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.
An outstanding and very attractive plant with low growing, deeply dissected dark green foliage that gives rise to an explosion of electric purple, single, upright flowers from July to early September. This plant behaves like an ivy. It is taprooted and can be difficult in containers if not well spaced. Let it drape over stone walls or creep between stones. Requires full sun and good drainage. Native to the Midwest.
Spikes of elegant white flowers top shiny green foliage in late summer and early fall. Grows best in moist meadows, stream banks, and swamps. Favorite breeding site for the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly.
The leathery leaves of Dryopteris marginalis are a beautiful addition to the woodland garden and can form a lovely and easy to maintain groundcover. A sturdy east coast native, it forms a tidy clump that will not spread and is very tolerant of dry shade conditions once it has established. Marginal wood fern is often found in shaded crevices of rocky ledges and bluffs from Newfoundland to Georgia, west to Oklahoma and Minnesota.
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.
'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 fan favorite at Mt. Cuba Center’s Monarda trials thanks to superior resistance to powdery mildew—this selection boasts sturdy, upright stems, and a prolific floral display of purplish-red flowers atop clean green foliage.
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.
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.
This selection of the Arkansas native comes to us from Dr. Allan Armitage's trials at the University of Georgia. It has lovely fine foliage like Amsonia hubrichtii and is a compact, well-branched and vigorous plant. In late summer it is covered with true purple flowers that attract plenty of butterflies. Found in rocky flood plains, Vernonia lettermannii is very tolerant of hot, dry locations, yet can withstand brief periods of inundation.