(Blue Lyme Grass, Blue Wildrye)

Blue wildrye is a versatile ornamental grass that has attractive, open clustered, silvery blue-green foliage and stiff, upright flower and seedheads in autumn. A clump forming perennial, it is native to a vast area of Europe and western Asia. In spring, erect stems start to bear the long, upright, but tip-weeping bluish green leaves. By late summer and into fall, stem tips form dense green flowerspikes that will only slightly arch. They begin to turn beige as fall progresses, which is the eventual...

(Blue Wheatgrass, Magellan's Wildrye)

Blue wheatgrass is a breathtaking clumping ornamental grass with fine foliage colored silvery blue. A native of the cooler lands and mountains of Chile and Argentina, it is a semi-evergreen perennial in the mildest of winter climates. The leaves are its glory, being most intense blue in the central younger growth, as the older leaves are pushed outward and downward to create a skirt. In late spring and summer, the often overlooked, small flowers appear on stems that tend to be held horizontally in...

(Brittlebush)

The sunny daisy-flowers of brittlebush are a familiar sight in the deserts of the Southwest United States and northern Mexico. The rounded, aromatic plants bear long-stemmed clusters of bright yellow blooms in spring, and sometimes again in fall or winter. The fuzzy, silver-gray, oval to lance-shaped leaves occur mostly toward the tips of the branches. Plants drop their leaves during severe drought, refoliating when rain returns.

This plant thrives in sun and well drained soils, and is remarkably...

(Redvein Enkianthus)

A tree-like deciduous shrub from Japan, redvein enkianthus is extremely slow-growing but develops a picturesque habit with age. Its leaves are simple and elliptical in shape with bristles on the edges and red leaf stems. The bluish green foliage contrasts beautifully with the reddish twigs they grow from. In late spring to early summer, small, pendent, bell-shaped blossoms dangle from the branch ends. These oddly fragrant blooms are creamy white or pale yellow and marked with pink or fuchsia veins....

(Hollandia Enkianthus, Redvein Enkianthus)

The slow-growing, smaller-size cultivar 'Hollandia' displays bright green foliage on red stems and offers bell-shaped, drooping coral-red and ivory-tan blossoms in very early summer. In fall this redvein enkianthus' leaves turn orange before dropping away. The shrub's habit is upright and spreading, and may have somewhat leggy-looking branches.

A tree-like deciduous shrub from Japan, redvein enkianthus has simple and elliptical leaves with bristles on the edges and red leaf stems. In late spring...

(Jan Iseli Pink Enkianthus, Redvein Enkianthus)

The slow-growing and small-maturing cultivar 'Jan Iseli Pink' displays bright green foliage on red stems and offers a profusion of bell-shaped, drooping pink and ivory-tan blossoms in very early summer. In fall this redvein enkianthus' leaves turn show-shopping orange before dropping away. The shrub's habit is upright and spreading. This cultivar was released in 1990, the result of breeding efforts by the Iseli Nursery in Oregon. Jan Iseli is the nursery founder's wife.

A tree-like deciduous...

(Jan Iseli Red Enkianthus, Redvein Enkianthus)

The slow-growing and colorful flowering cultivar 'Jan Iseli Red' displays bright green foliage on red stems and offers a profusion of bell-shaped, drooping deep coral-red blossoms in very early summer. In fall this redvein enkianthus' leaves turn vivid shades of orange and red before dropping away. The shrub's habit is upright but spreading. This cultivar was released in 1990, the result of breeding efforts by the Iseli Nursery in Oregon. Jan Iseli is the nursery founder's wife.

A tree-like deciduous...

(Red Bells Enkianthus, Redvein Enkianthus)

The slow-growing and picturesque Red Bells enkianthus displays bright green foliage on red stems and offers bell-shaped, drooping red and pink blossoms in early summer. In fall its leaves turn warm orange-red.

A tree-like deciduous shrub from Japan, redvein enkianthus has simple and elliptical leaves with bristles on the edges and red leaf stems. In late spring to early summer, small, pendent, bell-shaped blossoms dangle from the branch ends. These oddly fragrant blooms are reddish pink with...

(Red Velvet Enkianthus, Redvein Enkianthus)

Architecturally picturesque and colorful in two seasons, cultivar 'Red Velvet' displays bright green foliage on red stems and bell-shaped, drooping, fuchsia-red blossoms in very early summer. In fall this redvein enkianthus' leaves turn vivid shades of red before dropping away. The shrub's habit is upright but spreading.

A tree-like deciduous shrub from Japan, redvein enkianthus has simple and elliptical leaves with bristles on the edges and red leaf stems. In late spring to early summer, small,...

(Redvein Enkianthus, Renoir Enkianthus)

Subdued beauty encapsulates redvein enkianthus cultivar 'Renoir'. It displays bright green foliage on red stems and bell-shaped, drooping, light yellow and pink blossoms in very early summer. In fall the leaves turn bold shades of yellow, orange and red before dropping away. The shrub's habit is upright but spreading. 'Renoir' originated in 1923 and was grown from seed from the University of Edinburgh. The cultivar name was assigned in the early 1980s by Rob Nicholson of the Arnold Arboretum, where...