Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' (Hellebore)

This fairly new cultivar has a short mounded habit and dissected dark leaves highlighted by bright lilac-blue blossoms in spring. Trimming it back after flowering encourages more blooms in fall and helps maintain its neat habit. 'Dark Reiter' is slow growing, making it perfect for a rock garden, and like many other geraniums, deer tend to avoid browsing. Silver-toned foliage tends to pop when paired with this beauty.

A hardworking, compact perennial, ‘Etain’ violet blooms intermittently throughout spring, summer, and fall. It forms wellbehaved clumps, unlike other violets that are usually spreading ground covers. Like all violets, ‘Etain’ enjoys regular fertilizing, steady watering, and frequent deadheading. The attractive, fleshy, bright green foliage needs protection from slugs and can be cut back if it gets too leggy.

Deeply cut plum-purple leaves emerge in spring and stay true to color throughout the season. Lavender-blue flowers bloom beginning in late spring. 'Midnight Reiter' grows to only about 6 or 8 inches tall and twice as wide. More shade causes the foliage to be greener.

The first of the coveted blue corydalises to be introduced, it produces fragrant clusters of long-spurred, azure flowers on a compact plant.