(Blue Hibiscus)

Blue hibiscus is an evergreen shrub native to Australia. Leaves are bright green, rough textured and irregularly lobed. The hibiscus-like flowers are glossy, mauve, lavender or blue, borne in the leaf axils at the tips of the branches throughout the year in warm climates.

Blue hibiscus grows quickly, thriving in well drained soils and full sun. If plants are well mulched, little supplemental water is required. Prune by heading back to produce a compact plant. In mild climates use as a border specimen...

(Blue Hibiscus, Purple Delight™ Blue Hibiscus)

Purple Delight Blue Hibiscus is an evergreen shrub native to Australia. The Purple Delight cultivar flowers freely throughout the growing season with single, funnel-form, royal purple flowers borne in the leaf axils at the tips of the branches throughout the year in warm climates. Leaves are bright green, rough textured and irregularly lobed.

Purple delight blue hibiscus grows quickly, thriving in well drained soils and full sun. If plants are well mulched, little supplemental water is required....

(Blue Hibiscus, Santa Cruz Blue Hibiscus)

Santa Cruz blue hibiscus is an evergreen shrub native to Australia. Cultivar ‘Santa Cruz’ flowers freely throughout the growing season with single, funnel-form, mauve to pale purple flowers borne in the leaf axils at the tips of the branches throughout the year in warm climates. Leaves are bright green, rough textured and irregularly lobed.

Santa Cruz blue hibiscus grows quickly, thriving in well drained soils and full sun. If plants are well mulched, little supplemental water is required. Prune...

(Love-Lies-Bleeding)

Though grown in American gardens primarily for its curious tail-like clusters of colorful flowers, this large annual has long been a staple grain in the northern Andes, where it originated. Once more popular than corn, amaranth grain and greens fed the Incas for thousands of years, and are still a vital crop for peoples of the Andes. Two other species of amaranth are important grain (and ornamental) plants: Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus hypochondriacus.

This fast-growing,...

(August Lily, Belladonna Lily, Naked Lady)

Bringing an exotic, naked-stemmed floral display to the doldrums of summer, belladonna lily's pink blossoms bring an air of spring. Not to be confused with the common florists' amaryllis, Hippeastrum, belladonna lily is a deciduous, perennial bulb native to South Africa. Clusters of large, showy, fragrant pink flowers bloom on tall sturdy stems in summer when the strap-like basal foliage is absent. The leaves appear in late fall or winter and persist into mid-spring. Forms and hybrids of...

(Voodoo Lily)

A bizarre, summer-growing plant with malodorous flowers, this tuberous perennial is native from northern India eastward to Myanmar (Burma). Considered not as bad smelling as others, this species is among the most striking in bloom, with upright, pinkish spathes on mottled stalks in spring. A large compound leaf arises on a mottled stem in late spring and persists until fall, when it collapses almost literally overnight. In autumn, small bulbils which can grow into plants form on the leaf margins.

This...

(Devil's Tongue, Elephant Yam, Konjac)

A bizarre, summer-growing plant with with a large smelly inflorescence and an immense, waxy and fleshy leaf and stalk, this tuberous perennial is native from China to Indonesia. The maroon, funnel-shaped spathe emerges in spring on a tall wrist-thick stem that bears snakeskin-like marbling. The spear-shaped purple spadix protrudes from the spathe. The highly dissected dark green leaf arises on a mottled stem after the flowers collapse.

Plant devil's tongue in a fertile, well drained soil in partial...

(Eastern Bluestar)

A shrubby wildflower from the eastern United States, eastern bluestar offers loads of delicate, starry blue flowers in late spring to early summer. Its dense, bushy appearance and crisp, green leaves continue to look attractive through fall. A native of open forests as well as meadows, this herbaceous perennial thrives in both full sun and partial shade locations.

The lance-shaped, rich green leaves of eastern bluestar are smooth and sometimes glossy. The upright stems are hairless and emit white,...

(Acajou, Cashew)

This small, broad-crowned, evergreen tree is cultivated throughout the tropics for its tasty fruits, as well as for numerous other by-products. It is native to lower latitudes of the New World.

Large, leathery, elliptical leaves crowd the crooked, gray-barked branches of this fast-growing tree. The leaves are ribbed with conspicuous, deep-set veins, and are often notched at the tip. Many-flowered clusters of pale green, red-tinged, five-lobed blooms appear at the branch tips from late spring...

(Flaxleaf Pimpernel)

Flaxleaf pimpernel is a low-growing, often short-lived, bushy perennial native to the Mediterranean. This plant displays striking deep blue saucer-shaped flowers, sometimes with red centers, throughout summer. Popular cultivars include the vibrantly-colored 'Pacific Blue' and compact 'Phillipsii'.

Plant in areas with full to part sun and average soil. Its compact, spreading habit makes flaxleaf pimpernel a great plant for rock gardens or border edges. In colder climates it may be grown as an...