My North Creek Nurseries Wish List

Red flowers with yellow centers hang like drifts of softly illuminated lanterns in April and May. Excellent as a shady rock garden naturalizer, it also is quite content in average garden conditions. Occurs naturally in rich rocky woods, north-facing slopes, cliffs, ledges, pastures, and roadside banks. Native to all states east of the Rockies, but not found in Louisiana.

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. 

A tall and lovely prairie native with long spikes of pure white flowers from May to Mid-June.  Easy and long-lived, it is native from New York to Minnesota, Texas to Mississippi.

A beautiful native groundcover with striking glaucus blue foliage, Blue wood sedge is easy to grow and evergreen in warmer zones, though it benefits from a late winter cut back. Early spring flowers are slender and form interesting seed heads. Forms tidy clumps and spreads by seed.

An exceptional, compact native with fine-textured, deep green grassy leaves. Smallhead blazing star sends up numerous spikes with tassel-like rosy purple flowers in August and September. Unique to the genus, the flowers open from top to bottom on the spike in a slow unfurling of brilliant color. Excellent as a cut flower. Tolerant of clay and drought, very low maintenance. Loved by butterflies! Liatris microcephala can be found in sandy, dry prairies and open glades of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

The spikes of brilliant true blue flowers on this wetland native attract butterflies, hummingbirds and neighbors to your garden! Lobelia siphilitica provides outstanding color for the border, wet meadow or pond edge. Naturalizes easily in moist soils, but tolerates periods of drought.

'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. 

We've been enjoying this great native for many years in our garden, since it was given to us by the Mt. Cuba Center in 2001. 'Pink Profusion' has clear pink flowers that are held daintily above reddish leaves on deep red stems. The best part is the way the flowers shimmer in a light breeze, as though they will take flight at any moment.

An irresistible quilt-textured, creeping groundcover! Turns deep, vivid red in the fall. Small (1-1.5") deep green, maple-shaped leaves with smooth, light tan undersides. Nearly evergreen for year-round interest. Insect and pest free. White flowers with amber fruits in late spring. Very durable!

Huge powder-blue leaves make up 2' to 3' of basal foliage that is effective all during the growing season. In June and July, towering flower spikes explode with large, deep gold, drooping ray flowers with a black center. A must-have for the butterfly and bird lover! Reliable and deer proof.

An early blooming, petite Salvia! Blooming a month earlier than the popular 'May Night', Salvia 'April Night' provides lush violet-blue blooms from spring to summer. 

Compact, smoky blue-gray foliage makes an attractive groundcover throughout the season. Raspberry-pink flower heads range in diameter from 6-8” and put on a dazzling display from late summer to fall. A lovely accent to cut flower arrangements. From the breeding program of Chris Hansen.

Soft blue star-shaped flowers with gold centers rise above fine, semievergreen, Iris-like foliage from May to June. Excellent for edging, the 3/4" flowers are very good sized for the genus. A strong floral show without seeding around and a tidier habit with more flower power than the straight species.

Another fantastic Mt. Cuba introduction. A stunning show of sprays of golden yellow flowers from mid-August through September. Semievergreen heart-shaped leaves. Truly an excellent groundcover and bee and butterfly charmer! Hairstreaks, sulphurs and skippers are particularly attracted to goldenrod. Monarchs visit it during their autumn migration.

The tall, thin spikes of Blue Vervain grace the wet meadows of the US in July and August. Verbena hastata is a short-lived perennial that readily self sows where happy. A great plant for pond's edge where it seeds in between sedges and rushes and cheerfully holds its own.