I used to think there was no earthly use for perilla (Perilla frutescens). No garden since the beginning of time has ever had just one plant. True to its mint family heritage, perilla spreads and spreads and spreads.
Of course, it is quite decorative, with its purple-black ruffled leaves, but some of the similarly colored coleus varieties are better mannered. Perilla also has nice pink flower spikes late in the season, but you can get the same color value from Japanese anemones.
So what is perilla good for?
Perilla is great camouflage for the ugly stalks of tall asters. ‘Alma Potschke’ is a great example, though far from the only one. Even with repeated spring and early summer pruning, ‘Alma’ grows three or four feet tall. The top third of the plants are gorgeous; the bottom two thirds are leafless and ugly. Letting perilla grow up in front of tall asters like ‘Alma’ is a public service.
If you are stuck with perilla, you might as well make an aesthetic virtue of a necessity.