Echinacea, Shasta Daisy, Sedum "Autumn Joy", Astilbe ... What about some of the self-sowing annuals like Cosmos & Portulaca? I've even had Snapdragons self-seed for me in some areas.

I know there are tons of other things - I'm sure you'll get a lot more ideas from other posters.

Ilsa

nucci, you chose three of the worst, in fact I think forget-me-nots are a bienniel and in my area they are really fussy if they don't get enough water. They seldom even reseed here which is a shame cause I love 'em. Rudbeckia, echinacea, lilies (both asian and oriental) coreopsis (Moonbeam), all iris, nepeta, campanula (Blue Chip), hosta, lamium, a lot of grasses, geraniums, and of course the daylilies, peonies and phlox are all pretty long lived in my garden.

I love guara, but don't plant it anymore unless I get it discounted tremendously. It just isn't worth planting every other year. Gaillarda usually reseeds enough that I don't worry about it. Forget me nots are more bienniel, but reseed enough for me that I can usually keep them going. The pink reseeds almost too much, although I gather most people find that the blue does better than the pink. Stokes aster & centaurea montana are nice, I love penstemons & Russian sage too. Balloon flowers come in several colors & bloom off & on all summer, and several salvias do as well.

I would add Shasta Daisy, Achillea, Lobelia (cardinalis and syphilitica types and their hybrids), Evening Primrose (yellow Oenothera fruticosa types, stay away from the pink, invasive and out-of-control O. speciosa 'Siskyou'), Toad Lilies (Tricyrtis) for partial shade, Tiarella (Heuchera relatives) and Asters. Aster laevigatus 'Bluebird' is one of my favorites, 4' tall, sky blue flowers in Aug-Sep-Oct and even into November if the weather is good - with our weird winter this year, it bloomed through January. Aster tataricus 'Jindai' is also a stunner, 4-6' tall, tight spikes of clear blue 1" diameter flowers (rather than the heavily branched inflorescences of most garden asters) that go late, late, late into the season. It also has very large, coarse foliage that my get up to two feet tall, so is a good one for texture both up close and far away.

- Steve

Plants that refuse to give up the ghost despite my best efforts to neglect/ignore them to death: Heuchera "Palace Purple," Aruncus dioicus, basic green & white variegated Hosta, Lamium maculatum, the orange ditch daylily and an unknown Monkshood.

Baptisia is a long-lived perennial with season long interest. Absolutely wonderful foliage. Grows to shrub-like size, but handles heavy pruning well. I cut in half after blooming, but the seedheads are attractive & long lasting if you prefer to leave it unpruned.

Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) is another long-lived plant with many uses. It have lovely cloud-like chartreuse flowers in spring and good looking foliage. Its pleated fan-shaped foliage beads water. Makes nice big full mounds that can be used for edgings in large beds, or around shrubs. These can also be cut back hard if desired after bloom to control size and to regenerate fresh leaves for the rest of the season. It tolerates a large range of shade/sun conditions. Red-Stemmed Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla erythropoda, a very small variety, is also great for use in smaller plantings.

Nucci60 - You may want to ask this question on the New England forum as well since responses from other areas of the country may or may not be applicable to you in MA. That way you'll have a larger list, presumably, from here, and can refine it with more local info.

My longest lived perennials include Siberian and bearded iris, several varieties of coreopsis (in well-drained areas), balloon flower (Platycodon), Phlox paniculata 'David', Anemone sylvestris (keep it confined because it's a spreader!), Alyssum (in drier areas), Astilbe pumila AKA chinensis (in shady area), several different Heuchera (coral bells), Polemonium (Jacob's ladder), Campanula cochlearifolia(?) and C. portenschlagiana (both low growing & good in rock walls), a couple of truly hardy chrysanthemums, Dicentra (bleeding heart), hosta, daylilies, peonies, Lysimachia punctata (not L. clethroides, which is too much of a good thing and wants to take over the world!), Veronica 'Waterperry blue' and 'Georgia blue', and Iberis sempervirens.

A couple of biannuals that self-seed well for me, so I don't need to replant since they do it themselves are forget-me-not (Myosotis) and foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea.)

I also use vines and shrubs with interesting foliage and branching structure along with their flowers to add year-round interest to my perennial borders. They are all long-lived.

thank you everyone!

I can't keep Shasta daisies alive but asters do well, iris (especially Siberian), geraniums (Rozanne among others) nepeta, campanula, monkshood,meadow rue (thalictrum), sedum, rodgersia, Solomon's Seal, agastache...

My platycodon comes up like gangbusters. I have no idea why it does in one bed. It even reseeds all over the entire bed. Just great!

Nothing beats Peony for long life. :-)

roses, peonies, lilacs, camellias . . .