This native classic is best known as a food of larval monarch butterflies (along with its cousins A. incarnata and A. tuberosa). Robust, yet beautiful with deep pink clusters of fragrant flowers in June and July followed by lovely pods of silky seeds in October.
This member of the Wood's Aster group has the typical low rounded habit and profuse blooming associated with all three. 'Wood's Blue' has perfectly clean foliage, and in the early fall it is covered with clear, medium blue flowers with gold centers. Bred for compact habit, long bloom period and heavy flowering, all of the Wood's Asters are outstanding pot crops and should be used far more often as a sturdy perennial alternative for mums.
A dark pink fall-blooming aster with a tidy habit and smothered in flowers? Oh man, we think we may have developed a crush. A 'Pink Crush' that is. An introduction from Walters Gardens, this New England aster is a shorter variety that doesn't splay in the late season like other aster cultivars.
"This is the most spectacular of all cultivars in its magnificent frond architecture. It is really the Queen of Green", according to Dr. John Mickel, former curator of ferns at the New York Botanical Garden and author of "Ferns for American Gardens". As with other forms of lady ferns there is so much variability with spore production that it is necessary to produce this form in tissue culture, so its clones are identical to the parent. This superb selection has fronds whose pinnae (leaflets) crisscross to form x's and has crested pinnae tips. Another superior cultivar in the Mickel Collection™.
This beautiful selection has narrow (1/4") leaves with white margins, giving it a very fine texture overall. Rhizomatous, forming thick silvery clumps. A bright addition to the shade palette!
A bright groundcover for a shady spot, 'Ice Dance' has long shiny leaves trimmed in bright white. It spreads slowly to fill in and make a tidy cover that discourages weeds. Deer and disease resistant, it is long-lasting and easy to grow!
Selected for deep, dark-green foliage, late blooming period, clump-forming habit and airy, golden-yellow flowers that emerge in June and last through to September. Attractive seed heads persist through winter. An eye catching cool season, semi-evergreen ornamental grass perfectly suited for part sun to shade.
It is low and tidy and gently fills an area with its fragrant foliage. 'Azure Rush' is generously covered with light blue 2.5 inch blooms. Everything that you have come to love and anticipate from 'Rozanne' is true + improved by her lighter blue daughter.
A widely used and attractive evergreen groundcover which is dense, but not invasive. Deep green, oval leaves and 2" gold flowers with pincushion-like, center-clustered stamens in late spring and early summer. One of the nicest groundcovers when in bloom. Most content in cooler areas away from drying winter winds, although quite tough once established.
This durable native cool-season rush is deer-resistant and semi-evergreen. Perfect for everything from diminutive filler for rain gardens, as a groundcover, and for erosion control.
'Gardenview Scarlet' is one of the most mildew resistant Monarda varieties available. A classic variety that is well-earned, it's rose-red flowers sit on stems rising to 3' tall. Blooming from June to August, this long-flowering Monarda is beautiful, especially when massed in drifts to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
A White Flower Farm introduction. The buds really do resemble raspberries! Clear wine-red flowers from June through August. Very mildew resistant. Cherished by butterflies and hummingbirds, but loathed by deer. Also makes an excellent cut flower.
From Beate Zillmer of Zillmer Pflanzen in Uchte, Germany. Imagine 'East Friesland' with violet blue flowers and glowing purple stems. Incomparable! Its tidy upright habit makes an excellent companion for Geranium, yellow Baptisia, and purple Heuchera.
This cultivar features smaller leaves and finer texture than 'Helene von Stein', and seldom blooms. Silky hairs cover the leaves, giving them a very silvery appearance overall. Great for hot, dry locations.
'Sweet Kate' is an easy-to-grow perennial that produces a profusion of unusual deep-blue flowers from summer to fall. An eye-catching accent for the border, the vibrant golden-yellow foliage is the perfect foil for its bloom and a bright companion for purple-foliaged plants.
One of the few varieties of Tricyrtis with variegated leaves that is a good, tough garden plant with clean foliage! Green leaves with creamy, almost gold edges are topped in fall with lily-like flowers of purple with dark purple spotting with yellow throats. Best admired from close by, it is lovely planted near a patio or sitting area mixed with other shade perennials.