An upright, clump-forming perennial native to parts of the upper Midwest and Great Plains region. Lavender to purple flowers are densely packed along showy, cylindrical, terminal spikes mid to late summer. Medium green, lanceolate foliage remains clean throughout the season and carries a refreshing anise scent, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.
Large leaves (to 2') emerge in the spring and provide a bold backdrop for earlier blooming perennials. In the fall, numerous flower stalks rise to 4 or 5 feet and each is covered with 1" sky blue daisy-like flowers. Flowering is later than many other asters and this species often provides brilliant color until frost. Found by Rick Darke and Skip March at the Jindai Botanical Gardens. This cultivar is shorter than the species and less likely to require staking.
Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' is a dependable bloomer and all-round fantastic plant. The flowers are a glowing, lemon-yellow color and sit on top of tall, erect, lacey, somewhat mound forming, delicate (threadleaf) looking green foliage that has an airy appearance. The flowers are plentiful and bloom continuously throughout the entire summer. If the dead blossoms are removed, flowers will be more abundant and healthy. Truly a bright sight. Great in rock gardens and gardens with poor soil. Makes a nice cut flower.
Selected by Steve Lighty while at The Conard-Pyle Co., this dimunitive Joe Pye has the vivid color of 'Gateway' at a height more appropriate for small gardens. 'Little Joe 'is also more compact in a container too.
Shiny, dark purple-red ruffled leaves with faint silvery marbling between the veins accented by attractive, delicate heads of pink flower clusters held aloft by tall, thin stems in early and mid summer. Fast growing with a tidy, mounding habit. Very popular!
Perhaps this should win the prize for easiest plant to grow. It loves heat and humidity and breezes through a drought like a champ. Single, one inch, white daisy-like flowers on a compact mound of green all summer. Very unusual and attractive. Great in the landscape and in containers. Essential for the butterfly gardener!
The short stature, continuous sunny bloom, and deep wine coloring of this native plant make Lysimachia lanceolata'Burgundy Mist' a new favorite groundcover, winning over our Gardens Department by how it keeps weeds at bay and is a carefree plant.
Meaning "many eyelashes," polyblepharum describes the fuzzy stems of this glossy deep green garden fern. Dependable and hardy, it lends elegance to the shade border and combines well with Carex, Heuchera, and other ferns. Evergreen in warmer zones.