(Seashore Wormwood, Silver Brocade Wormwood, Star Wormwood)

Low-down, almost prostrate in habit, this selection of the popular foliage annual, Dusty Miller, is prized for its beautiful silver mat of overlapping, small, lobed leaves. The parent species of ‘Silver Brocade’ is native to coastal areas of northern Asia and Japan, and has naturalized in both Europe and the United States. The parent and this selection have proven tolerant of salt air and salty sandy soils. All the same, you can count on ‘Silver Brocade’ to do far better in areas with ordinary drainage,...

(Common Wormwood, Mugwort)

Put this weedy plant in the same classification as notorious weeds like Canadian thistle, star thistle, spotted knapweed and others. It is a bear of a plant that is next to impossible to get rid of once it takes hold. Plants aggressively spread via underground stems called rhizomes that form large matted colonies—even the smallest rhizome left in the ground will result in a new plant. The name “vulgaris” means common and this plant is common because it is a pest. Can you tell this is not one of our...

(Common Wormwood, Mugwort, Oriental Limelight Mugwort)

This variegated form of the weedy common wormwood has pretty enough golden variegated foliage but is profoundly invasive in the garden and beyond. It is next to impossible to get rid of once it takes hold. Plants aggressively spread via underground stems, called rhizomes, which form large matted colonies—even the smallest rhizome left in the ground will result in a new plant.

Common Wormwood is an herbaceous perennial that originates from areas across Europe, Africa, Asia and arguably northwestern...

(Arum, Cretan Arum)

At first glance of the Cretan arum in bloom, you'd think it was a lemon-scented calla lily. Native to the rocky mountainous hillsides of the Greek island of Crete, and adjacent western Turkey, it prospers in sunnier conditions, unlike many other arums which prefer shade.

The medium green, satiny leaves look like small arrowheads and appear from fall to spring. They die back in summer during the arid heat of the Mediterranean. Any time in spring, flower stems will rise above the leaves. Each bloom...

(Arum, Black Calla Lily, Palestine Arum)

One of the most visually dramatic of arums, the Palestine arum's large flowers are purplish burgundy with a curved central black spadix. This herbaceous perennial is native to the woodlands and shrubby steppes across Israel, western Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, including those at higher mountain elevations. It doesn't grow near the Mediterranean coast. An atypical feature of this arum is the flower’s scent. It doesn’t smell rancid, like most arums, but emits a sickeningly sweet rose-like scent.

The...

(Goat's Beard)

(Goat's Beard, Misty Lace Goat's Beard)

(Dwarf Goat's Beard)

(Bride's Feathers, Goat's Beard)

A mound of ferny leaves and tall white plumes make goat's beard a lovely accent plant. It is an upright, tall perennial of woodlands in circumboreal regions-- native to eastern North America as well as Europe and across Siberia into eastern Asia.

The mid- to dark green leaves are large, and made up of many small oval leaflets that have teeth on their edges. Collectively they produce a lovely fern-like texture. In early and midsummer, tall stems tower above the leaves and produce creamy white male-gendered...

(Child of Two Worlds Goat's Beard, Goat's Beard)

A shorter, sturdier mound of ferny leaves and tall white plumes make Child of Two Worlds goat's beard a lovely accent plant that doesn't require staking. It is an upright perennial of woodlands from circumboreal regions-- native to eastern North America as well as Europe and across Siberia into eastern Asia.

The mid- to dark green leaves are large, and made up of many small oval leaflets that have teeth on their edges. Collectively they produce a lovely fern-like texture. In early and midsummer,...