The fine, upright stems of Calamintha are covered with small, shiny, dark green leaves, forming a little bush from 12 to 18 inches tall, and twice as wide.  In late August, it produces a cloud of infinitesimal pale lavender flowers that continue blooming for up to six weeks. As the days become cooler, the color of the tiny, lipped blossoms deepens.  As a member of the mint family, it spreads, but is not invasive but fragrant foliage.

• Height: 1’-3’  x Spread:  1’-3’
• Full sun or part shade
• Zone 4-9

One of the most popular Bellflowers. Plants form a low, cushion-shaped mound of small green leaves, with loads of upfacing, open bells appearing in early summer. This selection has flowers in a clear medium-blue shade. Will continue blooming for weeks if spent blossoms are regularly removed. Excellent choice for the rock garden, edging and in containers. Performs especially well in regions with cool nights during the summer. Plants should be divided every 2 to 4 years, in spring or fall.

• Height: 6”-12” x  Spread: 8”-12”
• Full sun-part shade
• Zone 2-9

Plants form a low, cushion-shaped mound of small green leaves, with loads of upfacing, open bells appearing in early summer. This selection has clear white flowers. Will continue blooming for weeks if spent blossoms are regularly removed. Excellent choice for the rock garden, edging and in containers. Performs especially well in regions with cool nights during the summer. Plants should be divided every 2 to 4 years, in spring or fall.

• Height: 6”-12” x  Spread: 8”-12”
• Full sun – part shade
• Zone 2-9

This is a spotted bellflower cultivar that features pendulous cherry-red bells to dusky rose. It is an upright perennial which typically grows 1-2' tall. Large, tubular, bell-like flowers (to 2" long) are cherry red with inside spotting. Flowers droop from arching leafy stems over a long late spring to early summer bloom period. Stems rise up from basal rosettes of rounded, toothed, medium green leaves (to 5" long).

• Height: 6”-12” x  Spread: 8”-12”
• Full sun – part shade
• Zone 5-8

‘Sarastro’ is a clumping, hybrid bellflower (reportedly C. punctata x C. trachelium) noted for its unique flowers.  Beginning late spring & through summer 'Sarastro' has eighteen to thirty inch stems of large pendant bellflowers of a glistening almost wet-looking nearly blue shade of purple, or deepest blue-violet, ever so slightly pinched at the mouth to approach the appearance of elongated balloons.

• Height: 6”-12” x  Spread: 8”-12”
• Full sun – part shade
• Zone 5-8

This low growing shrub can be maintained as a three foot border perennial by being cut to ground in winter. In warmer climates and fertile soil, they can be additionally pruned in early summer for a more compact size in the oncoming bloom season.  Flowers are pale blue that cover the plant in late summer and autumn for many weeks. In ideal conditions, there may also be a light bloom spell in spring. The foliage is a small silvery-green that provide an attractively textured mound between bloom flushes.  It grows best in full sun with moderate amounts of water, in average to rich well-drained bedding soil.

• Height: 2' - 4' x Spread: 2-3'
• Full sun
• Zone 5-9

“Dark Knight” has the deepest blue color of them all. Its tidy, upright growth habit and profusion of flowering spikes make it an essential part of the summer landscape. A reliable performer, “Dark Knight” flowers heavily every year. Of modest size, this is a highly versatile small shrub for the front of sunny beds and borders. It is ideal as a single specimen or in groups of three or more. Excellent choice for late-summer color in compositions featuring lower growing, shrubbier herbs and woody perennials. It is also quite attractive along white picket fences or to flesh out raised planters.  Small enough to fit nicely into city gardens and town-house yards.

• Height: 3-4’ x  Spread: 4’
• Full sun
• Zone 5-7

An outstanding cultivar, ‘First Choice’ is different from other varieties because of its tight branching habit and deep, deep blue late-summer flower spikes. Blooming after ‘Longwood Blue’, plant them both to have several months of flowering. Caryopteris is also a superb shrub for providing nectar for butterflies and other pollinators. Plant in non-clay soils and irrigate deeply but infrequently.

• Height: 3-4’ x  Spread: 4’
• Full sun
• Zones 5-7

Bluebeard (also commonly called blue spirea or blue mist) is a low-mounded, deciduous shrub that is valued for its aromatic foliage and late summer flowers which are said to resemble clouds of blue smoke or mist. X clandonensis hybrids typically produce about 18-30" of growth per year, so total shrub height (usually from 2-3') depends in large part upon the extent of winter dieback and/or the annual spring pruning. 'Heavenly Blue' is a compact cultivar that features a profuse, shrub-covering bloom of fragrant, periwinkle blue flowers in terminal and axillary clusters (cymes) from late summer into fall. Ovate to lance-shaped, silvery-gray leaves (to 1.5" long). Foliage is aromatic when brushed with a hand. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects.

• Height: 3-4’ x  Spread: 4’
• Full sun
• Zone5-7

'Worchester Gold' features golden, ovate to lance-shaped leaves (to 1.5" long) and a profuse, shrub-covering bloom of fragrant, light lavender-blue flowers in terminal and axillary clusters (cymes) from late summer into fall. Foliage is aromatic when brushed with a hand. Flowers are very attractive to butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. Foliage has a tendency to turn more green, less gold in part sun exposure.

• Height: 3-4’ x  Spread: 4’
• Full sun
• Zone 5-7

Centaurea montana is an erect, stoloniferous, clump-forming perennial which features solitary, fringed, rich blue cornflowers (2" diameter) with reddish blue centers and black-edged involucre bracts. Flowers appear in late spring atop unbranched stems typically growing 1-2' tall. Gray-green, lance-shaped lower leaves to 7" long. Commonly called mountain bluet, perennial cornflower or perennial bachelor's button.

• Height: 1’- 2’ x Spread: 1’ -1.5’
• Full sun
• Zone 6-8

This is a well-branched, bushy, clump-forming, woody-based perennial which is valued for its ability to produce a showy bloom in poor soils from spring to frost. Late summer to fall bloom can be quite sporadic, however. 'Albus' is a white-flowered form of the popular red valerian. Small, star-shaped, white flowers appear in dense terminal clusters (cymes) atop upright to relaxed stems rising above the foliage to 3' tall. Flowers are fragrant. If not deadheaded, flowers give way to dandelion-like seed heads which are disbursed around the landscape by wind. Fleshy, gray-green, oval to lance-shaped leaves to 4" long.

• Height: 1.5’- 3’ x Spread: 1’- 2’
• Full sun to part shade
• ,Zone 5-8

Plumbago (also commonly called leadwort) is a wiry, mat-forming perennial which spreads by rhizomes to form an attractive ground cover. Typically grows 6-10" tall on generally erect stems rising from the rhizomes. Oval to obovate, shiny, medium green leaves (to 2" long) turn bronze-red in autumn. Terminal clusters of 5-petaled, gentian blue flowers (1/2 to 3/4" diameter) appear above the foliage over a long summer to frost bloom period. Flowers resemble those of woodland phlox.  It is an amazing yet underutilized ground cover.

• Height: 0.75’- 1’ x Spread: 1’-1.5’
• Full sun to part shade
• Zone 5-9

This native species is a stiffly erect, clump-forming, leafy-stemmed, Missouri native perennial which typically grows 2-3' tall and occurs in moist woods, swampy areas and along streams mostly in the southeastern part of the State. Hooded, snapdragon-like, two-lipped, white flowers with a tinge of pink appear in tight, spike-like terminal racemes from late summer into autumn. Flowers purportedly resemble turtle heads. Coarsely-toothed, lance-shaped, dark green leaves. Synonymous with C. obliqua 'Alba'.

• Height: 2’-3’ x Spread: 1.5’- 2.5’
• Full sun - part shade
• Zone 3-8

This species of turtlehead (sometimes called pink turtlehead) is an upright, clump-forming, rhizomatous plant which typically grows 2-4' tall on stiff, square stems and is native to the southern Appalachians. Hooded, snapdragon-like, two-lipped, clear pink flowers (to 1" long) appear in tight, spike-like terminal racemes from late summer into fall. Flowers purportedly resemble the heads of open-mouthed turtles. Coarsely-toothed, ovate to broad-lanceolate, dark green leaves (to 6" long).  Turtlehead is a valuable problem solver for poorly drained sites. Well suited to middle of the perennial border and blended into mixed plantings. Super foundation plant where drainage is problematic.

• Height: 2’-3’ x Spread: 1.5’- 2.5’
• Full sun - part shade
• Zone 3-8

Turtlehead is a valuable problem solver for poorly drained sites. Wide adaptability to radically differing climates and as a North American native it has all the qualities of a superior perennial. Well suited to middle of the perennial border and blended into mixed plantings. Super foundation plant where drainage is problematic. A natural plant for wild gardens and those composed of locally native species. Its native habitat promotes excellent performance around bogs and water gardens where soils may be perennially moist from splash and spay.  Plant in irregular groupings for masses of foliage and flowers.

• Height: 2’-3’ x Spread: 1.5’- 2.5’
• Full sun - part shade
• Zone 3-8

This species of turtlehead is a stiffly erect, clump-forming Missouri native perennial which typically grows 2-3' tall and occurs in moist woods, swampy areas and along streams. Hooded, snapdragon-like, two-lipped, deep rose flowers appear in tight, spike-like terminal racemes from late summer into autumn. Flowers purportedly resemble turtle heads. Coarsely-toothed, lance-shaped, dark green leaves.

• Height: 2’-3’ x Spread: 1.5’- 2.5’
• Full sun - part shade
• Zone 3-8

This native species is a stiffly erect, clump-forming, leafy-stemmed, Missouri native perennial which typically grows 2-3' tall and occurs in moist woods, swampy areas and along streams mostly in the southeastern part of the State. Hooded, snapdragon-like, two-lipped, white flowers with a tinge of pink appear in tight, spike-like terminal racemes from late summer into autumn. Flowers purportedly resemble turtle heads. Coarsely-toothed, lance-shaped, dark green leaves. Synonymous with Chelone glabra.

• Height: 2’-3’ x Spread: 1.5’- 2.5’
• Full sun - part shade
• Zone 3-8

Chrysogonum is a native ground cover known for both its foliage and flowers with toothed, light green, triangular leaves and dark yellow, slightly notched, star shaped flowers that bloom well above the foliage and have contrasting brown stamens. The flowers appear abundantly in the spring and fall, but tend to die down in the heat of the summer except in the cooler zones. Prefers morning sun and afternoon shade.

• Height : 3”-6” x Spread: 18”-24”
• Sun-part shade
• Zone 5-10

A long blooming native groundcover that’s suitable for the front of the garden as well as for naturalizing and rock or alpine gardens. Brightens a shady spot with its golden yellow, daisy-like flowers.  Covered in flowers throughout spring.  A cheery presence in any garden, much like its name sake!

• Height: 8-10” x Spread: 1’-3’
• Sun to part shade
• Zone 6-8

Maryland golden-aster provides a low, sturdy rosette effect until late summer when its flowering branches lift clusters of yellow, aster-like flowers 1 ft. off the ground. The foliage is woolly when young, becoming smoother with age but retaining its silvery look. The fruiting heads of this perennial are attractive.  Does well in dry soil.

• Height: 2’-3’ x Spread: same
• Full sun
• Zone 4-7

A stately plant with airy wands of ivory-white flowers in summer towering over the gorgeous dark green foliage with purple/chocolate stems. Though it can reach 4 to 7 feet tall, it does not need staking.  Excellent nectar and pollen source for beneficial insects and an important host plant for Appalachian blue and spring azure butterfly.  It blooms in shade for over 4 weeks and will grow in the dry soil even under hardwood trees.  It is long-lived, tough and easy to grow.  C. racemosa.

• Height: 4’-7’ x  Spread: 3’+
• Part shade – shade
• Zone 5-9

This Cimicifuga is a good plant for the mid to back of border and is highly adaptable  It is even perfect for damp, poorly drained soil or even soil that becomes dry. It is attractive near a water feature, pond or stream. It bears fragrant creamy-white flowers in the fall.  There is some contention that this named variety may be Cimicifuga Americana; they are likely synonymous.

• Height: 4’-5’ x  Spread: 3’+
• Part shade – shade
• Zone 5-9

Intense purple leaves have fragrant white bottlebrush flowers are produced in fall. Excellent for late season color. Because Cimicifuga is deer  resistant it is very attractive in a woodland garden or at the wood’s edge.  C. racemosa ‘Brunette’

• Height: 4’-5’ x  Spread: 3’+
• Part shade – shade
• Zone 5-9

Of the hundreds of varieties of Clematis plants, we believe that this Tibetan Clematis is among the most beautiful.  The plant blooms abundantly from the middle of the summer until near the end of fall.   When fully open, the bright yellow flowers contain a center of crimson. It leaves behind some very interesting moppy silvery seed heads that are equally as pleasant for garden viewing.  The bright green, small toothed leaves give way to an explosion of bright yellow flowers in summer that continues into fall.  It is truly a choice species for its bright yellow color which is rare in Clematis.

• Vine: 15’ – 20’
• Full sun - part shade
• Zone 4-11

False or Cumberland Rosemary is a very rare plant known only from several counties in Tennessee and Kentucky where it grows on gravelly river banks which are seasonally flooded and then left dry in the summer. This NATIVE plant looks like a semi-prostrate rosemary that is semi-evergreen. They are wonderfully and strongly scented in a sweet camphor smell.  It has white to palest lavender-blue flowers that appear in midsummer. It is best to plant Conradina in well-drained soil or pure sand in full sun. Use it for its fine bristly texture where a low plant is needed. It would be very effective at the edge of a retaining wall where passers-by might brush against the foliage releasing its pleasant scent.

• Height:  1’ x Spread: 3’
• Sun to light sun
• Zones 5-7

False or Cumberland Rosemary is a very rare plant known only from several counties in Tennessee and Kentucky where it grows on gravelly river banks which are seasonally flooded and then left dry in the summer. This NATIVE plant looks like a semi-prostrate rosemary that is semi-evergreen. They are wonderfully and strongly scented in a sweet camphor smell.  It has white flowers that appear in midsummer. It is best to plant Conradina in well-drained soil or pure sand in full sun. Use it for its fine bristly texture where a low plant is needed. It would be very effective at the edge of a retaining wall where passers-by might brush against the foliage releasing its pleasant scent.

• Height:  1’ x Spread: 3’
• Sun
• Zones 5-7

Lily of the valley is a perennial, rhizomatous plant. It does best in full to partial shade and moist fertile soil. It is propagated by division and plantings should be thinned when flowering becomes sparse. It has very dainty white, bell-shaped flowers which are very sweet vanilla smelling and bloom in early spring.  It is an excellent ground cover and can be grown under trees in shade. 

• Height: .5’- 1’ x Spread: 2’+
• Part shade to full shade
• Zones 3-8

'Nana' is a stoloniferous, dwarf cultivar which typically forms a foliage mat to 6-9" tall consisting of dense, bushy, slowly-spreading clumps of short, broad-oval, shiny deep green leaves (to 1-3" long). Numerous bright orange-yellow daisy-like flowers (1-2" diameter) with yellow rays (toothed at the tip) and yellow center disks appear singly on naked stems above the foliage in late spring to early summer. Sparse and intermittent rebloom may continue throughout the summer into fall if spent flowers are regularly deadheaded, however in hot summer climates like the St. Louis area plants often stop blooming in mid-summer with a rebloom occurring in fall after temperatures moderate. Ariculata means "eared" in reference to the ear-like lobes at the base of many of the leaves. Plants in the genus Coreopsis are sometimes commonly called tickseed in reference to the resemblance of the seeds to ticks.

• Height: ½ ‘ – ¾’ x Spread: same
• Full sun
• Zones 4-9

'Early Sunrise' is a compact coreopsis cultivar which features solitary, yellow, daisy-like, semi-double flowers (to 2" diameter) with yellow rays and darker yellow center disks atop slender, erect stems rising to 18" tall. Flowers typically bloom from late spring to late summer and sometimes well into fall, though bloom period can be much shorter if spent flowers are not regularly deadheaded.

• Height: 1.5’ – 2’ x Spread: same
• Full sun
• Zones 4-9

‘Sundancer’ PP is a dwarf coreopsis that is noted for its short height, double blossoms, continuous bloom and spreading growth habit. It typically grows to only 10” tall on stems clad with spatuate to lance-linear, green leaves (to 6” long). Bright yellow daisy-like double flowers (to 2” diameter) bloom in summer.

• Height: 1.5’ – 2’ x  Spread: 2’-3’
• Full sun
• Zones 4-9

An outstanding variety that blooms continuously. Keep deadheaded to promote extended bloom time.  ‘Sunray’ has double to semi-double yellow flowers that begin blooming in late spring and continue throughout the summer. The species is native to the central and southeast regions of the U.S.  They make excellent cut flowers and grow well in beds, borders or in containers

• Height: 1.5’ – 3’ x Spread: 2’-3’
• Full sun
• Zones 4-9

Long flowering variety. The frilly center is surrounded by a leather-brown ring, then back to a double row of outer yellow petals which makes this Coreopsis quite interesting in the garden.  Flowers typically bloom from late spring to late summer and sometimes well into fall, though bloom period can be much shorter if spent flowers are not regularly deadheaded.  Shorter than C. grandiflora.

• Height: 1.5’  x  Spread: same
• Full Sun
• Zones 5-8

Coreopsis rosea is noted for being the only coreopsis with pink flowers. It closely resembles C. verticillata in appearance and habit, but lacks the latter's heat and drought tolerance. 'American Dream' is a rhizomatous cultivar which typically grows in dense, bushy clumps to 18" tall. Features daisy-like flowers (1/2 to 1" diameter) with pink untoothed rays and yellow center disks. Flowers appear singly on short stalks in a profuse and lengthy summer bloom. Whorls of linear, grass-like leaves lend a fine-textured and airy appearance to the plant. Plants in the genus Coreopsis are sometimes commonly called tickseed in reference to the resemblance of the seeds to ticks.

• Height: 1.5’  x  Spread: same
• Full Sun
• Zones 5-8

This is a taller variety of the thread-leaf Coreopsis types. Bright golden-yellow flowers will be interspersed among the foliage to give a more relaxed look. Blooms most of the summer. The vibrant, eye-catching, daisy-like, yellow blooms make long-lasting cut flowers. Coreopsis is a North American native that is good for low-maintenance gardens.

• Height: 18”-24” x Spread: 12”-18”
• Full sun
• Zones 4-9

Threadleaf coreopsis typically grows in dense, bushy clumps. 'Moonbeam' is somewhat more compact than other C. verticillatas and features pale yellow, daisy-like flowers (1-2" diameter) with untoothed rays and darker yellow center disks. Flowers appear singly in loose clusters in a lengthy late spring to late summer bloom period which sometimes extends to first frost.  Shearing plants in mid-summer (early August) when bloom usually tapers down will encourage a fall rebloom.

• Height: 1.5’ – 2’ x Spread: same
• Full sun
• Zones 3-9

Thrives in poor, sandy or rocky soils with good drainage. Tolerant of heat, humidity and drought. Prompt deadheading of spent flower stalks can be tedious for a large planting, but does tend to encourage additional bloom. Plants may be sheared in mid to late summer to promote a fall rebloom and to remove any sprawling or unkempt foliage. 'Zagreb' can spread in the garden by rhizomes and self-seeding, particularly in moist fertile soils.

• Height: 1’-1.5’ x Spread: same
• Full sun
• Zones 3-9

This is a substantial perennial that requires a lot of space. Features a foliage mound of huge, crinkled, rounded, variably-sized, cabbage-like, green leaves which are usually deeply lobed. In early summer, profuse numbers of small, 4-petaled, white flowers (1/3" across) appear on strong, widely branching stems in a huge, baby's breath-like cloud of sweetly fragrant bloom which hovers above and nearly envelops the foliage mound. Flower show can be spectacular but lasts only 3 weeks.   Best grown in deep, fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates light shade. Foliage depreciates rapidly if soils are allowed to dry out. Does not perform well in the heat and humidity of the deep South. May need staking. Plants have tap roots and are best left undisturbed once established.  One of the many gifts of the beautiful and abundant Caucasus Mountains.

• Height: 4’- 7’ x Spread: 3’ – 4’
• Full sun
• Zones 5-8

This montbretia cultivar is an Alan Bloom hybrid (Crocosmia x Curtonus) which has flowers and foliage that are similar to gladiolus. A clump-forming plant that features tubular, nodding, scarlet red, one-sided flowers borne along the upper portions of stiffly arching, sometimes branched, flower scapes (stems) typically rising up to 3' tall and slightly above the narrow, sword-shaped, basal leaves. A good fresh cut flower which is frequently used in commercial floral arrangements, it is equally valuable in the landscape.

• Height: 2’- 4’ x Spread: 1’–2’
• Full sun to part shade
• Zone 5-9