New Perennials for 2008

This compact plant features citrus-scented, gray-green foliage and bright coral-orange flower spikes that appear in late June and last until September.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Container plantings

Height: 14-18"   Width: 12-14"    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Orange (Summer, Fall)

An old fashioned favorite with single flowers in shades of red, yellow and white beginning in late June to early July and blooming for weeks. Plants can reach a monstrous 8' tall.

Great For:

• Large border perennial
• Summer screening

Height: 5-8'   Width: 1-3'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Red, White, Yellow (Summer)

'River of Gold' is a very compact and early flowering variety that features bright golden yellow flower clusters in April on mounded plants of silvery-green foliage.

Great For:

• Rock walls near stonework
• Rock gardens and dry areas

Height: 6-8"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Mound, Rounded

Blooms: Yellow (Spring)

'Corbett' blooms profusely with butter-yellow dangling blooms from late April to May over glaucous gray-green foliage that forms airy compact mounds.

Great For:

• Accent perennial
• Naturalized with spring bulbs

Height: 8-12"   Width: 12-18"    Shape: Low, Upright

Blooms: Yellow (Spring)

The unique, upward-facing, light rose flowers of 'Clementine Rose' emerge in May and resemble a double clematis flower. The blooms will complement the graceful, blue-green lobed foliage nicely.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the spring border

Height: 12-18"   Width: 8-14"    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Red (Spring)

This selection produces a flat-topped cluster of white flowers with a yellow center that turns bronzy purple as the flowers age. Fine dark green foliage on sturdy stems complete the look.

Great For:

• Naturalized areas
• Accent perennial

Height: 2-4'   Width: 1-3'    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: White (Summer)

The gorgeous, creamy white, fluffy blooms of 'Milk and Honey' turn light pink as they age to create a soft bi-color effect. Deep green clumps of serrated foliage with slight marbling also appears during this plant's youth.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the shade border

Height: 28-32"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Upright

Blooms: Pink, White (Summer)

Intense spikes of hot pink blooms in late June to July, dark purple stems and dark green shiny foliage combine to make this astilbe a showstopper.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Woodland underplanting

Height: 16-18"   Width: 18-24"    Shape: Low, Upright

Blooms: Pink (Summer)

Gray-green fronds with red highlights form a semi-evergreen groundcover.

Great For:

• Woodland groundcover
• Shady container plantings

Height: 14-18"   Width: 1-3'    Shape: Low, Mat

Tolerant of most sun situations, 'Bressingham Ruby' produces dark, rosy-red, short stalked flower spikes from late May to June. Thick, glossy, deep green foliage turns shades of ruby-burgundy in fall and forms interesting neat clumps.

Great For:

• Accent border perennial
• Container and window box plantings

Height: 12-15"   Width: 12-18"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Red (Spring)   Fall Color: Red

This flower head's golden eye is ringed with fluted yellow petals rolled into a tube and notched at the tips. A much tougher and long-lived introduction than the species.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Naturalized in dry areas

Height: 15-18"   Width: 12-18"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Yellow (Summer)

Vivid, bright yellow, lacy foliage with soft primrose shadings sets the stage for fragrant purple flowers on red-tinted stems from late May to June.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Shaded containers or window box plantings

Height: 10-14"   Width: 12-16"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Purple (Spring)

The vivid red flowers of 'Fire Star' boast a deeper crimson eye, making this a "saturated red bicolor". Evergreen, glaucous, gray-green foliage provides a stark contrast for the shockingly bright flowers that exude the spicy scent of cloves.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Rock and heather gardens

Height: 6-8"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Red (Spring, Summer, Fall)   Fall Color: Green

Chartreuse leaves and peach colored stems give a new twist to this old fashioned plant. Fear not - 'Gold Heart' will still display a lovely chain of pink and white "hearts" in late May to June like other dicentra varieties.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Woodland underplanting

Height: 30-40"   Width: 2-3'    Shape: Medium, Vase

Blooms: Pink, White (Spring)

A big advantage over similar woodland dicentras, 'Candy Hearts' flowers for months, not just for a few spring weeks, and its deep pink hearts are held clear of foliage.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Woodland underplantings

Height: 12"   Width: 12-15"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Pink (Spring, Summer, Fall)

A set of shorter petals sprout from atop the cone while a "skirt" of rose-pink petals emerges from the bottom of the cone. 'Double Decker' blooms continuously from July to September. The double flower trait is best displayed in the second growing season.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Naturalized meadows

Height: 38-40"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Pink (Summer)

These spectacular flowers are more consistently double than other varieties and are held on shorter, stronger stems that are more able to support the heavy flower heads. 'Pink Double Delight' will bloom in profusion from mid-July to September.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the butterfly garden

Height: 24-28"   Width: 1-3'    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Pink (Summer, Fall)

With large, bright pumpkin-orange flowers from July to September and upright, well branched flowering stems, 'Tiki Torch' is a vigorous "must have" plant.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the butterfly border

Height: 26-32"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Orange (Summer, Fall)

Fluorescent orange daisies from earliest spring to late autumn create dazzling specimens that are ideal for mass displays. The glossy, dark green leaves develop a deep purple tinge in the winter months.

Great For:

• Mass plantings
• Accent perennial or cut flower

Height: 4-6"   Width: 8-10"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Orange (Spring, Summer, Fall)

Bright lilac-pink flowers erupt in mid-June and are overcast with a silvery sheen. The vigorous yet delicate gray-green foliage of 'Sateene' will form a compact mound.

Great For:

• Patio and walkway gardens
• Rock gardens and walls

Height: 6-8"   Width: 12-16"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Pink, Purple (Spring)

A soft pink-violet sport of 'Jolly Bee', the flowers are whiskered with dark veins and are produced from early summer into fall against compact mounds of mid green, dissected leaves with frost tracings. A red-orange fall color extends the season.

Great For:

• Patio and walkway gardens
• Naturalized mass

Height: 16-18"   Width: 16-24"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Pink (Summer, Fall)   Fall Color: Orange, Red

A great mix of flower forms and true colors - from anemone, picotee and spotted forms in colors ranging from dark reds, pinks, apricots and everything in between! 'Brandywine' will bloom heavily in early May once established.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Massed underplanting

Height: 12-18"   Width: 12-18"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Pink, Red (Spring)

Eye-catching 5" light pink flowers with a magenta eye and picotee edges appear over sturdy clumps of deep green, grass-like foliage.

Great For:

• Accent perennial
• Massed for naturalizing

Height: 22-28"   Width: 2-4'    Shape: Medium, Vase

Blooms: Pink, Purple (Summer)

Airy wands of white flowers appear in late June over gray-green foliage that is heavily veined with burgundy turning to silver.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Part sun underplanting

Height: 12-16"   Width: 12-18"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: White (Spring)

The deepest purple-mahogany of the late flowering coral bells, 'Mocha' features rounded palmate leaves and creamy white flowers late in July or early August.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Part-sun container or window box plantings

Height: 12-18"   Width: 18-24"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: White (Summer)

'Dolce Blackcurrant' features bold purple leaves with silver accents that are a striking accent in beds or pots.

Great For:

• Shaded underplantings
• Garden paths and edging areas

Height: 8-16"   Width: 16-20"    Shape: Low, Mound

Winter Interest: Structure

'Midnight Rose' features the deepest purple, almost black, lobed leaves that are speckled in hot pink. As the season progresses, the leaves become redder and the speckles become creamier. White flowers appear in July.

Great For:

• Accent perennial
• Part sun container or window box planting

Height: 10-12"   Width: 12-16"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: White (Summer)

The deep green, maple-shaped leaves of this variety have purple shadings and provide a handsome background for the 10" hot-pink blooms that "erupt" all over from July to September.

Great For:

• Accent perennial
• Border planting for moist locations

Height: 3-4   Width: 3-4'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Pink (Summer, Fall)

A more compact sport of hosta with wider, cream leaf margins. The center of the leaf darkens to blue-green and the margin lightens to ivory in summer. Lavender flowers will appear in July.

Great For:

• Garden paths and edging areas
• Shady underplantings

Height: 20"   Width: 20-24"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Purple (Summer)

A reverse sport of 'Great Expectations' with gold margins and blue-green centers. The leaf margin is bright golden yellow in spring and progresses to creamy white by midsummer. The heavily corrugated and thick leaves give rise to near white flowers.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Shade underplanting

Height: 24-26"   Width: 24-30"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: White (Summer)

Delightful pale blue standards and deep blue falls set this two-toned iris apart. Highly floriferous, it produces several stems topped with large flowers in June, and again in late summer.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the mid border

Height: 36-38"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Blue (Summer)

'Mother Earth' will produce bicolor fragrant flowers with lavender blue falls and creamy standards on strong stems in June and then again in the fall!

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the mid border

Height: 34-38"   Width: 18-24"    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Blue, White (Spring)

Silver leaves that are edged in deep green give rise to an abundant amount of deep rose flowers in June.

Great For:

• Shade ground cover
• Shady container or window box plantings

Height: 4-8"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Groundcover, Low

Blooms: Red (Spring)

Bright true-blue flowers that bloom all summer, dark green foliage amd a low-growing habit combine to make 'Heavenly Blue' an excellent plant for the sunny landscape.

Great For:

• Rock gardens
• Spreading groundcover

Height: 6"   Width: 12-15"    Shape: Low, Mat

Blooms: Blue (Spring, Summer)

A handsome, compact form of lupine with deep green, palmate foliage and bicolor spikes of blue and white in late May to early June.

Great For:

• Border specimen
• Naturalized meadows

Height: 18-20"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Low, Upright

Blooms: Blue, White (Spring)

Masses of hot pink blooms with coral overtones bloom from July to August on this tough and aromatic plant that is great for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. 'Coral Reef' also offers mildew resistant foliage.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the perennial border

Height: 36-40"   Width: 2-3'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Pink (Summer)

An earlier-blooming selection with lavender blue flowers set on dense, compact racemes. Sturdy upright stems and aromatic, light green, serrated foliage round out the form.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the summer border

Height: 2-3'   Width: 2-3'    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Purple (Summer)

The long stems of 'Jacorma' will produce fragrant, fully double, luminous pink flowers with deep magenta centers from late May to early June.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the border

Height: 32-36"   Width: 2-3'    Shape: Medium, Mound

Blooms: Pink (Spring)

'Bartzella' features fully double, very fragrant, bright yellow flowers that are up to 9" across! A cross between the traditional peony and the tree peony, this plant holds its flowers upright on strong stems and blooms for almost one and a half months.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the low maintenance border

Height: 34-36"   Width: 34-36"    Shape: Mound, Rounded

Blooms: Yellow (Spring, Summer)

Huge single to semi-double light red blooms appear from late May to June and mature to orange before finally aging to yellow. A cross between the traditional peony and the tree peony, this plant holds its flowers upright on strong stems.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the low maintenance border

Height: 28-30"   Width: 32-36"    Shape: Mound, Rounded

Blooms: Orange, Red, Yellow (Spring)   Fall Color: Red

This variety is a cross between herbaceous and tree peonies with the best attributes of both. Semi-double flowers up to 8" across in rich shades of gold, orange and red emerge in late May to June. Some years, it will surprise you with a rebloom!

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the low maintenance border

Height: 24-28"   Width: 24-28"    Shape: Mound, Wide

Blooms: Orange, Red, Yellow (Spring)   Fall Color: Red

Large, semi-double, yellow flowers with darker golden centers emerge during late May to June. A much sought after cross between the traditional peony and the tree peony, this plant holds its flowers upright on strong stems.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Large borders and beds

Height: 32-36"   Width: 32-36"    Shape: Mound, Rounded

Blooms: Yellow (Spring)

Sweetly fragrant, soft lavender flowers with deep red eyes surrounded by muted white halos appear during July and August on densely packed, multiple flower spikes. A sport of 'David', this selection is highly mildew resistant.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in large borders

Height: 38-42"   Width: 2-3'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Purple, White (Summer)

'Volcano Candy Stripe' features large trusses of fragrant, pink flowers with white stripes that last from late July to September over highly mildew resistant foliage. The strong stems are great for cutting!

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the large border

Height: 38-42"   Width: 1.5-2'    Shape: Upright

Blooms: Pink, White (Summer)

'Fran's Purple' is a more compact selection than other creeping phlox varieties and features stunning, fragrant, purple flowers in May and small, teardrop-shaped foliage that forms a carpet of dark green.

Great For:

• Accent shade perennial
• Woodland ground cover

Height: 8-10"   Width: 1-3'    Shape: Low, Mat

Blooms: Purple (Spring)

'Henry Eilers' features quill-like, true yellow petals with edges that roll inwards to form a slender tube. The flowers are produced en masse in August and September and the foliage has a sweet vanilla fragrance.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in large borders

Height: 4-5'   Width: 2-3'    Shape: Tall, Upright

Blooms: Yellow (Fall)

'Royal Crimson Distinction' flowers nonstop from May to June with royal crimson flower spikes. Fragrant green foliage creates tall, upright tall clumps to complete the look.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Rock and scree gardens

Height: 18-24"   Width: 12-18"    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Red (Spring)

A butterfly magnet! Scads of dark electric violet blossoms appear first in late June and continue through September. The glossy, deep green, divided foliage forms a graceful foil for other plants.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the butterfly garden

Height: 18-24"   Width: 12-24"    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Purple (Summer)

'Mr. Goodbud' produces strong stemmed plants with impressive masses of flowers in broad, overlapping, slightly domed heads. Each bud starts green, opens to cream, and then quickly turns a rich, reddish mauve.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the dry border

Height: 16-20"   Width: 14-24"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Pink, Purple (Summer)

Delicate light green foliage with a maiden hair fern look gives rise in late May to June to fluffy trusses of flowers on wiry stems in shades of purple, pink and white.

Great For:

• Naturalized in moist areas
• Accent plant for partsunto part shade

Height: 24-36"   Width: 1-1.5'    Shape: Upright

Blooms: Pink, Purple, White (Summer)

Large, airy flower trusses of light purple emerge in late May to June. The individual flowers have cream stamens and are carried on red-purple stems over foliage that is light gray-green and resembles maiden hair fern.

Great For:

• Naturalized meadows
• Accent plant for part sun or part shade

Height: 5-6'   Width: 1-1.5'    Shape: Upright

Blooms: Purple (Spring)

Simple, four-petaled flowers that are bright true blue with white centers are produced in abundance during late May and June. Shiny mats of deep green foliage that has copper-bronze highlights in fall complete the look.

Great For:

• Walkways and edging areas
• Rock gardens

Height: 8-10"   Width: 10-12"    Shape: Mound, Wide

Blooms: Blue (Spring)

'Blue Bouquet' is a compact plant that produces purple-blue flower spikes from July to September that are great for cutting. Glossy, deep green, disease resistant foliage set the stage for the blooms.

Great For:

• Accent perennial or cut flower
• Massed in the mid border

Height: 16-24"   Width: 1-2'    Shape: Medium, Upright

Blooms: Blue, Purple (Summer)

'Giles Van Hees' will produce loads of 6" spikes with hot pink flowers all season long over tidy mounds of lustrous, deep green, serrated foliage.

Great For:

• Patios and rock gardens
• Low borders

Height: 6"   Width: 10-16"    Shape: Low, Mound

Blooms: Pink (Summer)