A seedling of Andropogon gerardii 'Red October', this exciting new release from Intrinsic Perennial Gardens has dark green upright foliage that begins to turn red in the cool nights of August and becomes a ravishing nearly black color by September.

She's the belle of the ball! Sweetly scented with blooms of blush pink, Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella' from Walter's Gardens lasts longer in your garden than her namesake. A perennial with beauty, grace, and staying power, this wetland native does well in average garden conditions and is a pollinator favorite!

An introduction by Plant Delights Nursery in 2009, this Japanese painted fern is a monster. Growing up to 3' tall and spreading up to 6' wide, 'Godzilla' has the appearance of 'Picta' with the punch of an ostrich fern. 'Godzilla' is great in shady locations in moist soil to dry shade.  

The new foliage presents in a limey-pastel and adds drama to the overall appearance of this fern. The fronds mature to a medium green which causes a unique two-toned appearance through out the season.

Epimedium 'Purple Pixie' caught our notice with its distinct purple blooms with contrasting white spurs emerging in early spring. The deepest purple selection available on the market, it's also notable for its ability to reach its mature size quickly without becoming aggressive. A perfect addition to the shade garden, the green foliage is streaked with burgundy all season long.

Looking for an easy, low-maintenance, long-lived groundcover for shade? Look no further! This Epimedium x rubrum has delicate, heart-shaped leaves that emerge red in spring, become lush green in summer, and have lovely fall color. The blooms are light and airy red and light yellow blooming in early spring. Great for moist shade locations but tolerates dry shade once established!

Add a little brightness to your dreary early spring day! Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’ has pale yellow short-spurred flowers emerging in early spring that hang delicately above heart-shaped foliage. Leaves emerge a soft red, mature to a verdant green, and change color again in the fall. Excellent groundcover in dry shade, this plant spreads quickly to keep weeds at bay while filling the niche of what to plant near a garden path perfectly. 

A soft dusting of white flowers hovers on racemes above heart-shaped foliage emerging bronze in spring. Epimedium × youngianum ‘Niveum’ is a compact and slower-growing barrenwort, perfect to grow around tree roots, along path edges, or in naturalised areas as a well-behaved dry shade groundcover. 

Spotted joe-pye weed grows 4-7 feet tall with mauve-pink flowers blooming in late summer to early fall. A native perennial, Eupatorium maculatum attracts swallowtail butterflies and lives happily in sunny, wet soils. 

Eupatorium Euphoria™ Ruby is a compact, early-flowering variety of the classic summer flowering native perennial. It's small size makes it perfect for growers and homeowners alike while it's early-flowering is a delight to pollinators. This is Darwin Perennial's answer to the age-old customer question in garden centers - "I like this, but do you have something that grows smaller?"

Helleborus ViV 'Victoria' is part of the Joie de Vivre Collection from noted breeder Belgian Helleborus specialist Het Wilgenbroek. 'Victoria' is a very durable and long-blooming cultivar with masses of purple flowers blooming from September through till spring. 

Helleborus 'Emma' is an early flowering hellebore with beautiful large white flowers that age to a mauve pink. Very floriferous from December to May on a neat habit of dark green foliage with a lighter green veining. -Ashwood Nurseries

Heuchera 'Green Spice' spices up the shade garden! With dark red venation in spring transition to cool greens and silver in the summer, it wraps up it's foliage show with oranges and rust colors in fall! This groundcover is a perfect way to brighten up dull spots, to edge along a garden path, or to intermingle with other interesting textures to liven things up. 

Plainly stated, it’s a show stopper. Beyond other Iris selections on the market, ‘Purple Flame’ has a richer, more intense cast to stems and flowers, yes. However, the true beauty lies in the irresistible foliage. Emerging in March, the purple flame-like foliage provides an unparalleled performance of vivid and intense eggplant purple foliage followed by an encore of rich and abundant flowers. 

A free-blooming Nepeta that lives up to its namesake—it is summer magic! Blooming all season long on upright stems that never flop, even in the worst of storms, this plant was on RHS Chelsea Flower show’s Short List in 2013. Great for layering in the garden, placed in a container, or along a flower border. We admire its ability to ‘keep it fresh’ even in the heat and humidity of summer as other Nepeta varieties tend to fade.

Peltandra virginica, Arrow arum, grows in still or slow moving waters of ponds, swamps, marshes, and banks of streams. The remarkable broad arrow headed leaves with wavy margins reach 2-4' tall in full sun to shade. Unassuming yet unique yellow flowers of arrow arum form a slender spadix inside a hooded spathe blooming May-July. - Kind Earth Growers

A seed cultivar with upright silver stems covered in a mist of lavender-blue flowers. The perfect plant to intermingle textures in flower borders, it is tough as steel and adds cool color through the late summer. A favorite of butterflies and bumblebees, avoided by deer, and able to withstand the baking and sweltering temperatures of summer - what’s not to like?

Pickerelweed grows 2-4' tall and can be found growing in the unconsolidated sediments of marshes, streams, shallow lakes, and ponds. Growing in colonies, this emergent aquatic native plant prefers quiet water and is an excellent addition to water gardens, bog gardens, or in a container. 

A new introduction from Brent Horvath of Intrinsic Perennials, this Rudbeckia is covered in blooms on a domed and shorter version of a black-eyed Susan. It is perfect planted in masses or in the perennial border and it hides spent blooms to provide uniform color as it blooms for weeks on end. Due to its thinner, hairier leaves, it is found to be resistant to septoria leaf spot.

Rudbeckia triloba 'Priarie Glow' has our attention! With brightly colored flowers of yellow with a bright red eye fading to a glowing orange to bronze, this native beauty brings fire to the sunny border. It's multi-branching habit provides dense flower cover, more so than the straight species, and it's late blooming time, starting in July and flowering right through to October, makes this a valuable pollinator plant. 

Duck potato is a native emergent aquatic perennial with arrow-shaped leaves and thick tuberous roots. It forms dense colonies and spreads by rhizome. 

Salvia nemorosa 'Rose Marvel' PP30118 has the largest flowers of any rose or pink Salvia nemorosa on the market. Enjoy the stunning display of color in Spring and Summer.

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. 

Sedum aizoon 'Euphorbioides' is a striking specimen, featuring strong, upright, red stems and green leaves that are serrated along the edges. Large yellow flower heads appear in midsummer. Flowers attract pollinators. Vastly underused in the industry, Sedum aizoon ‘Euphorbioides’ is one of the more interesting plants suitable for extensive green roof conditions. -Green Roof Plants

Solidago flexicaulis brings pollinators to your dappled shade areas with a subtle yellow flower clusters in mid-summer to fall. A hardy native perennial, it tolerates deer, shade, and clay soils.

Broadleaf cattail is topped with those familiar brown, fluffy, sausage-shaped flowering heads, and is highly suited for stormwater management and phytoremediation.

The most diminutive of hybrid ironweeds available on the market, ‘Summer’s Swan Song’ is a selection from our friend Jim Ault at Chicago Botanic Garden. The foliage is olive green with a purple tinge on wine red stems and covered in deep purple flowers from early to mid-autumn. Attention-grabbing at CBG’s Vernonia trials, the long flowering branches interlock to hold the stems upright on the blusteriest of days.