(Pineapple Weed, Ray-less Dogfennel)

A cousin to the herb chamomile, pineapple weed is encountered as a diminutive weed invading lawns, roadsides or other gravelly, unmanaged landscapes. It's native to western North America, but grows all across the continent today. With close examination, this annual may briefly intrigue you with its petalless flowers and frilly leaves that faintly smell of pineapple when crushed.

Pineapple weed will grow any time of year when frosts do not occur and temperatures are warm. The dark green leaves...

(Showy Medinilla)

Resembling grape clusters or an elegant pink chandelier, the pendent flowers of the showy medinilla contrast dramatically with the large, coarse, green leaves of this tropical shrub. Considered an evergreen epiphyte (having no roots in the ground and growing on another plant or support), it is native to the Philippines in the western Pacific. Its large, leathery, oval leaves are glossy dark green with light green veins. New leaves emerge a dull, gray-purple, unfurl, and turn green. The stems are...

(Cajeput Tree, Paperbark Tree, Punk Tree)

Perhaps the most famous tropical paperbark tree, punk tree's whitish tan bark peels and flakes in large sheets. A broadleaf evergreen tree from the eastern coast of Australia and eastern New Guinea, it typically attains an upright, open-branching form although specimens can become beautifully billowing and rounded.

The flat, oval, leathery leaves are deep green and may blush purple in the frosts of winter. Newly emerging leaves are shiny and pale green with soft hairs. In late summer but primarily...

(Butter Daisy, Melampodium)

A tried and true annual for hot weather, butter daisy will produce a colorful show of small golden daisies through the worst heat of summer into fall. This bushy annual originates from Central America where it has become adapted to hot, humid summer conditions. Established plants will also withstand periods of drought. Little to no deadheading is required to keep plants looking good.

The dense, well-branched stems of butter daisy are lined with opposite green leaves that are slightly fuzzy and...

(Butter Daisy, Million Gold Melampodium)

The compact and carefree 'Million Gold' has bright green foliage and produces a wealth of golden flowers that stand up to rain, high heat and even light frost. A tried and true annual for hot weather, butter daisy will produce a colorful show of small golden daisies through the worst heat of summer into fall. This bushy annual originates from Central America where it has become adapted to hot, humid summer conditions. Established plants will also withstand periods of drought. Little to no deadheading...

(Butter Daisy)

The compact 'Showstar' has lush green foliage and produces lots of larger-than-normal golden flowers that stand up to rain, high heat and even light frost. A tried and true annual for hot weather, butter daisy will produce a colorful show of small golden daisies through the worst heat of summer into fall. This bushy annual originates from Central America where it has become adapted to hot, humid summer conditions. Established plants will also withstand periods of drought. Little to no deadheading...

(Plains Blackfoot)

A beautifully low spreading perennial that heavily produces white daisy flowers, the plains blackfoot blossoms are also fragrant. Native to the rocky, drier soils of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, it can be relatively short-lived if fertile soil and water are too abundant. Typically evergreen, with narrow leaves that are gray-green, the plant is a clumping but sprawling perennial. Atop the the stems will be small white petaled flowers surrounding a yellow disc center. In mild winter...

(Chinaberry Tree)

Thousands of tiny, lilac-pink, star-shaped flowers followed by golden yellow fruits make Chinaberry tree a showy ornamental. However, it has proven to be invasive and should be planted only after consulting local experts. A rounded, deciduous tree with grayish brown bark, it is native to China and northern India.

The foliage is beautiful. Leaves are doubly pinnate: a large petiole (leaf stem) branches into secondary stems that bear the many, glossy dark-green leaflets. In mid-spring the tips of...

(Ruby Grass, Zizka)

Ruby grass is loved for the rosy-beige seedheads that elegantly dance above the thin, weeping blue-green leaves. It is a tufted, tender perennial grass native to Madagascar and the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. In summer it produces shiny, mauve-purple inflorescences (clusters of flowers along the stem tip) that slowly fade to pink and then finally to white as they mature. Foliage is blade-like, bluish gray-green and gracefully curled. Small songbirds will eat the seeds.

Ruby grass is best...

(Pink Crystals Ruby Grass, Ruby Grass, Zizka)

The rose-hued grassy plumes of ‘Pink Crystals’ make this tough ruby grass extra pretty in summer. Ruby grass is a cold-tender evergreen perennial is native to Madagascar and the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa. It is quite tolerant of heat and drought and well-suited to western and southwestern landscapes.

In summer ‘Pink Crystals’ produces shiny, deep dusty rose plumes that slowly fade to pink and then finally to white as they age. The attractive seedheads gently weep above neat tufted...