(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...

(Cleveland's Shooting Star, Padre's Shooting Star)

The cheerful pink or white flowers of this California native wildflower can't be beat. It can be found in lowland forests, grasslands and scrub from northern California to northwestern Mexico and blooms in spring, after the winter rains. Most commonly called Padre’s Shooting Star, it is rarely cultivated but is sometimes sold at plant nurseries specializing in regional natives.

Neat rosettes of spatula-shaped green leaves are produced in spring and give rise to long, slender stems topped with...

(Darkthroat Shooting Star)

The variable and lovely darkthroat shooting star is native across a wide expanse of western North America from Alaska down to California and New Mexico. It even extends into northwestern Mexico. Different variants favor dissimilar growing conditions in the wild. Some forms thrive in moist, scrubby lowlands and wetlands while others can be found growing in seasonally arid meadows or at high elevations. Physical differences exist between plants growing in the different environments and most have been...