(Cherokee Bean, Coral Bean, Coral Tree, Red Cardinal)

Uniquely shaped blue-green foliage and brilliant red spikes of tubular summer flowers make red cardinal a garden conversation piece! A semi-herbaceous perennial that grows from a woody root, it can be nearly evergreen in frost-free regions and deciduous in the coldest areas of its hardiness. It is native to the seasonally dry pine forests of the southeastern United States and extreme northeastern Mexico.

The compound leaves of red cardinal are made up of three bright blue-green, club-shaped...

(Fireman's Cap, Shrub Coral Tree)

In late spring or summer the fiery scarlet-red flower spikes of fireman's cap emerge above the foliage and thorny stems. A deciduous shrub or small tree, it is a hybrid between the cry-baby tree (Erythrina crista-galli) and Cherokee bean (E. herbacea). The original cross occurred in the 1840s at Camden Park just outside of Adelaide, Australia. Fireman's cap becomes an open, sparse tree with upright to arching branches. At the coldest end of its hardiness, where winters have subfreezing...

(Dogtooth Violet, Yellow Adder's Tongue)

An elegant hardy perennial from moist woodlands of eastern North America, yellow trout lily is grown for its exquisite spring flowers and its strikingly marked foliage. Nodding from wiry, naked stems above paired basal leaves, the solitary yellow flowers have six backswept segments that give them the appearance of taking flight. Their exteriors are brushed with maroon. A starburst of purple-brown or yellow anthers protrudes from the gaping blooms. The broadly lance-shaped basal leaves are bronze-green...

(Beaked Troutlily, Yellow Troutlily)

An elegant hardy perennial found in woodlands from Texas to Ohio, beaked trout lily is grown for its exquisite spring flowers and its strikingly marked foliage. The solitary, up-facing (rather than nodding) yellow flowers perch atop wiry, erect, leafless stems. Resembling small lilies, the flowers have six wide-flaring segments. Their exteriors are brushed with maroon. A starburst of purple-brown or yellow anthers protrudes from the gaping blooms. The broadly lance-shaped, bronze-green, pewter-dappled...

(Apple Blossom Escallonia, Escallonia)

Bearing masses of pretty flowers over a long season, this medium-sized, dense evergreen shrub makes a handsome four-season ornamental for gardens with relatively mild winters. A hybrid dating from the early twentieth century, it has upright, sometimes sprawling branches set with small, narrowly oval, glossy dark green leaves. Plants may sucker modestly from the base. Opening from pink buds, the clustered soft-pink and white flowers appear in abundance in late spring and more sparingly through much...

(Dwarf Red Redclaws, Escallonia)

Bearing masses of pretty flowers over a long season, this dense, small to medium-sized, evergreen shrub makes a handsome four-season ornamental for gardens with relatively mild winters. A hybrid that traces its ancestry to species from South America, it has erect branches set with small, narrowly oval, glossy dark green leaves. Clusters of small, five-lobed, rosy-red flowers are borne in abundance in late spring and more sparingly through much of summer.

This sun-loving shrub prefers well-drained,...

(Escallonia)

An attractive and serviceable plant, this large upright evergreen shrub is a hybrid of Escallonia rosea and Escallonia rubra, both native to southern South America. Clusters of pink buds open to white flowers in summer, against a background of dark glossy leaves with pale undersides. The small, oval, toothed leaves emit a sweet fragrance in warm weather.

This shrub prefers well drained soil and full sun, with midday shade in hot climates. It tolerates many stresses including drought,...