Need mid-late Summer perrenial ideas

[ringstrue]

I feel like I'm outta ideas so I need help.

I'm in zone 5b - upstate NY.

I have two big beds in the front yard on either side of the front door. One is full of great perennials and the other has been a crap shoot for years. Well I finally got that crap bed figured out and its full of some good stuff, but I wanna put in one last perennial. The good bed has black-eyed susans and cone flowers the look awesome through August - I wanna plant something in the other side to complement them in color. BUT, I want something about a foot high, and that will generally "stay put" like how a hosta does, even though it gets bigger. I wanna put about 3-4 of them in a row staggered with other plants.

I've tried blue saliva, but they all died off after a rain storm that flooded the bed for about 2 days. That doesn't happen often but maybe once or twice a year, so it can't be a plant that hates too much water like that. I like the red ones but they are annuals.

I have stella daylillies on the side and they do great but they are done by that time of year.

I also like red geraniums and begonias but they are annuals too.

[mouse]

Only one foot? If you can go a little taller there's some great dwarf dahlias and dwarf delphiniums. I think they both go down to zone 5, but you might need to dig the dahlia tubers.

What about Russian sage or catmint? Those are very easy care in my experience.

[mouse]

Or if you like red salvia, what about penstemon?

Eta: never mind, they don't like soaking. Can you improve your drainage?

[ringstrue]

The cone flowers are tall - like 2+ ft?

delphiniums could work.

What about astilbe? Does it really hate sunnier spots?

[auntie]

I'd bring some of the cone flowers to the other bed. Sedum Autumn Joy is a great late summer/fall option. You could also add mums or asters to the mix.