Brilliant gold and cream-variegated foliage really brightens up a dark corner. Lavender flowers. August.

Every American Beauties garden should have a home for a plant this versatile and this easy to grow. Oval and upright, Spicebush is a perfect plant for grouping as a backdrop or screen in any garden in almost any location since it tolerates shadier, moist conditions without missing a beat. Tiny yellow-green flowers emerge before this plant’s pungent foliage develops, providing early season nectar to native bees and butterflies. Deep green leaves provide great summer cover for birds but it’s this plant’s red berries that have birds coming from far and wide to snack on, whether they are local natives or migratory birds passing through. Showy yellow fall foliage color will really stand out in the garden.

Upright and densely growing, this selection features glossy green foliage and whitish flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer. Black fruit follows in fall. Easy to grow and deer resistant. Excellent to plant in groups for hedges and privacy screens. Fruit and flowers attract butterflies and birds.

California privet is a large shrub with dense, semi erect stems that can reach up to 15′ high. It is one of the tried and true hedging plants with its uncanny ability to be trimmed and shaped into any formal or informal form and it even performs admirably in moist, partially shaded areas. Its steady growth and semi-evergreen dark, deep green leaves add to its allure as a backdrop or privacy screen. Large 2-4″ clusters of white, strongly fragrant flowers are produced in June and July followed by shiny black fruits that attract area songbirds. Like all Privet, California Privet thrives on neglect and is very tolerant. If using it as a hedge, be sure to install individual plants 12-15″ apart for the quickest cover and thickness.

Unlike ‘Desdemona’, ‘The Rocket’ is grown for its spires of bright yellow flowers. Yet the large 8-10″ leaves will create a beautiful mound 3-4′ tall and round, a real eye-catcher. July-August.

This sure-to-stun novelty sports large, serrated leaves that present themselves like landing pads beneath mustard yellow, rocket-shaped flower spikes. Add a touch of whimsy to your landscape with this fun new plant!

An American native best planted in drifts, Liatris ‘Kobold Original’ is a free spirit in the border, in the meadow or in the wild. With striking vertical lines, Blazing Stars add lift to the garden as stiff upright stems rise from a tuft of dark green, grassy leaves starting in July. The magenta-purple straplike petals of the many small blooms along the stiff flower stem create a unique bottle brush look that is outstanding and a magnet for bees and butterflies in search of nectar. Drought tolerance along with a compact habit makes it a great choice for containers or grouped in the middle of the garden. This Prides Corner Farms selection comes from divisions rather than a seed source, making ‘Kobold Original’ consistently shorter and more compact then the seed strain of Liatris ‘Kobold’.

‘Burning Love’ boasts pointed foliage changing from crimson red as it emerges, to dark green when mature, and dark burgundy red from autumn till spring, when it reverts back to green. A new introduction from the Netherlands. Its small, compact form makes this introduction virtually maintanence free, while exhibiting show stopping changes in color.

This evergreen is dense and showy with its rich mahogany and copper-toned new growth that really stands out against the glossy, green leaves. Native bees love the nectar from the fragrant, white, bell-shaped flowers that bloom in May. Its low, spreading form is perfect for grouping in shaded areas. 

Single 2-3″ white flowers all summer long if dead headed. Lustrous deep green foliage. Hardy and durable if planted in well-drained soil and full sun. June-July. 2003 Perennial Plant of the Year.