Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) is a native perennial that behaves like a small shrub: spires of indigo-blue, lupine-like flowers in late spring over handsome blue-green foliage, followed by charcoal seed pods that rattle in fall. Established clumps reach about three feet tall and wide.

Plant it in full sun where you want it to stay; the deep taproot makes it very drought tolerant but hard to move. It thrives in poor soil, clay included, needs no staking or feeding, and gets better every year. Bees and butterflies work the blooms.