Agapanthus

Blue agapanthus in bloom in summer.

* Common name: African lilies

* Botanical name: Agapanthus

* What it is: A strappy-leafed perennial in warmer climates, but a great tender pot plant here that gets large clusters of white, blue or lavender lily-like flowers in late summer. Overwinters easily inside, where it sometimes blooms again in winter.

* Size: Foliage grows 15 to 18 inches and flower stalks poke up another 8 or 10 inches

* Where to use: Best to grow as a pot centerpiece. They’ll also grow in the ground, but you’ll either have to dig and pot them in fall or let them to die and rot after frost.

* Care: In a pot, water regularly to keep soil consistently damp and fertilize every few weeks with a high-phosphorus flower fertilizer. Snip off flower stalk when blooms are done. Move inside before a killing frost and grow there by a sunny window with weekly waterings.

* Great partner: Edge pots with pink verbena or petunias and silver licorice plants.