(Bush-monkey Flower)

perhaps not do this, as it is a synonym for Mimulus aurantiacus.

(Western Leatherwood)

An elegant and simple woodland shrub, western leatherwood's flexible stems, very early spring tiny golden yellow-green flowers and pretty yellow fall foliage makes it lovely for planting among rhododendrons and shade trees. A deciduous, slow-growing rounded shrub, it is native only to the San Francisco Bay region of central California. Its bark is smooth and mottled gray and brown.

This shrub is among the first to flower and leaf-out each late winter and early spring. Before any foliage, the...

(Leatherwood)

A woodland shrub that is the perfect barometer for the start of spring, leatherwood's flexible stems, early spring yellow flowers make it lovely for planting among rhododendrons and shade trees. A deciduous, slow-growing rounded shrub, it is native from southeastern Canada to Missouri and Florida in the eastern United States. Its smooth, dark sandy brown bark is fibrous and spotted with white lenticels.

This shrub is among the first to flower and leaf-out each spring. Before any foliage, the...

(Heart-leaved Disanthus)

Plump, heart-shaped leaves that turn a rich red with burgundy and orange tones, heart-leaved disanthus also brings floral uniqueness to the autumn landscape. A rounded to broadly spreading deciduous shrub native to Japan and China's montane woodlands, it is multi-stemmed with smooth, brown bark. The leaves are green to blue-green in color, round or oval, with a base that looks like a heart. In mid-fall it blooms, with tiny pairs of spidery, rosy-purple flowers that have a faint, musky fragrance....

(Fairybells, Japanese Fairybells)

A native of East Asia, this spreading herbaceous perennial has glossy, lance-shaped leaves on smooth, compact, zig-zagging stems. Small clusters of pendent white or cream flowers dangle from the leaf axils in late spring and early summer. Black berries follow the flowers. Plants form an expanding clump via underground rhizomes. Many variegated cultivars have been selected, most of them lumped under the moniker 'Variegatum'.

Japanese fairybell grows and flowers best in partial shade and moist,...

(Awa-no-tsuki Fairybells, Japanese Fairybells)

A native of East Asia, this spreading herbaceous perennial has glossy, lance-shaped leaves on smooth, compact, zig-zagging stems. Small clusters of pendent white or cream flowers dangle from the leaf axils in late spring and early summer. Black berries follow the flowers. Plants form an expanding clump via underground rhizomes. Many variegated cultivars have been selected, most of them lumped under the moniker 'Variegatum'.

Japanese fairybell grows and flowers best in partial shade and moist,...

(Japanese Fairybells, Kinga Fairybells)

A native of East Asia, this spreading herbaceous perennial has glossy, lance-shaped leaves on smooth, compact, zig-zagging stems. Small clusters of pendent white or cream flowers dangle from the leaf axils in late spring and early summer. Black berries follow the flowers. Plants form an expanding clump via underground rhizomes. Many variegated cultivars have been selected, most of them lumped under the moniker 'Variegatum'.

Japanese fairybell grows and flowers best in partial shade and moist,...

(Japanese Fairybells, Tightwad Fairybells)

A native of East Asia, this spreading herbaceous perennial has glossy, lance-shaped leaves on smooth, compact, zig-zagging stems. Small clusters of pendent white or cream flowers dangle from the leaf axils in late spring and early summer. Black berries follow the flowers. Plants form an expanding clump via underground rhizomes. Many variegated cultivars have been selected, most of them lumped under the moniker 'Variegatum'.

Japanese fairybell grows and flowers best in partial shade and moist,...

(Variegated Fairybells)

A native of East Asia, this spreading herbaceous perennial has glossy, lance-shaped leaves on smooth, compact, zig-zagging stems. Selections grown under the name 'Variegatum' have variably white-streaked veins and margins. Small clusters of pendent white or cream flowers dangle from the leaf axils in late spring and early summer. Black berries follow the flowers. Plants form an expanding clump via underground rhizomes. Many variegated cultivars have been selected, most of them lumped under the moniker...

(Leopard's Bane)

This is one of those pretty perennials that you rarely see planted in American gardens. Leopard’s bane is a member of the sunflower family that produces showy golden daisies in spring, a time when such flowers are rare in the landscape. It is a hardy herbaceous perennial that originates from Europe and Central Asia where it resides in the rocky soils of forest clearings and margins.

In spring, leopard’s bane produces large golden yellow daisies that rise from tall solitary stems. The clump-forming...