Perennials

'Freya' Clustered Bellflower is covered with purplish lilac star-shaped flowers in May and June. The foliage is green and somewhat pubescent, and is almost completely covered by the flower display for almost 4 weeks. An introduction from Arie Blom of the Netherlands.

'Kent Belle' Canterbury Bells is a long blooming beautiful perennial which produces 2" violet blue hanging bells from June through August. The flowers are produced in quantity, bending the stems over with their weight at times. Campanula x 'Kent Belle' spreads slowly to make a good sized clump, and is very attractive in both sunny and shady mixed perennial beds. The long stems make lovely cut flowers. An introduction from England.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is a Leadwort or Plumbago with cobalt blue flowers in late summer. The green foliage turns a reddish purple in the fall. The new foliage appears late in the spring.

Our native Turtlehead is a wonderful plant for wet sites and rain gardens. In late summer Chelone glabra produces tall spikes of white flowers which are thought to look like the heads of turtles (use your imagination). The green foliage is clean and disease-resistant. Butterflies love its flowers, especially the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly.

'Hot Lips' Turtlehead has clear pink flowers in July, shiny green foliage, and is wet site tolerant. It spreads slowly to make a large patch eventually, so it can be used as a tall groundcover. This is a wonderful introduction selected by Native Plant guru Dale Hendricks, which he named after a co-worker as a nickname.

'Tiny Toruga' ('Armtipp02') Turtlehead is a compact descendant of 'Hot Lips', with the same deep pink flowers which resemble Snapdragon buds.  The leaves emerge in the spring in shades of bronze and turn to deep green as the flowers emerge in July and August.  Chelone 'Tiny Tortuga' colonizes slowly and loves moist to wet areas.  If you studied Spanish in school, you'll recognize 'Tortuga' as 'Turtle', and get the name pun.

PRN Preferred:  All the great attributes of "Hot Lips" but a more compact form.

'Hillside Sheffield Pink' Hardy Mum has shell pink flowers for a long time in late summer and early fall. This tough perennial has been re-introduced by Fred McGourty of Hillside Gardens. The clumps will get bigger every year and works as an effective groundcover and weed suppressor.

PRN Preferred:  Tons of blooms on a very late blooming perennial. 

'Matchsticks' Hardy Mum blooms in July, with showy yellow quill petals that open to scarlet-red.  There is often fall rebloom in September, especially if the plant is deadheaded after the initial bloom.  The foliage is a clean disease free green, and the flowers are an explosion of color and form above the mat.  Chrysanthemum 'Matchsticks' will make an excellent fall container plant, like fireworks in a pot.

'Rustic Glow' Hardy Mum is one of the Global Warning Mum™ introductions.  Like the other excellent Sinclair Adam Jr hybrid Chrysanthemums, it blooms in mid to late fall, adding not only vivid color to the garden, but also much needed food for pollinators.  The daisy-like flowers are bright orange yellow, with multiple blooms per stem.  The foliage is a clean green all summer, and the patch grows wider over time.  We were introduced to this delicate beauty by our friend Nora Sirbaugh, a great and passionate NJ gardener.

Golden Star is an attractive low growing groundcover.  The bright yellow five petaled flowers appear amongst the slightly fuzzy green leaves in mid to late spring.  Chrysogonum virginianum likes consistently moist conditions and will often rebloom sporadically after the initial flower display.  This native groundcover is deer resistant and works well around moist woodland gardens.

'Superstar' Golden Star makes a lovely delicate green carpet in shady and sunny locations. The slightly fuzzy green foliage is studded with lots of bright yellow simple flowers in mid to late spring, with some reblooming when moisture is adequate. Originally named after the American Rock Garden Society's Norman Singer, this native groundcover is both deer resistant and very easy to grow. 'Superstar' was renamed to reflect the fact that the foliage is significantly cleaner and more vigorous, remaining attractive long after the vivid flower display finishes. James Brown, the Carex King of New Moon Nursery, says it's his favorite Chrysogonum.

'Moonbeam' Threadleaf Tickseed has pale yellow flowers and is an excellent repeat bloomer. For best performance, deadhead after first flush of blooms. 1992 Perennial Plant of the Year.

'Zagreb' Threadleaf Tickseed has gold flowers, an upright habit, and forms a large vigorous mat eventually. Blooms June to August, especially if deadheaded.

PRN Preferred:  Very disease resistant foliage, does not flop.

‘Mercury Rising’ Tickseed is another exciting result of hybridizer Darrell Probst’s work, with wine red daisy like flowers on a cold-hardy plant. A cross between C. grandiflora and C. verticillata, ‘Mercury Rising’ blooms throughout the summer on a broad mounding habit. The yellow centers are particularly striking in the surrounding velvety petals. Deadheading after the first flush of flowers makes the rebloom showier.