Bulbs

• Gladiolus grandiflora "Green Star's" nearly 5-foot stems above pale green, ruffled, trumpetlike blooms make a statement at the back of perennial borders. The upright floral spikes rise from fanlike clumps of sword-shaped green leaves. Their blooms open in ascending order with those at the base of the stalks fully open and those above them in various degrees of bloom. Green Star's bulbs survive in the ground where winter temperatures remain above 10 degrees F. indoors. Elsewhere, they overwinter indoors. Round-headed leek (Allium sphaerocephalon) forms clumps of grasslike, 14-inch, greenish-gray leaves. Egg-shaped clusters of tiny, dark-green florets top its 2- to 3-foot stems in early to midsummer. The flowerheads gradually deepen to pinkish-purple. Maturing blooms display solid green, bicolored and solid-purple blooms simultaneously. These bulbs thrive in sunny, well-drained locations with fertile, consistently moist soil.
  
  

Annuals

• Mint family annual bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis) has an upright habit. The 2-to 3-foot plants' white, true flowers are modest at best. The lime-green, bell-shaped bracts enclosing them are what give bells of Ireland its ornamental interest. The flowers and dense bracts appear in midsummer. The green coloration lasts well into fall. Zinnia elegans "Benary Giant Lime" forms 3- to 4-foot tall, 3-foot wide clumps of dark-green, lancelike leaves. The bushy plant illuminates summer and early fall gardens with large, double, spherical, chartreuse blooms. Butterflies flock to the flowers. While bells of Ireland prefers cool summer climates, Benary Giant Lime flourishes in heat. Both like full sun and averagely moist, well-drained soil.
  
  

Perennials

• Sweetly fragrant, 4- to 5-inch daisies crown the coneflower (Echinacea purpurea "Green Jewel") cultivar from late spring to late summer. Their pale-green petals surround darker-green, cone-shaped centers. This 18-inch to 2-foot, green-leaved branching perennial thrives in full sun to part shade and a wide range of well-drained soils. Green trillium (Trillium viride) stands between 12 and 18 inches high and wide. Three deep-green, 4-inch hostalike leaves and a single, three-petaled, greenish-yellow flower top each of the clump-forming perennial's stems in early spring. Green trillium needs partial to full shade, good drainage and humus-rich, moist soil.
  
  

Daylily

• Showy, nearly 7-inch, green-throated lilies with greenish-gold petals make daylily (Hemerocallis "Erin Prairie") cultivar an early-to-midsummer garden standout. The flowers rise on 2- to 2-1/2-foot stems above clumps of arching, narrow green foliage. The mature plants' abundant flowers compensate for its individual blooms' 24-hour lifespan. Erin Prairie performs best in full sun and fertile, moist loam.