(Pineapple)

Who doesn’t love sweet, juicy pineapple? This popular fruit has been long cultivated in hot spots like Southeast Asia, Costa Rica and Hawaii. Believed to have originated from Brazil, pineapple had already been grown and selected by indigenous Americans before Europeans arrived in the 15th Century. Today no wild form is known, but many variable selections exist that differ in flavor quality, vigor and fruit size. Some have even been developed for their ornamental appeal.

Ananas comosus...

(Ivory Coast Pineapple, Variegated Pineapple)

A cultivar of pineapple grown for its colorful foliage rather than its edible fruit, 'Ivory Coast' is an evergreen, terrestrial, rosette-forming perennial whose erect, sword-shaped, olive-green leaves have creamy white, spineless edges. Mature specimens produce pyramidal clusters of small lavender flowers with showy pink bracts. These are borne atop a stout central stem in summer. The flowers give rise to fleshy amber or golden brown fruitlets that fuse into a large, cone-shaped pineapple. The fruit...

(Variegated Pineapple)

Variegated pineapple is a terrestrial bromeliad with a rosette of narrow evergreen leaves colored green, creamy yellow and a little pink. Nasty spines line the leaves, and protect the fleshy amber to golden brown fruit that rises on a central stalk. It is believed to be native to Brazil.

Variegated pineapple needs sunlight and a moist, well drained soil. Full sun promotes the light pink blushing on the leaves, although it is faint or simply not present. It loves humidity and moisture, but soggy...

(Dwarf Pineapple, Piñita, Pink Pineapple)

Curious as a tropical plant, the miniature pineapple's small fruit is edible, but usually no larger than that of a chicken egg. Native to northern Brazil to Suriname, this is a tender perennial bromeliad that grows as a spider-like rosette.

Long, stiff grayish green leaves lined in sharp spines, looking and piercing skin like curving swords. Healthy two-year old plants send up a tall, slender flower stalk from the center of the leaf rosette in spring's warmth. Atop this stalk is a rounded mass...

(Italian Bugloss)

A lovely short-loved perennial for sunny well-drained gardens, Italian bugloss has branched stems covered with numerous rich royal blue flowers that will attract bees. It naturally inhabits drier, open areas, from the Mediterranean to Central Asia, where soils are sharply drained and on the poorer side. It self-sows aggressively and has become naturalized across other temperate regions, such as regions of North America, where it is considered an invasive weed.

The fine, linear leaves of this...

(Italian Bugloss)

The moderately compact Italian bugloss 'Feltham Pride' produces loads of azure blue flowers on bushy, coarsely foliated plants from early to midsummer. A lovely short-loved perennial for sunny well-drained gardens, Italian bugloss has branched stems covered with numerous rich royal blue flowers that will attract bees. It naturally inhabits drier, open areas, from the Mediterranean to Central Asia, where soils are sharply drained and on the poorer side. It self-sows aggressively and has become naturalized...

(Bog Rosemary)

Bog rosemary is a low, narrow-leaved, evergreen shrub inhabiting peat bogs throughout the upper Northern Hemisphere. Its dainty, white or pink, lantern-shaped flowers occur in clusters in late spring and early summer.

Several cultivars of bog rosemary are available. All require acid, moist soil and shelter from hot sun. They are splendid in a bog garden, rock garden, or combined with heaths, dwarf rhododendrons, and other acid-loving plants.

(Blue Ice Bog Rosemary, Bog Rosemary)

Bog rosemary is a low, narrow-leaved, evergreen shrub inhabiting peat bogs throughout the upper Northern Hemisphere. Its cultivar 'Blue Ice' has striking silvery blue-green leaves, and bears pale dainty, pale-pink, lantern-shaped flowers in late spring and early summer.

This shrub requires acidic, moist, but not waterlogged, soil and shelter from hot sun. It is splendid in a bog garden, rock garden, or combined with heaths, dwarf rhododendrons, and other acid-loving plants.

(Bog Rosemary, Dwarf Bog Rosemary)

Bog rosemary is a low, narrow-leaved, evergreen shrub inhabiting peat bogs throughout the upper Northern Hemisphere. Selected for its relatively compact habit, the cultivar 'Nana' also features a late-spring and early-summer display of dainty, pale-pink, lantern-shaped flowers. It requires acid, moist, but not waterlogged soil, and shelter from hot sun. It is splendid in a bog garden, rock garden, or combined with heaths, dwarf rhododendrons, and other acid-loving plants.

(Big Bluestem, Turkey Foot)

Big bluestem is an rugged, clump-forming perennial grass that makes a dense clump of leaves and tall flower stalks topped with distinctive seedheads in autumn. Native to a vast range across North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, it has become quite rare in the western United States.

The blue-green stems and green leaves are relatively short throughout the summer, but with the onset of fall, the stems lengthen as the flowers emerge. Silvery-red or red-purple in color, the tiny...