Browse Plants

This subshrub from New Zealand has scalloped leaves that reach 3 inches across with 11 to 15 tiny, purple-brown to pale olive leaflets. Its rhizomatous roots spread in a mat to support this plant's wonderful ground-cover form. In early summer, the flower stems rise nearly 3 inches tall, ending with numerous 3/4-inch-wide flowers composed of brownish green sepals and white anthers. Purple sheep's burr spreads slowly until well established. It requires little attention, other than pruning every five years or so to tidy things up.

Ferns are perfect plants for providing light, airy texture to shady areas. Many ferns are grown and loved in our gardens, but one of the best is the southern maidenhair fern. This beautiful fern has fluffy, airy, elegant foliage, which works equally well in containers or in open ground.

Northern maidenhair fern spreads slowly by branching rhizomes and forms large colonies. The gracefully curved fronds have wiry black stems, which wave in the wind. Adequate moisture is needed to keep the frilly fronds in perfect shape during the growing season. Its delicate texture looks most beautiful when paired with broad-leaved plants.

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The blackness of this bugleweed's foliage dramatically complements its spiky blue flowers in early summer. The more direct the sun on the plant, the darker the foliage becomes. Full sun also produces a vigorous plant with numerous runners, which should be thinned to prevent crown rot. In large plantings, simply run a rotary mower with a bagger attachment over the area to control crowding and keep the foliage fresh. The spilling habit of the plant also makes it great for mixed container gardening.

This plant has lobed, densely hairy, chartreuse foliage that is crimped at the edges. Soft, frothy, yellow-green foliage hovers above the plant from early summer through autumn.

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This dark-leaved, tropical foliage plant loves heat, and is useful spreading through a bed, border, or in a container where its deep purple leaves can contrast with brightly colored flowers or foliage. Alternanthera are native to tropical and sub-tropical areas of Central and South America. Their flowers are generally an afterthought. This plant works well for edging, as an annual groundcover, or in a formal knot garden.

A. ficoidea ‘Red Threads’ is a slender-leaved perennial selection that doesn't wander, forming a textured carpet in shades of deep burgundy. A single plant makes a mound about 8 inches tall and 14 inches wide. It blooms on and off all year, but you may never notice. The small, pale flower buttons are held in the leaf axils, where they are nearly indistinguishable from the foliage unless you're paying close attention. Use 'Red Threads' at the base of taller plants in the border to provide vibrant color echoes or contrasts. Grow as a warm-season annual in cooler climates, mass the plants in beds, or use in a formal knot garden as the Victorians did.

'Yellow Form' Alternanthera is an easy-to-grow, tropical plant with a fast-spreading habit and pointed, chartreuse-yellow leaves. It forms a mat of color from spring's frost-free date to fall's first frost. Like others of this genus, it makes a great edging, bedding, or container plant. In formal landscapes, it can be used in a knot garden. It looks great with dark-leaved plants.

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This plant produces a great low-growing mat of flowers. The cheerful starlike blossoms come in pink, blue, and white, and the attractive finely cut leaves disappear soon after flowering.

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This is a fine plant for cascading over the edge of a wall. It's a hardy, prostrate shrub with intricate branching that often forms mats up to 3 feet wide, by runners. Fragrant, white bell-shaped flowers tinged with pink are borne in May and followed later in the season by red berries. The common bearberry's stunning red stems are studded with small, glossy, evergreen leaves.

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This wild ginger is an evergreen groundcover with heart-shaped, shiny leaves that are often marbled. Its interesting brown-purple flowers hide beneath the foliage.

This is a slow-growing ginger, but worth the wait. Its round evergreen green leaves have a prominent silver-white mottling.

This is a short-growing aster with lilac-blue flowers and creeping rootstocks. Many cultivars exist. It can be used on steep slopes for erosion control.

This is a short-growing aster has creeping rootstocks and pink, daisy-like flowers with yellow centers. It can be used on steep slopes for erosion control.

This striking, richly-textured, deciduous ground cover has heart-shaped leaves that turn mauve in autumn. Purple, blue, or white flowers appear in late summer to early fall.

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This fern has cool, grey-green, almost silvery, foliage and reddish-purple stalks that are useful for brightening dark spots in borders. It is deciduous, and although it reaches only 8 to 12 inches in height, it is easy to grow, prolific, and easily divided.

Easy-to-grow Japanese painted ferns are tolerant of clay soils, hot summers, and frigid winters. 'Burgundy Lace' sports a vivid color not previously seen in painted ferns. The low-growing clumps of stunning purple-bronze fronds frosted with shimmering silver offer dramatic contrast in shady borders and containers. It's perfect for edging pathways and is especially brilliant planted in groups. 'Burgundy Lace' thrives in humus-rich, moist soil but adapts to less-than-ideal conditions.

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All painted fern varieties have broad silvery leaves, but ‘Ursula’s Red’ differs in that the centers of its leaves have a wide, showy burgundy band in spring. Spreading from rhizomes, it quickly doubles its size in one growing season. Though deer do like it, it can quickly produce more fronds and may show no lasting ill effects.

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This tuberous begonia bears green heart-shaped foliage with red veining and claret-stained undersides that steal the show when backlit. Pendent clusters of slightly fragrant, satiny pink or white blossoms open from midsummer until frost. It makes a good perennial companion for ferns and hostas.