| SUN LOVING PERENNIALS: |
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| Achillea (Yarrow) |
| These valuable garden plants are widely grown for the masses of flowers they bear throughout most of the summer. They flower from June to August, often with good repeat bloom until hard frost if flowers are removed. Yarrows make excellent cut flowers for both fresh and dried arrangements. |
| Achillea 'Coronation Gold' |
| Large flat heads of golden yellow flowers, foliage is gray and lacy. One of the best dried flowers. Height and Spread 2-3'. |
| Coreopsis (Tickseed) |
| A genus of Daisy-like plants that are excellent for the border. They are not the least fussy about soil type. Shear after the first wave of flowering to ensure continuing bloom. |
| Coreopsis grandiflors 'Early Sunrise' |
| Covers itself with golden yellow, semi-double blooms from early summer into fall, requiring only the removal of spent flowers to keep the show going until frost. Holds a neat, compact form regardless of weather. Height and Spread 2-3'. |
| Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' |
| The pale yellow flowers are borne in abundance all summer about needlelike foliage and blend well with practically every color. It makes a superb front-of-the-border plant but can also light up a foundation planting. Height 18-24", Spread 2'. |
| Echinacea (Coneflower) |
| Big, bright flowers that first appear in late June and keep coming into September. Plants thrive in average soils and hot, dry conditions. Blooms last well as cut or dried flowers, and the large cone at the heart of the flower turns black as the seeds mature, adding further interest and providing winter nourishment for goldfinches. |
| Echinacea 'Magnus' |
| Petals are an especially vibrant carmine-rose shade and are held almost horizontally, making a more open face than the shuttlecock shape of the species. Height 3', Spread 2'. |
| Geranium (Cranesbill) |
| This is the true Geranium, not to be confused with the annual Pelargonium one sees everywhere in Summer. Perennial Geraniums are lovely plants with delicate foliage and wonderful flowers. |
| Geranium himalayense x 'Johnson's Blue' |
| Covers itself with a mass of lavender-blue flowers from May to July. Height 24", Spread 18-24". |
| Geranium sanguineum |
| A vigorous and free-flowering plant. It forma a mound of deeply divided, dark green leaves, the perfect foil for the purplish red blooms, which cover the plant in May and June and continue to open until frost. Drought tolerant. Height and Spread 18". |
| Hemerocallis (Daylily) |
| Daylilies are the plants every gardener dreams of. They offer glorious flowers in every shade except blue, a long season of bloom (though individual flowers last but a day), and a robust disposition that makes them easy to transplant, easy to maintain, quick to multiply, and free from pests. Planted together in large numbers, they quickly crowd out weeds and make a carefree and colorful ground cover. |
| Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns' |
| This variety combines the best qualities of it's parent, 'Stella de Oro'. Like 'Stella', it blooms indefatigably, producing small, ruffled flowers from mid-June until October on 18" stems. Height 18", Spread 2-3'. |
| Hemerocallis 'Hyperion' |
| Very large, canary yellow flowers are carried in profusion above vigorous clumps of grasslike foliage. Although 'Hyperion' has been around since 1925, it remains unsurpassed in it's color class and blends well with almost any other daylily. The flowers retain a light sweet fragrance. Blooms mid-July through August. Height 4', Spread 2-3'. |
| Liatris (Gayfeather) |
| Liatris is excellent for cutting, superb for drying, and beautiful in the border, where it looks best planted in groups. It is also a strong favorite of butterflies. |
| Liatris spicata 'Kabold' |
| This is almost a dwarf, it belongs near the front of the border. Flowers are reddish lilac. Height 24-30', Spread 2'. |
| Nepeta (Catmint) |
| Most are thrifty plants that offer deliciously fragrant, gray green foliage and numerous spikes of small flowers, generally in the blue to purple range, that appear over many weeks beginning in early Summer. They are durable, hardy, pest-free, and heavy flowering. |
| Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' |
| This Nepeta is a low grower, but low is a relative, meaning in this case about 2' tall, maybe 3' wide, so it's a plant of some consequence. Clouds of small purplish blue flowers carried on 8-9" spikes for several weeks in mid-Summer. Plants are improved by a rough shearing after bloom which encourages a repeat flush of flowers. Height 2', Spread 3-4'. |
| Perovskia (Russian Sage) |
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One of the great garden plants of all time. This semiwoody perennial carries a cloud of small blue flowers on stems that grow 3-4’ tall and wide. The effect is an airy haze of soft blue against silvery gray foliage. Bloom begins in July and continues nonstop through September. Plants are vigorous and hardy, ignoring heat, drought, and pests, while always looking fresh. |
| Perovskia atriplicifolia |
| Small blue flowers, silvery gray foliage. Blooms July to September. Height 3', Spread 3-4'. |
| Rudbeckia (Coneflower) |
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One of the best loved and most valuable garden plants, the Black-eyed Susan. Deep golden yellow daisies and upright habit. Blooms prodigiously from late July to early October and positively lights up any real estate where it makes its home. No insects seem to touch it. |
| Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldstrum' |
| Gold daisy-like flowers with sooty-black centers. Extremely durable. Height 30-40", Spread 2-3'. |
| Salvia (Sage) |
| Most offer spikes and densely packed flowers in shades of pink and purple and bloom for long periods of time. They are especially valuable for they ignore heat and go steadily about the business of making flowers. |
| Salvia x superba 'Blue Hill' |
| True blue flower spikes. Height 20", Spread 2'. |
| Salvia x superba 'May Night' |
| This long bloomer provides gardeners with the deepest, darkest violet-blue flowers to be found among the perennial Sages, and it blooms from May into August. Height 2', Spread 2-3'. |
| Sedum (Stonecrop) |
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A large genus of fleshy-leaved plants whose exotic forms and arresting colors make them extraordinarily useful in a wide range of garden situations. |
| Sedum 'Autumn Joy' |
| Leaves are blue-green, thick, and succulent. The flowers, which open in August on 18-24” stems, start rosy pink, deepen to salmon and then to rust, and finally turn rich brown in an evolution that takes place over many weeks. The blooms are long lasting in a vase and are superb dried. Butterflies love the blooms, too. Height 18-24", Spread 2'. |
| Veronica (Speedwell) |
| Veronicas offer some of the richest and truest blues to be found in the plant world. Long blooming and beautiful. |
| Veronica spicata 'Blue Charm' |
| Sky blue flower spikes, lush glossy dark green foliage. Height and Spread 15-18". |
| Veronica spicata 'Goodness Grows' |
| From May to October, it brandishes spike after spike of deep blue flowers on 12-14” stems. Height and Spread 14-18". |
| Veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue' |
| Dark violet-blue flower spikes, dark green glossy foliage. Upright growth habit. Blooms from May to October. Height and Spread 18". |
| SHADE LOVING PERENNIALS: |
| Brunnera (Siberian Bugloss) |
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This rugged perennial has tiny, brilliant sky blue flowers that twinkle against its large, dark green, heart shaped foliage. This tough, low-maintenance plant makes a fine ground cover. |
| Brunnera macrophylla |
| A showy plant in flower and foliage. Blue flowers emerge from the heart shaped leaves in early spring. Height and Spread 18-24". |
| Dicentra (Bleeding Heart) |
| The common name derives from the unusual heart shape of the flowers arriving in large arching sprays. Foliage is silvery blue and delicate. |
| Dicentra exima 'Luxuriant' |
| This hybrid throws reddish pink flowers in abundance from May to October on a neat 15” plant. The foliage is blue-green and finely divided, which would make ‘Luxuriant’ an attractive ground cover if it never bloomed. But it never stops. Height 15", Spread 15-18". |
| Dicentra spectabilis |
| The old-fashioned Bleeding Heart has been a garden favorite for years. It’s a substantial plant that grows up to 3’ tall and as wide and bears long, arching racemes of heart-shaped pink flowers. Blooms start in early May and last for several weeks. Plants often go dormant in the summer heat. Long-lived and reliable year after year. Height 3', Spread 3-4'. |
| Doronicum (Leopard's Bane) |
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Leopard’s Bane is the perennial equivalent of the springtime favorite, forsythia. It bursts forth in all its golden glory in early spring to announce that winter is over, and is one of the first daisies to bloom. Leopard’s Bane makes an excellent, long-lasting cut flower. |
| Doronicum caucasicum |
| Golden yellow flowers in early spring against deep green heart shaped leaves. Has a tendency to go dormant especially in hot, dry spells. Height and Spread 12-18". |
| Epimedium (Barrenwort) |
| This charming perennial represents an under-used genus of rugged but delicate-looking plants with lovely flowers, very showy spring foliage, and a tough, no-nonsense ground cover habit. The spurred blossoms sit like jewels atop 10-15” foliage that is pale bronze in spring and turns greener in summer. |
| Epimedium x rubrum |
| Red Epimedium. Bright red flowers against large leaves brushed with red in spring. Height and Spread 10-15”. |
| Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum' |
| Pale yellow flowers, delicate foliage. This one is especially cold hardy. Height and Spread 10-15”. |
| Helleborus (Hellebore) |
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Blooms in late winter, making it the first plant to flower in the spring. Foliage is evergreen and leathery, often divided into serrated fingers arranged in the shape of a fan. |
| Helleborus niger |
| Christmas Rose. These rugged plants have pure white blossoms, tinged pink as they mature. Foliage is leathery and dark green. Height and Spread 12-18”. |
| Helleborus orientalis |
Lenten Rose. One of the finest early flowering plants known, with large, leathery green leaves that are evergreen. The nodding, 2” flowers open in very early spring and persist for up to 8 weeks. They are variable in color and size, with shades running from white to deep dusky-rose. Height and Spread 12-18”. |
| Heuchera (Coralbell) |
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An easy-to-grow, rosy-flowered species. The foliage provides a pleasant background for the showy flower spikes and remains attractive all season. Good for borders. |
| Heuchera 'Bressingham Hybrids' |
| Bright green foliage and deep rose-red, bell-shaped flowers. Foliage is delicate and evergreen. Height and Spread 15-18”. |
| Heuchera 'Chocolate Ruffles' |
Chocolate-bronze foliage, highly ruffled. Beautiful. Flowers are white and airy. Height and Spread 15-18”. |
| Hosta (Plantain Lily) |
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Hostas have many handsome leaf colorations and lavender or white Lily-like flowers, which show in late summer on graceful stalks. Plants like a moist location but also tolerate dry shade. |
| Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans' |
| Long the standard in blue-leaved Hostas. Flowers are whitish and show in midsummer on 40” stems. One of the most valuable garden plants known, because this graceful beauty tolerates dry shade. Height 30”, Spread 2-3’. |
| Hosta 'Golden Tiara' |
Heart-shaped leaves with a wide golden margin. Compact and a quick grower. Flowers are lavender and show in midsummer. Height 12”, Spread 30”. |
| Hosta 'Krossa Regal' |
Large, frosty blue leaves with a heavy substance, forms a vase-shaped clump. Flowers are lavender and show in midsummer on 5-6’ stems. |
| Hosta 'Patriot' |
| This is one of the most exciting Hostas to come along in some time. The foliage is dark green with a broad, wavy margin of pure white, creating an especially strong and highly visible contrast. It quite literally brings light to shade. Plants grow vigorously to 15-20” tall and nearly twice as wide, and throw lavender flowers on 26” scapes in August. Height 15-20”, Spread 30-40”. |
| Hosta 'Royal Standard' |
| Fragrant whte flowers in midsummer on 3’ stems, glossy green foliage. Height 26”, Spread 3-4’. |
| Polygonatum (Solomon's Seal) |
| Graceful, arching, unbranched stems; pairs of 1” white flowers hang down from the axils of the leaves. The flowers are fragrant making them particularly delightful on a warm spring day. This plant is useful for adding elegance to shady locales. |
| Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' |
| Leaves are bright green, edged in white. This coloration makes a shady spot positively sparkle all season long. White fragrant flowers. Height and Spread 18-24”. |
| Vinca (Periwinkle) |
| Extremely useful as a ground cover, it spreads to form dense plantings that remain attractive all year. In the spring it provides a galaxy of flowers that are usually a brilliant sky blue. In summer, the glossy, rich green foliage provides a fresh coolness; in winter, the foliage turns an appealing dark green in contrast to the predominant surrounding shades of gray and brown. |
| Vinca minor |
| Dark green foliage, brilliant sky blue flowers in spring. Evergreen foliage. Height 6-12”, Spread Variable. |