Browse Plants

This neat, rounded shrub has given rise to many noteworthy cultivars. It grows to 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide, producing drooping clusters of delicate white blossoms in winter and spring. Use this shrub in a woodland, rock garden, container, or as a foundation plant.

This compact, rounded shrub produces reddish-purple buds that first open as soft-pink then mature to white. It grows to about 5 feet high and wide, making it a superb specimen for a container or small garden.

Prized largely for its foliage, this spreading evergreen perennial is grown as an annual or under glass.

Grown mainly for its velvety gray succulent leaves, this Australian native shrub can reach 3 feet high and wide.

Mayapple is a rhizomatous, native woodland perennial with leaves in the shape of an umbrella. They may form large colonies. In spring, white or pale pink waxy flowers are mostly hidden under the leaves. The greenish "mayapple" follows and is often eaten by wildlife. When fully ripe, the fruits may be used to make preserves or jellies, but they are toxic when unripe. Leaves and roots are poisonous. Plants often go dormant in the summer. Grow in a woodland garden.

This North American native bears deep blue or occasionally white, bell-shaped blossoms in spring and possibly late summer if deadheaded. It grows from 1 to 3 feet tall. Use Jacob's ladder in a lightly shaded border, rock garden, woodland, or cottage garden.

From late spring into summer, this species bears tubular greenish-white flowers that dangle underneath the arching stems. The foliage is smooth; in autumn it turns to clear yellow, contrasting with the blue-black berries this plant produces. Its height varies wildly from 1.5 to 6 feet tall.

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From late spring to early summer, this species bears pendent, green-tipped white flowers along arching stems. These mature into spherical black fruit in autumn, when the foliage turns yellow.

Gracefully arching 2 to 3-foot tall burgundy stems support narrow leaves streaked in pure white. From late spring to early summer, this species bears white flowers that mature into spherical black fruit in autumn, when the foliage turns a golden yellow. Variegated Solomon's seal is a fine choice for a shady bed. -Matt Griswold, Regional Picks: Northeast, Fine Gardening issue #27

Shrubby cinquefoil is a bushy deciduous shrub growing to 3 feet tall and 5 feet wide that has been bred to include a multitude of cultivars that bear flowers in a large array of colors including white, yellow, pink, peach, orange, and red. The flowers are small, single, and rose-like and appear continuously from late spring to early fall on finely textured , dark green foliage.  

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Carolina cherry laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree with shiny green leaves and bowl-shaped, fragrant white flowers borne in dense clusters in spring. The fruit is lustrous, cherry-like, and black.

A suckering deciduous shrub with a dense, rounded form, beach plum has dull green leaves that are pale green beneath. Single or double white flowers bloom in mid-spring, maturing to edible purple fruit.

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This short-lived shrub or small tree with feathery foliage is blanketed in late spring with fragrant, pea-shaped violet blooms with white wings. Though it is native to streamsides, scurf pea doesn't require extravagant watering and survives occasional drought. When the plants eventually die, they leave ample progeny and straight branches useful for garden stakes. Combine with azaleas and camellias, which bloom at the same time.

This cheerful, reliable plant brings a nice touch of color to the garden in spring. The leaves are pointed and hairy and splattered with silvery blotches. As the plant grows, the leaves overlap, creating a swirly pattern. In spring, clusters of silky pink flowers appear. They fade to a soft blue that harmonizes well with the leaf color. -Sue Whetten, Regional Picks: Rocky Mountains, Fine Gardening issue #127

Pasque flower blooms for 4 to 6 weeks in spring with fuzzy flower buds that open to 1.5-inch-wide purple flowers that dance in the breeze. Fuzzy, feathery seedheads take up the dance when the blooms end. By then, the felted leaves have pushed up to produce a lacy gray-green backdrop.

Developed by the National Arboretum, 'Teton' pyracantha has a striking upright form, reaching 12 feet tall or more, and orange to golden yellow fruit. It is also resistant to fireblight and scab. Less hardy than some other cultivars, only to Zone 6.

This easy-to-grow, pest-resistant pear resembles a Bradford pear in size and shape, with profuse white blooms in spring and great crisp fruit. There are 30 cultivars.

From Proven Winners: Twice as nice as other azaleas! Why settle for just a week or two of flowers when you can enjoy up to five months of blooms? Large flowers appear in April, then rebloom in early July, continuing through fall until hard frost. Even high summer temperatures don't stop this beauty from producing loads of late summer and fall flowers. The evergreen foliage is disease resistant, and maintains excellent color year-round. Flowering lasts for 4-6 weeks in spring, and then another 12-16 weeks in summer and fall. Available Spring 2012.

This narrow deciduous azalea bears fragrant, funnel-shaped, white, pink, or deep rose flowers. It grows to 15 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide. Mid-green leaves are densely hairy beneath.