Browse Plants

Clematis integrifolia is no longer only blue. This selection produces progeny with pink, white, and lavender blooms from midspring until late summer. The flowers are followed by attractive seed heads in fall. It has a compact, herbaceous form and grows to just 10 to 14 inches tall.

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Downy clematis is a hardy, deciduous early bloomer that can flourish in Zone 4. The species will climb to 10 feet with a little support, and it has bell-shaped, purple-blue, almost columbine-like flowers about 1 to 2 inches, sometimes up to 4 inches in diameter, that mature to fluffy, pinkish seed heads. Blooms appear in spring and early summer, sometimes followed by a second flush in late summer to early autumn

Piilu™ (‘Kivso’), which translates as “little duckling,” has pretty bicolored flowers with pale purplish pink margins and deep pink central bars. I’m particularly impressed by its prodigious flower production—it’s one of the most floriferous clematis I’ve ever grown. The open-faced flowers, 3 to 4 inches wide, are produced from early to late summer and are nicely distributed over the entire plant. The early flowers are supposedly semi-double, but I’ve only seen single flowers on our plants. This is a strong climber, reaching 6 feet tall with a narrow but full habit. For pruning purposes, Piilu™ blooms on old wood, so it can be lumped into group 1 or 2. This also means that it will flower earlier if there is no winter injury to the stems. -Richard Hawke, Big blooming clematis, Fine Gardening #146, page 51

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'Golden Tiara' is a vigorous, late-flowering climbing vine to 15 or 20 feet tall with intense golden-yellow, bell-shaped flowers that eventually fully open to reveal crimson filaments. It blooms profusely from midsummer to late fall. The seedheads are fluffy and attractive in their own right. Native to western China.

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This deciduous, late-flowering twining vine with deep green leaves and profuse, fragrant white flowers is easy to grow and will thrive and bloom in shade. Star-shaped blossoms are 1 inch across, appearing from late August to October and maturing to attractive, plume-like seed heads. The shiny green foliage is leathery.

This vigorous climber can easily cover a support of 8 to 10 feet tall once established. Finely textured, dense light-green foliage makes an excellent foil for dainty, pink and carmine teardrop-shaped flowers 2 inches across. Blooms appear in early August and continue well into autumn.

'Alba Luxurians' is a very tough, late-flowering climber with small flowers that open from midsummer to late autumn. White blossoms are sometimes faintly tinged with mauve when young, and are open, bell-shaped, single, and 2 to 3 inches across. Foliage is slightly gray-green.

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This large shrub offers a late-summer display of jasmine-like white flowers encased in red tepals and scent. Bright blue berries in autumn are accented by conspicuous bright, pinkish-red calyxes.

This upright, suckering shrub bears creamy white, deliciously spicy clove-scented flowers in dense, upright spikes that last four to six weeks in July and August. It is more compact than the species. Flowers mature to spikes of dark brown capsules that provide winter interest. Its oval, glossy dark green leaves turn a pleasant yellow in autumn.

Very fragrant, light pink bottlebrush flowers grace this native shrub in late summer and early fall, attracting butterflies and other insects and perfuming the garden for weeks. Plant it in beds or borders, in a woodland or shade garden, or at waterside. It also has nice fall color.

This summersweet is a sport of C. alnifolia 'Pink Spires'. Its fragrant, bottlebrush flowers are a darker pink; they attract butterflies, bees, and other insects in late summer and early fall. 'Ruby Spice' grows to about 4 to 6 feet tall and almost as wide, making this shrub suitable for a bed or border, a woodland or shade garden, or a waterside planting. Its yellow fall color extends the season of interest.

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Semi-erect, narrowly ovate leaves 7-10 inches long appear in spring and disappear by summer, followed by large, fully double, rosy lilac flowers resembling the blooms of a waterlily.

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Meadow saffron is a cormous perennial with erect, lance-shaped leaves 5 to 14 inches long. It bears 1 to 6 goblet-shaped, lavender-pink flowers in fall.

This vigorous cormous perennial has semi-erect, lance-shaped leaves 7 to 10 inches long that emerge in spring, then go dormant in late May. In September, it bears 1 to 3 leafless, goblet-shaped, intense pink flowers with yellow anthers and often white throats.

This little elephant ear has velvety dark leaves with prominent green veins and a large silvery central blotch. It reaches about 2 feet high.

A large, showy, marginal aquatic plant with heart-shaped, dark green leaves, taro can reach 5 feet tall and is often grown as a summer annual. Use it in a container or near water.

‘Black Beauty’ is my new favorite elephant’s ear. A mutation of ‘Illustris’, ‘Black Beauty’ is grown for its 2-foot-long, 1-foot-wide, dark purple leaves with green stems and green veins. Once established in my garden, this plant held onto its leaves through the heat and drought of summer in full sun, which is unusual for the dark-foliage forms of elephant’s ears: They tend to look less than lovely when temperatures rise above 90°F.
-Adrienne Roethling, Elephant's Ears, Fine Gardening issue #148, page 61

'Coffee Cups' is an unusual and relatively recent introduction. It has nearly black stems and  cup-shaped leaves. 'Coffee Cups' is a vigorous grower, and, with a height of 6 feet, it's a good choice for the back part of a border. -Andy Cabe, Regional Picks: Southeast, Fine Gardening issue #120

When breeder John Cho combined a black Colocasia and a glossy Colocasia, he created something shiny and new: ‘Diamond Head’. It is named after the volcanic cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, which makes sense because both the cone and plant are black and lustrous. The plant’s leaves reach at least 16 inches long and 1 foot wide. ‘Diamond Head’ performs best along the edge of a pond or submerged in a water feature. If left in dry conditions, its leaf edges burn. In shade, it loses luster and appears dark green instead of purple or black. That purple-black color is what makes ‘Diamond Head’ so special, so if the light conditions in your garden don’t suit it, you might want to choose another cultivar. -Adrienne Roethling, Elephant's Ears, Fine Gardening issue #148, page 60