(Hybrid African Daisy, Lemon Drop Hybrid African Daisy)

Frost-tender, shrubby perennials often used as annuals, these showy hybrids result from crosses between several South African members of Arctotis. They bear large colorful daisies with contrasting dark halos on calf-high, leafless stems. The solitary blooms may be pink, red, orange, white, or yellow. They appear from summer into fall above densely massed, silvery green, slightly fuzzy leaves with deeply lobed margins. Blooms tend to stay open wider and longer in cloudy conditions than do...

(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...

(Flatbud Pricklypoppy, Pricklepoppy)

The enormous white crepe paper flowers are beguilingly at odds with the rest of this prickly short-lived perennial from dry regions of western North America. Borne on stout spiny stems that can vary from calf- to waist-high, the white, four- to six-petaled blooms open from bristly buds in late spring and summer. A powderpuff cluster of numerous yellow stamens ornaments the center of each flower. The blossoms are held above handsome dense clumps of deeply lobed gray-green leaves that are prickly on...

(Dutchman's Pipe)

Foremost grown for its lush green, large heart-shaped leaves, Dutchman's pipe also bears small, pipe-like flowers in late spring. A heavy, deciduous vine native to the woodlands of the Appalachians in the eastern United States, the flowers are normally well-hidden by the foliage and do not smell of rotting flesh like other members of Aristolochia. The bright green leaves can become as large as a dinner plate. Heart-shaped, thye can become slightly purpled in late summer; their undersides...

(Ministicks White Sea Thrift, Sea Pink, Sea Thrift)

A small tuft of a plant, ‘Ministicks White’ is a white-flowered selection of an evergreen species native to Europe and the Mediterranean region as fast east as Turkey. This sea thrift grows as a clump of short, narrow, stiff, dark-green leaves. In mid-spring upright stems rise from the clump in profusion and bloom at their tips with a pompom of small flowers that last almost to summer. It is a charming, extravagant show for a small plant.

In its native region, sea thrift is often found in full...

(Pink Lusitanica Sea Thrift, Sea Pink, Sea Thrift)

Tiny and exquisitely beautiful, ‘Pink Lusitanica’ is a perfect problem solver for small spaces and perennial container compositions. It is a hybrid of the species, Armeria maritima, native to the shores of the Mediterranean extending eastward into Turkey. Its species name refers to a preference for coastal or maritime climates. It grows as mounded tuft in the rapid drainage and full sun at the edge of a bluff. The leaves are stiff, narrow and dark, rising into a delightful, tidy dome.

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(Jersey Thrift)

Jersey thrift is a compact perennial native to the mountains of western Europe. In spring to early summer it produces globes of small pink flowers that rise on tall wiry stems above short tufts of thin, stiff, lance shaped leaves.

It prefers a full sun location and average to infertile, well drained soil. Jersey thrift makes a wonderful whimsical edging plant or an easy to care for, reliable addition to a rock garden. The cultivar 'Leucantha' is equally attractive and prodces white flowers....

(Girard's Thrift)

Girard's thrift is a compact perennial native to southern regions of France. In spring to early summer it produces globes of small lavender-pink flowers that rise on tall wiry stems above short, dense mounds of thin, stiff, lance shaped leaves.

Girard's thrift prefers a full sun location and average to infertile, well drained soil. Making a wonderful whimsical edging or an easy--care-for addition to a rock garden, it is a reliable plant. It may also look nice in combination with other thrifts,...