white; daylilies, delphinium grandiflorum; gazania rigens, another daisy-like flower in yellow, orange, red, or pink; ‘Indian Summer’ or black-eyed Susan, a golden-yellow daisy-like flower blooming in summer; miscanthus sinensis with silver, pink, purple, or rust-color plumes and narrow, green strap leaves or variegated foliage flowering in late summer and fall; penstemon that come in red, pink, blue, or white flowering from spring to fall, depending on species; red-hot poker that are spikes of red, orange, or yellow flowering in summer; rosemary that have tubular blue flowers from spring to summer and aromatic, needlelike evergreen foliage; and sea holly with thistle-like blue or white flowering in the summer.

With these suggested gardening tips you will be on your way to solving the problem spots in your yard and turning it into a colorful show of healthy growth. Planting the right perennials in the right spot can make a difference.