(Sicilian Sweetpea, Sweetpea)

This is a very old sweet pea cultivar. In fact, its namesake is Father Francis Cupani, the seventeenth century Sicilian monk said to have selected and cultivated this fine sweet pea.

The colorful and highly fragrant 'Cupani' is a delicate but vigorous annual vine. Its blooms have a deep purple-red broad upper petal (banner), two smaller violet-purple central petals (wings), and a protruding violet-purple central petal (keel). The fruit is a flattened pea pod.

This easy to grow vine climbs...

(Bog Labrador Tea, Labrador Tea)

Once you've encountered the green leaves with rolled edges and fuzzy tan undersides, you'll likely never forget the Labrador tea shrub. This broadleaf evergreen has an open, rounded to spreading shape. It's native to the peaty soils and cool bogs of North America from Greenland to Alaska southward across Canada into the northern United States. In some American states it has become an endangered species.

The densely woolly twigs have long oval leaves, mainly arranged alternately but often in whorl-like...

(Marsh Labrador Tea, Muskeg Tea, Wild Rosemary)

Circumboreal in origin, wild rosemary is a plant of the Northern latitudes, bringing white blossoms to rocky terrain normally cloaked in lichen and moss. More prostrate in habit with some upright but spreading stems, this small mounding shrub is native to lands around the North Pole, including northern Europe and Siberia, and Greenland, Canada and Alaska in North America. Plants are usually buried under snow in winter and grow and bloom in the short summer when snow has fully melted away.

The...

(Duckmeat, Frog's Buttons, Ivyleaf Duckweed, Star Duckweed)

From late spring to fall frost, the still waters on ponds, lakes and the edges of slow-moving streams may reveal a floating mat of star duckweed. Native to the cool-summer areas of the Northern Hemisphere, star duckweed sinks to the bottom of the body of water in winter to escape death by freezing.

When ice disappears and water warms up in spring, the dormant leaf bodies of star duckweed rise up to the water's surface. Floating atop the water, the light to medium green leaves of star duckweed...

(Broadway Lights™ Shasta Daisy, Shasta Daisy)

Pretty buttercream yellow and ivory daisies bedeck this vigorous hybrid Leucanthemum through summer. The bright blooms appear above neat compact plants and flower for a longer period than average Shasta daisies. Broadway Lights™ was bred by Manfred Mehring-Lemper in Hannover-Munden, Germany and first introduced by Syngenta Seeds.

In spring, this hardy herbaceous perennial offers neat clumps of deep green toothed leaves. It may begin to flower as early as late spring and will continue...

(Shasta Daisy)

The classic white Shasta daisy is vigorous, pretty and easy to grow and ‘Alaska’ is a particularly tall upright cultivar that will stand out in the border. This hybrid between Leucanthemum lacustre and L. maximum is a vigorous dependable herbaceous perennial perfect for sunny early season flower borders.

In spring, Shasta daisy puts forth a dense low-growing clump of glossy, lance-shaped, toothed leaves. In early summer these give rise to tall upright leafy stems topped with...

(Dense Blazing Star, Gayfeather)

Blazing star is a hardy perennial that originates from eastern and central North America. This clump forming plant has long linear leaves of medium green. In summer to early autumn it bears upright spikes of purple, pink or white flowers that open from the top of the spike down. There are many cultivars that vary in height and flower color. Overall, this perennial has a tall, upright habit and may require staking. It prefers full sun and well drained, average soil. Avoid poorly drained soils as these...

(Dense Blazing Star, Gayfeather, White Spike Gayfeather)

White blazing star is a hardy perennial that originates from eastern and central North America. This clump forming plant has long linear leaves of medium green. In summer to early autumn it bears upright spikes of white flowers that open from the top of the spike down. This selection has a tall, upright habit and may need to be staked. It prefers full sun and well drained, average soil. Avoid poorly drained soils as these plants are susceptible to root rot. Blazing star is well suited to mixed perennial...

(Dense Blazing Star, Gayfeather)

Blazing star is a hardy perennial that originates from eastern and central North America. This clump forming plant has long linear leaves of medium green. In summer to early autumn it bears upright spikes of purple, pink or white flowers that open from the top of the spike down. There are many cultivars that vary in height and flower color. Overall, this perennial has a tall, upright habit and may require staking. It prefers full sun and well drained, average soil. Avoid poorly drained soils as these...

(Dense Blazing Star, Gayfeather, Kobold Gayfeather)

Kobold blazing star is a compact hardy perennial that originates from eastern and central North America. This clump forming plant has long linear leaves of medium green. In summer to early autumn it bears upright spikes of deep purple flowers that open from the top of the spike down. This selection has a shorter, tidier habit than other blazing stars and rarely needs to be staked. It prefers full sun and well drained, average soil. Avoid poorly drained soils as these plants are susceptible to root...