Browse Plants

Variegated sweet flag is a deciduous, aquatic perennial with 5-foot-long bright green leaves with creamy, longitudinal stripes. Its flowers are insignificant, but its leaves are aromatic and resemble the foliage of an iris. Sweet flag makes a striking statement at the shallow end of a pool, in a bog garden, or in a marshy woodland area.

This dwarf cultivar of grassy-leaved sweet flag (to 10 inches tall and 6 inches wide) has linear fans of semi-evergreen, glossy, pale green and cream-striped leaves that have an overall golden effect. This is an aquatic perennial with showy foliage for shallow water margins.

This aquatic perennial is semi-evergreen and showy, with grassy, striped foliage that reaches less than 1 foot tall. The species is native to East Asia. Use it in a situation where its diminutive size can be appreciated along the margins of a pool or in a bog garden.

Compact, easy care and drought tolerant, Blue Storm is one of the Storm™ series of agapanthus that produce more flower stems than any other agapanthus.   In fact, Blue Storm flowers on average 10 weeks per season (up to two to three weeks longer than most other varieties). -Anthony Tesselaar Plants

(1 user review)

Black foliage and spiky blue flowers (which appear in early summer) make a dramatic contrast. 'Black Scallop' thrives in full sun, which intensifies the black color. In full sun, the plant produces numerous runners, which should be thinned to prevent crown rot. In large plantings, you can run a rotary mower with a bagger attachment over the patch to control crowding and keep the foliage fresh. In mixed container plantings, the spilling habit of the plant makes it a standout choice. -Ron Smith, Regional Picks: Upper Plains, Fine Gardening issue #120

This beautiful ornamental grass has upright, glossy green foliage and interesting, animated leaf tips that resemble party favors. Evergreen to 25°F, these plants gain reddish purple hues in the fall and winter. This plant is extremely adaptable—it thrives in desert and damp conditions, it is used for erosion control, and it works well in containers or as a screen. It looks especially beautiful when backlit by the sun.

(9 user reviews)

Growing to less than 2 feet tall and wide, 'Purple Dome' covers itself with semi-double, deep purple, daisy-like flowers from late summer to midfall. In addition to being mildew resistant, it attracts butterflies. It's great as a border specimin and as a cut flower.

This spectacular perennial hybrid has 18-inch-tall spires of buttery yellow flowers in late spring and beautiful blue-green foliage throughout summer. Tough, exceptionally drought tolerant, and extremely long-lived, it's the southern substitute for the much sought-after lupine. 'Carolina Moonlight' has an adaptable, easy-to-grow nature and makes a great companion for other rugged plants such as ornamental grasses.

(2 user reviews)

Spotted bellflower has heart-shaped foliage on a creeping rhizome with tubular, bell-shaped creamy white to dusky pink flowers with red spots and hairs. This foot-tall bellflower is native to Siberia and Japan.

(1 user review)

This sedge is one of the most adaptable of the ground-cover grasses. Its ability to look the same in sun or shade makes it a valuable asset in plantings that go in and out of full sun. Berkeley sedge is a good solution for areas under stress where lawn grasses often fail. The flowers are not particularly noteworthy.

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.

(1 user review)

This basal branching cordyline combines the rugged easy-care attributes of its cordyline cousins with an unusual mix of shiny dark color, compact bushy form, short stems and cascading grass-like leaves.

(1 user review)

This mat-forming species with dark green leaves is one of the easiest to grow.  Blossoms range from white to red and are usually single and without fragrance. Use as bedding or in rock gardens.

(1 user review)

This mat-forming species with narrow, dark green leaves is one of the easiest to grow. Blossoms with red eyes open in early summer and may rebloom if sheared back after flowering.

This compact species has cobweb-like, woolly foliage. The unique spherical flowerheads appear steely blue before maturing to a brighter blue. The late summer flowers add charm of form and texture to a mixed border.

From late spring until fall, Boer love grass puts on a glorious display as inflorescences that emerge silver and dry to gold dance up to 2 feet above the fine-textured clump of foliage. The show is shorter in humid climates.

This sturdy groundcover is fast becoming one of the most dependable grasses for creating drought-tolerant meadows. Clumping evergreen foliage is a rich khaki green and grows in an arching clump. The flowers, while noticeable, are not showy. Atlas fescue is at its best in groups and grows in all but hot, humid, and low desert climates.

Thick rhizomes and stout, sprawling stems guarantee this hardy geranium survivor status. It forms dense mats of foliage in no time, making a perfect large-scale groundcover. The foliage is aromatic, particularly when touched, and transforms to red in fall. The magenta-pink flowers are conspicuously veined. 'Bevan's Variety' grows to slightly more than a foot tall with indefinite spread.

Bold, large, shield-shaped leaves with a deep green center and creamy-white margins turn white with age. Funnel-shaped mauve flowers borne on leafy scapes 32 inches long appear in midsummer.