Perennials or more technically, herbaceous perennials are plants that live more than two years (to distinguish them from biennials) and whose foliage dies back to the ground with the frost in autumn or because of a dry season. They survive as either roots, crowns or other structures beneath the soil surface during the dormant period. Then, usually in the spring or when the conditions are right for new growth, they will emerge from the ground for another cycle.

Here are the common genera of herbaceous perennials found in home landscapes in the temperate zones of North America: