(Lady's Mantle, Thriller Lady's Mantle)

Old-fashioned and delicate, thriller lady's mantle is the ideal perennial for partial sun to shade. This compact and vigorous selection has scalloped sea-green leaves and effervescent plumes of chartreuse flowers that appear in early summer. Though able to tolerate short periods of drought, this plant does best when provided with evenly moist, rich, well drained soil. Contrast this subdued clumping perennial with purple or bronze heuchera and pink, white or yellow columbine.

(Ornamental Onion, Pink Feathers Ornamental Onion)

A summer-blooming ornamental onion, 'Pink Feathers' bears wispy clusters of pale pink-lavender blossoms. This hybrid perennial grows from bulbs that slowly reproduce to create a clump. Each bulb produces slender, light green leaves that may slightly twist. The leaves look resemble a wispy rosette. The rounded flower clusters comprise hundreds of tiny six-petaled flowers that are visited by bees and butterflies. No or few seeds result from pollination, making 'Pink Feathers' less of a spreading weed...

(Turkestan Onion)

The Turkestan onion is a perennial onion bulb grown both for its late-spring to summer blooming globes of pale pink flowers and its pairs of long, grayish-purple leaves which grow almost horizontally. Unlike most ornamental onions, the Turkestan onion keeps its leaves even while in flower. However, all onions lose their foliage in even the mildest winter climates. As a member of the onion family, this plant releases the familiar pungent fragrance when its leaves or stems are crushed. It is native...

(Turkestan Onion)

The Ivory Queen Turkestan onion is a perennial onion bulb grown both for its late-spring to summer blooming globes of white flowers and its pairs of long, grayish-purple leaves which grow almost horizontally. Unlike most ornamental onions, this one keeps its leaves while in flower. However, all onions lose their foliage in even the mildest winter climates. It is native to central Asia where it grows in well-drained soil in full sun.

Plant this bulb in the autumn four inches deep (10 cm) in fertile,...

(Black Garlic)

Black garlic, a bulbous perennial, is grown for its creamy white to pale lilac umbels, which bloom in the summer. Each umbel bears twenty to thirty large, open, cup-shaped flowers on deep purple stems. The flowers emerge from long strappy grayish green basal leaves. Alliums belong to the onion family and thus all have the familiar pungent fragrance when their leaves or stems are crushed. Black garlic is native to the Mediterranean where it grows in full sun and well-draining, often sandy soil.

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(Chives)

Most know only know chives as a chopped herb sprinkled on salads or added to cream cheese for mild onion flavor and green color, but chives are much more than that. This lovely bulbous perennial produces a bottle brush of fine, cylindrical foliage in spring and becomes topped with beautiful lavender-pink, sometimes white, clover-like flowerheads in late spring or early summer. It is a far-flung and diverse onion that’s native across much of the northern hemisphere, so it has been historically used...

(Blue-flowered Ornamental Onion)

This ornamental onion, a bulbous perennial, is grown for its tiny loose umbels of bright blue or white bell-shaped nodding flowers, which bloom in early summer. The flower stalks emerge from a basal clump of long, green twisted leaves. Alliums belong to the onion family and thus all have the familiar pungent fragrance when their leaves or stems are crushed. This ornamental onion is native to China, Tibet, Nepal, and India where it grows in full sun and well-draining, often sandy soil.

In the...

(Lace Aloe, Torch Plant)

A cute, cold-hardy, ground-hugging aloe from eastern South Africa and Lesotho, this little charmer is an excellent choice for container gardens indoors and out thanks to its tidy form and vivid flowers. Succulent, lance-shaped, evergreen leaves dotted with white warty protuberances and tipped with white tail-like bristles are densely packed into round, perfectly symmetrical rosettes that offset to form clumps. Loose conical clusters of tubular red flowers are borne atop calf-high stems in summer....

(Soap Aloe)

A small, stemless, suckering aloe from drylands of southern Africa, this succulent evergreen is valued for its ornamental leaves, compact dense habit, and showy flowers. Broadly lance shaped, light- to dark-green leaves with oblong white speckles and brown-toothed margins are borne in ground-hugging rosettes that spread to form large dense clumps. In late spring and summer they give rise to dense heads of drooping tubular flower on branched knee-high stems. Adapted for pollination by sunbirds, the...

(Alternanthera, Calico Plant)

Brilliant color and good heat tolerance is an irresistible combination, and ‘Brazilian Red Hots’ delivers both. This hybrid tender perennial is fully evergreen and boasts vibrant variegated foliage with purplish centers and fuchsia edges. Each elliptical leaf has a wavy texture. Throughout the year, it produces clover-like clusters of small, white flowers, but these are insignificant and fade against the electric color of the leaves.

For best foliar color, plant ‘Brazilian Red Hots’ in full...