(Rose Rockcress, Rote Sensation Rockcress)

This small rockcress, ‘Red Sensation,’ is a bright-flowering selection of a California native. It is a mat-forming, evergreen perennial with oval, deep green leaves arranged in ground-hugging rosettes. Bright clusters of tiny, four-petalled, magenta-fuchsia flowers are borne on short stems from late spring into summer. These are sweetly scented and long-lasting, attracting butterflies.

Grow 'Red Sensation' in full sun and gritty, well-drained soil. If the soil remains wet in winter, this plant...

(Rose Delight Rockcress, Rose Rockcress)

Fragrant and dainty, the pale rose-fuchsia flowers of ‘Rose Delight’ rockcress bloom above the compact green foliage in late spring. The parent species is a short-lived, evergreen, tuft-forming perennial that is native to central and northern California, where it grows in gritty soils and coastal regions.

The oval leaves have small teeth and are a satiny green with haired edges. In late spring, short stalks bear clusters of tiny flowers that attract butterflies. These blooms are rosy pink to pink-fuchsia...

(Rose Rockcress, Spring Charm Rose Rockcress)

What a pretty California native for sunny rock gardens. Rose rockcress is a mat-forming evergreen perennial with soft deep green leaves that form ground-hugging rosettes. Bright clusters four-petaled rosy-pink flowers are borne on short stems from late spring into summer. These are sweetly scented and long-lasting.

Protect this sun-loving plant from winter moisture as plants have a tendency to suffer from root rot when conditions are too cool and wet. Though adapted to full sun, it does not appreciate...

(Rockcress)

Usually pest-free and blooming in many shades of pink in mid to late spring, hybrid rockcress creates a delicate show in an alpine setting. This mat-forming, evergreen, short-lived perennial resulted from the cross of the vigorous wall rockcress (Arabis caucasica) with Arabis aubrietioides. The small leaves are held in loose rosettes. Each blade is an oval with small teeth and may range in color from medium green to gray-green, with or without tiny hairs. The small flowers, appearing...

(Compinkie Rockcress, Rockcress)

The long-blooming rockcress, ‘Compinkie’, produces a mat of tiny, fuchsia-pink flowers in mid to late spring. This colorful rock garden favorite is a cross between two alpines, the vigorous wall rockcress (Arabis caucasica) and Arabis aubrietioides. It is a short-lived perennials and is evergreen to semi-evergreen.

Its small, oval, light gray-green leaves are slightly hairy and held in loose rosettes along the trailing stems. The small flowers appear in mid-spring in where...

(Aralia)

An immense herbaceous perennial that forms lusty luxuriant clumps of elegant foliage, this East Asian native is grown not only for ornament but also for its edible young shoots. The large airy pinnate (feather-shaped) leaves are held on tall stems, which in some forms are a striking dark purple. Clouds of small greenish white flowers hover above the foliage in late summer, followed by showy purple berry-like fruit.

Intolerant of drought and hot sun, this gargantuan perennial does best in partial...

(American Spikenard)

American spikenard is a deciduous perennial with green compound leaves with delicate heart-shpaed leaflets. Ball clusters of white to greenish-white flowers on a tall spike in spring or summer. Tiny berries are formed and are dark purple or black. It spreads slowly by aromatic underground roots to create a colony.

Plant in moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. American spikenard makes a great addition to woodland gardens or naturalized areas with its bold presence.

(Corsican Sandwort)

Corsican sandwort is an extremely low, evergreen, mat-forming perennial with shiny, light-green, oval leaves. It is native to the islands of the western Mediterranean Sea, where the climate is hot and dry for half the year. From late spring into summer the plant is covered with small, star-like, white flowers. It reseeds itself freely and sometimes to the point of weediness.

Grow Corsican sandwort in sharply drained soil, such as sand, or loam with coarse aggregate mixed in. The soil should have...

(Montana Sandwort, Mountain Sandwort)

Mountain sandwort is an attractive evergreen, mat-forming perennial with gray-green, narrow leaves native to southwestern Europe's mountains. In early summer, the plants are covered with small, cup-shaped white flowers.

Sun-loving mountain sandwort requires a sharply draining soil, such as sand or loam with coarse aggregrate mixed in. Soils should have poor fertility. It is a excellent choice for rock gardens, alpine troughs or for growing in the gaps in a stone wall or between paving stones....

(Avalanche Sandwort, Montana Sandwort, Mountain Sandwort)

Exceptionally free-flowering, ‘Avalance’ is a selection of a sandwort species native to mountainous regions of southwestern Europe, where the climate is hot and dry much of the years. Like its parent, ‘Avalanche’ is an attractive, evergreen, mat-forming perennial. The sprawling, wiry stems bear tiny, linear to lance-shaped, gray-green leaves. In early summer, the plant is covered with small, cup-shaped, white flowers, borne singly and in clusters.

Give 'Avalanche' a sharply draining soil, such...