Like all of the choices open to us since plant hunters started traveling the world, spreaders come from far and wide as well as close to home. They range in shape and size from the daintiest ground huggers to giants with leaves the size of umbrellas. They thrive in a wide variety of zones, soil conditions, and light and heat levels. There is something—to dozens of possible somethings—that will look lovely and behave beautifully in every garden.
I have made a note in the plant descriptions whenever a plant’s rambunctious growth threatens local environments and has been listed as an invasive threat. If a nearby state is listed, do extra research to find out if you too should avoid the plant. As for behavior, a sliding scale of vigor exists as well. I have also only listed plants that have been easy for me to dig out, divide, or otherwise manage to keep in bounds. To quantify that, I must reveal that I am not much bigger or stronger than a 99-pound weakling, and I’m not getting any younger. But I am reasonably fit and do expect to exert myself from time to time by jumping up and down on digging forks. I have included mention if any of my favorites requires more effort than that.
Look around your garden to identify areas where you can imagine broad swaths of color or texture, and dramatic repeating themes. Imagine using overgrowth as an excuse to cut down on your lawn mowing and make new garden beds. Picture a patio full of gorgeous containers full of plants that cost nothing but a spring or autumn morning of digging and dividing. And then dig in.
YARROW
Achillea millefolium ‘Terracotta’
Perennial | Zones 3 to 9
DESCRIPTION Butterflies ride on flat-topped flower clusters that hover above rhizomatous mats of minutely cut, feathery foliage. Countless cultivars are available in warm colors ranging from brilliant yellow ‘Moonshine’ to rusty red ‘Paprika’ and sweet ‘Pink Grapefruit’. The foliage comes in another range of colors from pewter to grass-green, and stems can be anywhere from 18 to 30 in. tall, growing as wide. Plant yarrow with clary sage and lavender in the herb garden or use it to loosen the tie of a formal border.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and average, well-drained soil. Drought tolerant. Shorten stems by half in spring to encourage them to stand upright. Deadhead to lateral buds for extra blooms or cut entire stems to the ground when flowers fade. Divide in spring or fall.
Alstroemeria
PERUVIAN LILY
Alstroemeria ‘Mauve Majesty’ with blood flower.
Perennial | Zones 5 to 11 depending on cultivar
DESCRIPTION To grow Peruvian lily means constantly having to make the choice between cutting stems to take indoors (known to last for weeks in water) or enjoying their flamboyant, tiger-striped, azalea-like blooms out in the garden. Breeders have created a wide variety of colors, stem heights (from less than 12 in. to 5 ft.), and even zone hardiness. Ligtu hybrids are grown from seed and will reseed; sterile hybrids form increasing clumps from rhizome-like tubers.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and rich, moist soil. Trigger repeat blooms by yanking spent flower stems out from the base—this keeps the clump healthy by opening the crown. Flowering slows when the soil heats up; mulch to keep it cool. Dig deep (about 15 in.) for the tubers and divide them in spring.
Anemone tomentosa ‘Robustissima’
GRAPE-LEAF ANEMONE, JAPANESE ANEMONE
Anemone tomentosa ‘Robustissima’
Perennial | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION Robust is right. The 2-ft. wide bushels of soft, palm-sized, deep green leaves pop up from rhizomatous roots here, there, and everywhere in the spring and by mid to late summer wave bobbles of open-faced pinkish purple flower clusters on 3- to 4-ft. tall stems. Let them float around giant-leaved Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’, meander through a shrub border with ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and hydrangea, or fill in along a picket fence.
FINE PRINT Prefers sun to partial shade, and average soil. Support the top-heavy stems with neighboring plants or stakes. Edit or propagate by loosening soil with a digging fork and lifting and transplanting clumps in spring or fall.
Arundo donax ‘Variegata’
STRIPED GIANT REED
Arundo donax ‘Variegata’
Perennial grass | Zones 6 to 9
DESCRIPTION Growing 6 to 12 ft. tall (or more) in a single season, the variegated corn-like stalks are a fantastic focal point among other giants. Pair this white to cream on deep green sky scraper with amaranth, canna, and dinnerplate dahlias to evoke the tropics or use it as a backdrop to soften the edges of buildings and rooflines. If frost comes late to your garden, striped giant reed will be topped with pink flower plumes in mid to late fall.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, moist soil, and protection from wind. The variegated form is naturally less vigorous than the straight species and dry soil will slow its growth further. The rhizomes become woody and difficult to dig out over time but it is surprisingly shallow-rooted and can be confined in a container. Cut stems to the ground in late winter. Divide in spring. The straight species is INVASIVE in Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia.
Boltonia asteroides ‘Nally’s Lime Dots’
FALSE ASTER
Boltonia asteroides ‘Nally’s Lime Dots’ and great burnet.
Perennial | Zones 4 to 9
DESCRIPTION Slender stems of narrow rubbery blue-green leaves lengthen through the summer only to be topped, as the days shorten, by a 6-ft. tall well-branched display of small (½ in. diameter) lime-green polka dots that are, in fact, petal-less daisies. I adore this cultivar of a North American native for the generous clumps of airy weirdness it weaves through the garden—and flower arrangements—with petaliferous zinnias and dahlias.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and average, well-drained soil. Stems are top heavy and will bow down after downpours. For a shorter, sturdier show, cut stems in half at least twice before midsummer. Divide clumps in spring.
SEDGE
Carex morrowii ‘Ice Dance’ in an evergreen combination
at Bedrock Gardens.
Perennial | Zones vary
DESCRIPTION Some gardeners trade in their lawn for lush tufts of sedge. Variegated Japanese sedge (C. morrowii ‘Ice Dance’, zones 5 to 9), being fairly bulky at around 1½ ft. tall, is perhaps better suited to shady borders where it can mingle with hosta and heuchera. But oak sedge (C. pensylvanica, zones 4 to 8), also perfectly at home under deciduous trees, makes a sublime 6- to 12-in., color-shifting (from pale green to beige in fall) native substitute for a low-traffic lawn in dry gardens.
FINE PRINT Both species prefer partial shade and average to moist soil and spread politely by rhizomes. In late winter or early spring, remove tattered leaves from clumps of variegated Japanese sedge, and cut oak sedge to the ground. Divide in spring, using a saw if necessary to get through any dense mats of roots.
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
PLUMBAGO, LEADWORT
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides wanders along a gravel path underneath Kalimeris incisa ‘Blue Star.’
Perennial | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION Weed-busting tangles of green-olive foliage emerge late enough in spring to give bulbs a chance to shine and then open gentian-blue flowers from pimento-red buds in late summer. Let it take hold of border fronts with St. John’s wort (Hypericum) and woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus) and ramble widely along sunny slopes with bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) and sweet fern. Plumbago foliage turns berry-red in the fall.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and average soil. Cut the wiry stems to the ground in late winter. New shoots appear in late spring to early summer. To divide, dig clumps and pull rhizomes apart with your hands. Or propagate via root cuttings.
ROMAN CHAMOMILE
Chamaemelum nobile and pink sweet William catchfly.
Perennial | Zones 6 to 9
DESCRIPTION Thick carpets of finely cut green-apple foliage and 12-in. tall daisy-like flowers spread vigorously enough by layering to make a lush lawn substitute or fill in herb garden edges. It is possible to grow the foliage without flowers—certain cultivars are bred to be more lawn-like—but I would miss the he-loves-me–he-loves-me-not blooms that appear at the same time as betony and yarrow.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and average well-drained or sandy soil. Dry the leaves for potpourri and the fully open flowers for a sleep-aid tea and hair lightener. Trim stems by half or mow them in early summer to help keep them from reclining. Divide in spring.
Chrysanthemum ‘Sheffield Pink’
HARDY MUM
Chrysanthemum ‘Sheffield Pink’
Perennial | Zones 3 to 7
DESCRIPTION Fall without mums would be like Halloween without candy corn: not nearly as sweet. This cultivar’s old-fashioned earthy apricot-pink daisy petals sit atop deep green stems that grow 2 to 3 ft. tall, providing the perfect foil for the season’s reds, yellows, and blazing orange. Their yellow pollen-heavy centers give the bees and butterflies one of their last decent meals before hibernation.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun and average soil. Plants are politely clump forming. To protect the crown from freeze damage wait until spring to cut stems to the ground. Then pinch stems by half a couple of times before summer solstice to prevent slouching. Divide in spring. Keep your eyes out for sporty new color mutations.
TUBE CLEMATIS, BUSH CLEMATIS
Clematis heracleifolia
Perennial | Zones 4 to 9
DESCRIPTION Politely spreading rhizomatous clumps of fist-sized deep green leaves on leaning 2- to 3-ft. tall stems aren’t anything special. But in late summer they’re interrupted every 6 to 12 in. by clusters of small, lightly fragrant, deep sea–blue, peeled-open, four-petaled flowers that are followed by curled fiber-optic seedheads. To give this subtle stunner a showy contrast, pair it with hakonechloa and hosta.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to part shade, and rich, moist soil. Like its vining cousins, tube clematis does best with a cool root zone, but unlike most others, this plant’s large leaves help provide its own shade. Cut stems close to the ground in early spring (it blooms on new wood) and transplant offshoots by early summer or wait until fall.
Clerodendrum trichotomum
HARLEQUIN GLORYBOWER
Clerodendrum trichotomum
Shrub | Zones 7 to 9
DESCRIPTION All noses are drawn like magnets to this elegant single-stemmed 5- to 15-ft. tall suckering shrub in late summer when clusters of bright red calyxes sprout five-petaled, intensely perfumed white stars. In the fall all eyes will be on turquoise berries framed by shiny red sepals. Give this specimen space near an open window—for a natural air freshener—and underplant with a spreading groundcover like plumbago or a dwarf shrub such as Spiraea japonica ‘Golden Elf’.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and average to moist soil. Flowering on new wood, it may be pruned and artfully shaped in spring. In colder zones, it might die back to the ground. Transplant first-year suckers and seedlings (seeds drop) in spring or fall.
SWEET FERN
Comptonia peregrina
Shrub | Zones 2 to 8
DESCRIPTION Sweet fern’s delicately scented, pale green, rickrack leaves densely pack slender rust-colored stems (2 to 4 ft. tall) that spread by suckers to take hold of inhospitable sites and fix their own nitrogen. Grow it with fellow tough-as-nails North American natives like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’) and bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), and once established, expect it to look healthy even during the hottest, droughtiest summers. Rub crushed leaves on skin and clothing to repel mosquitos.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and poor, well-drained, acidic soil. Until established, give it some space without a lot of competition. In early spring, before growth starts, propagate by transplanting small suckers or by taking root cuttings (place 2- to 4-in. sections horizontally ½ in. deep in rooting medium).
Conoclinium coelestinum
BLUE MISTFLOWER, HARDY AGERATUM
Conoclinium coelestinum and Dahlia ‘Crazy Legs’.
Perennial | Zones 5 to 11
DESCRIPTION Reddish knee-to-hip-high stems of green quilted leaves are topped from late summer to frost with dusty-blue petal-less flowers that resemble the tall annual Ageratum ‘Blue Horizon’. This wildflower from central and southeastern United States willingly fills drainage ditches, pond banks, and rain gardens but it also looks great floating around dahlias and asters in a mixed border with hitchhiking butterflies riding its blue clouds.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and average soil. In moist soil, the shallow-rooted rhizomatous clumps will grow like mint and need editing or dividing (in the spring) every couple of years; thirst slows it down.
RED-TWIG DOGWOOD
Cornus sericea
Stoloniferous shrub | Zones 3 to 8
DESCRIPTION The best reason to grow North American native red-twig dogwood and its Asian and European cousins is for their winter thickets of colorful stems. The straight species grows 7 to 9 ft. tall with deep red stems and incidental oval leaves that shift from green to red and orange in the fall. Spring flowers are followed by decorative white fruit that birds eat up. ‘Flaviramea’ has 5- to 6-ft. tall chartreuse stems and a very vigorous habit; red-stemmed ‘Baileyi’ (6 to 10 ft. tall) isn’t stoloniferous and won’t spread at all.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and average to rich, moist soil. For brightly colored stems, prune a quarter to a third of them to the ground in early spring. To propagate, stick cut stems in potting soil in early spring or sever the connection between parent clump and rooted offshoots in fall and transplant them then or wait until spring.
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens
YELLOW LADY’S SLIPPER
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens
Perennial | Zones 2 to 9
DESCRIPTION Anyone with these orchids growing freely in their woodland garden will feel like a lottery winner. The early-summer blooms dancing on wide, leafy, 12-in. tall green stems are reminiscent of banana-colored toe-shoes with russet laces. Yellow lady’s slippers warrant a spacious and prominent position in the garden, but after flowering they’ll require nearby company of native ferns and later-blooming woodland wildflowers like wild bleeding heart to distract your attention from overripe foliage.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade, and rich, moist soil. Spreads by rhizomes. Divide in fall and mulch annually (also in fall) with shredded or composted leaves. Yellow lady’s slippers are protected by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and it is illegal in some states to collect them from the wild. They are expensive to buy from responsible growers or plant societies so make friends with generous gardeners.
UMBRELLA PLANT
Darmera peltata, pondside at Bedrock Gardens.
Perennial | Zones 5 to 7
DESCRIPTION After 2-ft. tall bobbles of early-spring pink flowers fade, notched leaves big enough around (2 ft. or more in diameter) to shelter small children from the rain, rise on 3- to 5-ft. tall petioles. The plant will transport your garden to the tropics or to its native ancient Siskiyou forest where Bigfoot also lives. The leaves, which are inverted at the center like windblown umbrellas, catch water before they shed it and turn bright red and yellow in the fall. Place an umbrella plant offshoot along the bank of a cold stream or pond where it will spread slowly only as far as the soil is moist, or give it its own bog in a tub.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial to full shade; moist, rich soil; and cool summer temperatures to keep its leaves from scorching. Divide and transplant the thick rhizomes in spring.
SILVERBUSH ELAEAGNUS
Elaeagnus ‘Quicksilver’ and Clematis ‘Roguchi’
Shrub | Zones 2 to 8
DESCRIPTION Come spring, pendant branches of burnished silver foliage are discreetly embellished with yellow four-pointed stars that release a sweetly indiscreet perfume. Plant it in a monochromatic necklace with lamb’s ear and rose campion, or with deeply contrasting evergreens and plants with dark foliage like ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and Aster ‘Lady in Black’.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and rich, well-drained soil. Drought and salt tolerant. Unpruned silverbush elaeagnus will grow at least 12 ft. tall and wide, but it may be shaped annually after flowering (flowering occurs on second-year wood). E. ‘Quicksilver’ is a sterile hybrid of E. angustifolia. Transplant suckers in spring or fall.
Eomecon chionantha
SNOW POPPY
Eomecon chionantha
Perennial | Zones 7 to 9
DESCRIPTION From spring to early summer, bright white wrinkled poppies hover on 1-ft. tall stems over heart-shaped leaves that have a wavy edge and an amphibious texture. Try planting them along a pond bank (with umbrella plant perhaps) or in a rain garden where the soil stays moist but not overly boggy. They’ll spread rapidly in these settings and weave themselves around blueberries and summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), and through clumps of turtlehead (Chelone glabra) and mats of creeping Jenny.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and rich, moist soil. Shallow rhizomes are easy to edit but any buried broken bits will resprout. Snow poppies will go dormant during dry summers. Divide in spring or fall.
BARRENWORT, FAIRY WINGS
Epimedium ‘Amber Queen’
Perennial | Zones 4 to 9 depending on species
and cultivar
DESCRIPTION Given the exquisiteness of the fairy-like flowers that shiver on wiry stems in early spring—along with the asymmetrically heart-shaped, eyelash-edged leaves—it is easy to understand why some gardeners collect epimediums like orchids. On the other hand, these plants spread willingly enough (even in dry shade) that every enthusiast should be able to part with a rhizome or two. Heights vary from a couple of inches to around a foot, and leaf colors range from chartreuse to green, to mottled, edged, and spotted red, to purple. Plant them in magic carpet–like drifts in a woodland garden with European and Canadian ginger, cranesbill geranium, and sedge.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial or bright shade, and rich, moist to dry, well-drained soil. Cut foliage to the ground in early spring before the flowers uncurl from the crown. Divide in fall, using pruners, a saw, or brute force to break tangled clumps apart if necessary.
Fragaria vesca
WOODLAND OR WILD STRAWBERRY
Fragaria vesca shares a pathway with thyme.
Perennial | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION Check under deep green triads of deckled-edged leaves for snacks in early summer. The fruit is small and a little mealy but gardeners will always be rewarded with a mouthwatering bite of nostalgia. (Didn’t we all pick wild strawberries as kids?) Plant the 4- to 8-in. tufts at the front edges of garden beds and paths and watch them leapfrog along, producing plantlets at the ends of stolons.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Position stolons to root wherever you want, and transplant plantlets in spring or fall. Plants may self-sow if uneaten fruit drops. Production wanes with age so replace clumps with fresh plantlets every two to three years.
SWEET WOODRUFF
Galium odoratum
Perennial | Zones 5 to 8
DESCRIPTION Sweet woodruff should almost be required planting in spring gardens and shady borders. The 6- to 12-in. high deep green leaf whorls add interest running around the bare legs of shrubs and its tiny blown-out-white flowers delicately scent late spring’s breezes. Let it form a ground-covering mulch under your blueberries—they’ll go well together all summer in the moist shade they both love—or allow it to fill spring’s naked spots in your sunniest border. In full summer sun, sweet woodruff will go dormant by the time your later-blooming perennials are ready to take over the show.
FINE PRINT Prefers spring sun and summer shade,
and average to moist soil. Divide and transplant in spring or fall.
Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’ mingles with lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina).
Geranium macrorrhizum
CRANESBILL GERANIUM
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION Weeds don’t stand a chance under the dense 1-ft. tall canopy of apple-scented, apple-green, palmate leaves. Pink, white, or purplish flowers (depending on cultivar) rise slightly above the leaves in loose clusters for a couple of long spring into summer months. Encourage large swaths to fill in neglected areas or plop the pillowy clumps atop quilts of bugle and Meehan’s mint in a shady rock garden.
FINE PRINT Prefers sun to partial shade, and dry to moist, well-drained soil. Drought tolerant. Leaves turn purple-red in the fall but may yellow prematurely during hot, dry summers. Pull crispy leaves out like gray hairs to neaten its appearance. Divide in spring or fall.
Hakonechloa macra
JAPANESE FOREST GRASS
Hakonechloa macra “Aureola” and catmint.
Perennial grass | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION For anyone as hooked as I am to this grass, its cascades of shin-high chartreuse can’t spread fast enough. No partial-shade-loving companions will look wrong with golden Japanese forest grass (H. macra ‘Aureola’), but hellebores, Geranium ‘Rozanne’, and Heuchera ‘Caramel’ are especially right. If only it would spread like mint we could plant extra pieces in containers with Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Spreads by rhizomes. Let winter twist and curl its blades before you detach them from the crown with snips or a gentle tug in early spring. Divide and transplant in spring.
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’
OAKLEAF HYDRANGEA
Shrub | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION The coarse-textured, oak-notched leaves set this hydrangea apart from the rest, particularly in fall when they turn the deepest burgundy and purple colors. From late summer to its darkest fall moment, it is also distinguished by top-heavy conehead panicles of flowers (‘Snowflake’ is an exquisite double form) that shift from pale green to white to pink to brown. Winter is this southeastern United States native’s only downside: the peeling bark, which is supposed to be “interesting,” combined with brown flowers turn it into a tattered ragamuffin. So let it spread its underground stolons in a partially shady border with a distracting clump or two of red-twig dogwood.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Flowers form on old wood so prune it right after flowering. Sever offshoots from the parent clump and transplant them in spring or fall. Or propagate by taking cuttings or layering in midsummer.
Itea virginica
VIRGINIA SWEETSPIRE
Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’ and anise hyssop seedheads.
Shrub | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION I always forget to notice this northeast native shrub’s drooping sausage-like racemes of white flowers that bloom through the busy days of early summer, but I never miss the fall show when its translucent leaves blaze red, hanging like pennants on suckering stems. Plant the 2- to 3-ft. dwarf Little Henry (I. virginica ‘Sprich’), or its 3- to 4-ft. tall cousin, ‘Henry’s Garnet’, in front of feathery autumn flowering grasses and cerulean-blue bog sage—and wherever else its foliage will be backlit by autumn’s low-slung sun.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and moist to wet soil. Propagate by cuttings anytime or by division of suckers in spring or fall. Rejuvenate by cutting older stems to the ground in early spring.
SPOTTED DEADNETTLE
Lamium maculatum ‘Shell Pink’
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION Spreading by both rhizomes and
stolons, this mint family member reaches its silver-centered foliage and knobby spikes of whorled flowers in all directions from spring through summer. A wide assortment of cultivars sport leaves with different patterns from all-green to chartreuse to streaked silver to almost entirely silver, and flower colors ranging from white or yellow to pale pinks and purples. The more green the leaves, the more vigorous the plant; plant spotted deadnettle around shrubs, hosta, and golden Japanese forest grass that can’t be run over.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade to shade, and moist soil. Spotted deadnettle is very shallow rooted and easy to pull or spade out. Divide in early spring or fall and reposition sections if it piles itself up against roadblocks or goes bald in patches.
Liriope muscari
LILY TURF
Liriope muscari with hosta and heuchera in Blithewold’s Moongate Bed.
Perennial | Zones 6 to 10
DESCRIPTION Tufted straps of narrow, deeply evergreen, 1-ft. tall foliage spread from stolons to form a
thick pelt even in dry shade under deciduous trees. Late-summer spikes of bluish purple flowers are followed in fall through winter by glossy black berries arrayed on the same narrow tines. Give them room to exhibit their no-frills frills, and contrast with heuchera, epimedium, and plumbago.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade, and average rich, acidic soil. Drought tolerant. Cut foliage to the ground in early spring, with a mower or snips, before new growth emerges from the center of each tuft. Divide clumps in early spring or fall.
SWEET-BREATH-OF-SPRING, WINTER HONEYSUCKLE
Syrphid fly visiting flowers of Lonicera fragrantissima
in early spring.
Shrub | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION A non-climbing tangled thicket of branches with small, round, almost evergreen leaves extend in 10-ft. arcs to the ground. From late winter into spring, even when the air is cold and noses are frozen, pairs of tiny, disheveled, cream-colored flowers appear at the leaf axils to fill each breath with the sweetest citrusy perfume. Bees love it and birds go for the tiny berries that follow. Plant it in a hedgerow or border with showier shrubs like flowering raspberry and ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) or banked by perennials and annuals.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and average soil. Prune back to a low framework or to the ground after flowering to keep the shrub from looking gangly. Spreads by rooted layers and suckers, either of which may be transplanted in spring or fall, and by bird-strewn seed in some areas. INVASIVE in Tennessee and Virginia.
Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’
GOLDEN CREEPING JENNY, MONEYWORT
Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION Golden creeping Jenny is a pot of gold at the end of the garden’s rainbow. Low piles of coinage, to 2 in. high, scatter along the surface of the soil or cascade richly over edges. Use it to fill in naked gaps between flower beds and the lawn edge (be aware that it is likely to creep onto the lawn, though some of us won’t mind) or as a weed barrier under roses and along pond banks.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to bright shade—foliage will be blazing yellow in full sun and chartreuse in shade—and rich, moist to boggy soil. Spreads by layering. Watch for signs of reversion to the straight species and destroy any deep green portions. Divide and transplant in spring. The straight species is INVASIVE in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
PLUME POPPY
Macleaya cordata
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION Towering feather-topped stems of gray-green, oak-lobed leaves grow 8 to 10 ft. tall from shallow rhizomes to screen the neighbors, embellish bare walls, and alter the scale of the garden by making us look up. Plant it in a larger-than-life tropical combination with canna and elephant’s ears or with the feathery foliage of bronze fennel as an elegantly contrasting summer backdrop along a wide border.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade; average to moist, well-drained soil; and protection from drought and wind. Shallow rhizomes are easy to pull but are brittle and will resprout if broken. Propagate by transplanting root sections or taking root cuttings in spring.
Mahonia aquifolium
OREGON GRAPE, HOLLY-LEAVED BARBERRY
Mahonia aquifolium ‘Smaragd’
Shrub | Zones 6 to 9
DESCRIPTION The holly-like leaf sets on unbranching stems are handsome enough, especially as they change color in the fall, but what makes this slow-growing, 3- to 8-ft. tall suckering shrub so cool are the fragrant clusters of lemon-yellow flowers that appear on the stem tips in early spring and the subsequent blue-black “grapes.” Oregon grape is ubiquitous in its native Pacific Northwest and adaptable to dry soil and sunny sites there; elsewhere it is less common and therefore an eye-catching addition to shrub borders underplanted with wild strawberry, snow poppy, or spotted deadnettle.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Protection from winter sun and wind, and from summer drought, will prevent its leaves from looking blowtorched. To propagate, transplant shallow-rooted suckers in spring. Minimize root disturbance by keeping plenty of soil around the roots. Trim the top growth and keep suckers well-watered until established.
MEEHAN’S MINT, CREEPING MINT
Meehania cordata
Perennial | Zones 5 to 8
DESCRIPTION The thick mats of green heart-shaped leaves will probably go unnoticed until out-of-scale, tubular, two-lipped lavender-blue flowers emerge in abundant 4- to 6-in. spires in late spring. Beat that, bugle. In fact, indigenous to eastern United States woodlands, it is a native plant-lover’s alternative to bugle (Ajuga reptans) and spotted deadnettle. Let it run wild through a woodland wildflower garden or along the edges of a shady border planted with hellebores, corydalis, and primroses.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial to full shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Meehan’s mint spreads by stolons that trail along the ground and root in as they go. Transplant rooted sections in early spring or fall.
Mentha spicata ‘Kentucky Colonel’
SPEARMINT
Mentha spicata ‘Kentucky Colonel’ with a few ‘Alaska Salmon’ nasturtiums.
Perennial | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION This quintessential julep mint sends up lush spears of extra-aromatic quilted leaves from generously spreading shallow-rooted rhizomes until off-white spikes of midsummer flowers cause it to slacken its pace. Plant it with tomatoes and cabbage (it is said to improve their flavor and repel pest insects) or allot it a corner of the herb garden to run circles around clumps of echinacea and lavender.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and moist soil. If you choose to contain mint’s runners in a pot, buried or above ground, do not let the potting soil dry out. Divide and replant annually to keep it from circling the edges. If you throw caution to the wind and let mint run free (as I do), simply pull or spade out unwanted pieces. Divide in spring or fall.
BEEBALM, BERGAMOT
Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’
Perennial | Zones 4 to 9
DESCRIPTION You won’t need to keep the hummingbird feeder filled while this eastern North American stream bank and wet woodland wildflower is in bloom. Carousels of bright red or pink tubular feeding ports are offered atop ever-increasing clumps of minty fragrant 3- to 5-ft. stems in midsummer. The especially tall cultivar ‘Jacob Cline’ has fire engine–red flowers and resistance to the powdery mildew fungus that plagues the species. Plant for distraction and entertainment by the kitchen window, or next to your favorite garden bench with other hummingbird magnets like blue anise sage and flowering tobacco.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and moist, well-drained soil. Spreads by rhizomes. Deadhead to prolong the bloom time or leave seedheads standing for the birds to eat through the winter. Cut stems to the ground in spring. Divide in spring.
Oenothera speciosa
MEXICAN EVENING PRIMROSE
Oenothera speciosa ‘Siskiyou’
Perennial | Zones 5 to 8
DESCRIPTION There is no middle ground with southwest native Mexican evening primrose. Gardeners either love that the fragrant pink-veined cups will open in the daylight for weeks of early summer—even in poor soil during a drought—or hate that it travels at the speed of light and pops up in the middle of neighboring plants. Use it to its and your best advantage by planting it where other plants would fail to thrive: ask it to edge out the weeds along the driveway or pathways where its rhizomatous spread is checked by pavement, or allow it to tumble along under peonies or roses, which aren’t the least bit bothered by encroaching runners. The cultivar ‘Siskiyou’ is very floriferous and grows about 10 in. tall.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun and any well-drained soil (poor sandy soil slows its growth while rich soil encourages it to run faster). Overly wet winters and poor drainage will do it in. Cut stems back after flowering. Divide in spring.
CHINESE DUNCECAP
Orostachys iwarenge in a hypertufa trough with a variety of sedums.
Succulent perennial | Zones 5 to 10
DESCRIPTION Tiny pinkish gray rosettes masquerade as pockets of gravel until 4- to 6-in. creamy-pink flower towers rise like miniature skyscrapers. Tuck them into rock wall crevices where they will also drop themselves in pieces along its base, and among the stones, sedums, and alpines in a sunny rock garden scree.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and poor, well-drained soil. The rosettes are monocarpic—they die after flowering—but produce so many offshoots, you’d never know to miss them. Propagate by digging clusters, gently pulling them apart, and replanting the pieces.
Petasites japonicus and Black Lace elderberry.
BUTTERBUR
Perennial | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION The green flower clusters that appear in early spring like butter pats on a bed of lettuce give no hint of what follows. Within a couple of weeks after flowering, enormous round leaves, mostly over 2 ft. wide, grow on 3- to 4-ft. tall celery-like stalks from shallow rhizomes. Planting butterbur in a distant corner will pull the area visually closer. Or enjoy their tropical vibe nearby, paired with the lush foliage of viburnum, hydrangea, and red-twig dogwood. ‘Variegata’ brightens shady borders with smaller white-splashed leaves and a slightly shorter stride.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial to full shade, and moist soil. Leaves may wilt and look wretched during dry spells. Rhizomes are shallow and soft enough to pull out by hand or slice through with a spade. Divide in spring (when the leaves begin to emerge) or fall.
Phlox paniculata
SUMMER PHLOX, GARDEN PHLOX
Phlox paniculata ‘Natural Feelings’
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION Fragrant cumulonimbus flower clusters in a range of colors—from sunrise and sunset pinks to storm-cloud lavender and bright white—are tethered to stiff 3- to 5-ft. stems of lance-shaped leaves. The presence of this eastern United States native is practically required in any sunny border so it’s lucky for us plant geeks that odd cultivars with showy bracts exist. Look for the pink-and-green ‘Natural Feelings’ and ‘Mystique Black’ which has deep purple buds that slowly open to a more normal purplish pink. Surround summer phlox with plants like aster and anise hyssop that can help hide their sometimes mildewy stems.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and rich, moist soil. New cultivars are bred for mildew resistance but it is still a good idea to cut about a third of the stems to the ground in early summer to increase airflow through the clump. At the same time, cut some stems in half to stagger their bloom time. Divide in spring or fall.
CREEPING PHLOX
Phlox stolonifera
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION In early spring, masses of 1-in. wide fragrant pale purple or pink flowers hover on delicate 6-in. stems over dense green mats that elegantly fill swaths of woodland garden floor. Plant creeping phlox or lavender-blue woodland phlox (P. divaricata), which is another 6 in. taller but doesn’t spread as vigorously, with wild bleeding heart, woodland ferns, daffodils, and trout lily (Erythronium americanum). Like the best spring ephemerals, the plants all but disappear from our sight after the flowers go, but their green mats will continue to outcompete weeds. Both creeping and woodland phlox are native to the United States.
FINE PRINT Prefers morning sun and afternoon shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Cut spent flowers back to encourage fresh foliage growth or leave them until early the following spring. Divide any time after flowering.
Porteranthus trifoliatus, syn. Gillenia trifoliata
BOWMAN’S ROOT, INDIAN PHYSIC
Porteranthus trifoliatus
Perennial | Zones 5 to 9
DESCRIPTION A delicate rhizomatous native North American filler for beds that are shaded from midday sun. It reaches 2 to 3 ft. tall and about as wide over time with serrated bronze-tinged leaves held on skinny burgundy stems. In late spring, loose five-pointed white stars flutter out of pinkish red calyces looking for all the world like a swarm of butterflies. Although it goes quiet over the summer, the leaves turn shades of peach to red in fall. Plant with other spring bloomers like cranesbill geranium, which has foliage that turns purplish in the fall, and blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii) famous for its yellow autumn blaze.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Drought tolerant once established. Propagation by division is tricky because the roots resent disturbance. Try transplanting small pieces in spring or take cuttings instead.
MOUNTAIN MINT
Pycnanthemum muticum
Perennial | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION This plant, native to eastern North American woodlands and meadows, might not be showy but it is certainly attractive. Dozens of different species of pollinating bees, wasps, butterflies, and moths will congregate to feed on the nectar-rich white flowers arrayed around gray-green buttons set 3 to 5 ft. atop bracts of silver. At home in woodland dapple, mountain mint will also be perfectly comfortable in unfussy sunny borders with goldenrod, beebalm, and betony. Sturdy seedheads remain attractive all winter—to us and to any birds needing cover—and the delicious-smelling minty stems contain a chemical that repels mosquitos when rubbed on bare skin.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and rich, well-drained soil. Mountain mint contains the mint family gene for vigor but increases its girth annually in mat-forming increments rather than by runners. Divide in spring or remove a few inches of growth from the perimeter to make room for more.
Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’
TIGER EYES STAGHORN SUMAC
Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’ spreading through a mixed border.
Shrub | Zones 4 to 8
DESCRIPTION Sculptural antler-furred winter stems disappear under finely cut tiers of key-lime foliage that turn safety-orange in the fall. Growing 6 to 12 ft. tall, Tiger Eyes staghorn sumac can be used as an eye-catching focal point in a wide mixed flower border or as an ornament along the garden’s fringes. Suckers spend most of their first season low to the ground as excellent companions for heuchera and catmint (Nepeta racemosa), and grow their legs the following season. The straight species of staghorn sumac is often maligned as a weed but I cheer on this eastern North American native whenever it goes head to head with exotic invasive species.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and dry to moist, well-drained soil. When grown in partial shade, leaves will be more chartreuse than yellow and fall color will be more reliably orange. Transplant suckers in spring and keep them well-watered through a wilty transition. Or propagate via root cuttings.
BEACH ROSE, JAPANESE ROSE
The brightly colored Rosa rugosa among Shasta daisies.
Shrub | Zones 2 to 9
DESCRIPTION Roses have a reputation for being high-maintenance headaches but anything that grows willingly in beach sand must be made of tough stuff. Blackspot avoids this rose’s leathery wrinkled leaves and evidently even the buds intimidate aphids and Japanese beetles—perhaps the same way the super thorny stems prevent the gardener from getting too close and fussing. Whether you grow it for the spicy scent of its single cerise or white flowers or for its huge red vitamin C–rich hips, it will look gorgeous alongside calamint, lavender, and Shasta daisies.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun and any soil. Cut stems back to a low (12- to 18-in.) framework in early spring, before or soon after the foliage buds break. Also in early spring, propagate by transplanting suckers, using a spade (and persistence) to dig out the deep roots.
A double-flowering form of Rubus odoratus.
BRAMBLE
Shrub | Zones vary
DESCRIPTION After beach roses, I draw the line at thorny briars and brambles. But I do love a good berry pie—lucky for me, not all blackberries require body armor. Thornless blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius, zones 6 to 9) will be most productive tied up to a trellis in the vegetable garden but may be allowed to wander through a flower border where second-year canes will offer the weeder sustenance in mid to late summer. Flowering raspberry (R. odoratus, zones 3 to 7) and thimbleberry (R. parviflorus, zones 3 to 9)), native to eastern and western North America respectively, both provide 3- to 8-ft. tall curtains of velvety grass-green maple foliage that quickly conceal naked ground and screen the view. Flowering raspberry displays clusters of 2-in. wild rose flowers all summer and scant gritty berries best left to the birds; thimbleberry grows sideways at a slightly slower rate while producing white flowers that bloom in early summer and tastier berries. All three plants shed their leaves in winter leaving a lattice-like thicket of stems.
FINE PRINT All prefer full sun (for best flowering and fruiting) to partial shade, and moist soil. For thornless blackberry, cut the past season’s productive canes to the ground in late winter or early spring leaving the newest canes for the coming season; trim first-year shoots in spring to encourage branching. For flowering raspberry and thimbleberry, prune top growth and remove shallow-rooted runners as needed. Propagate all by transplanting runners in the fall.
Salvia uliginosa
BOG SAGE
Salvia uliginosa
Perennial | Zones 6 to 10
DESCRIPTION Slender, light green, 4- to 6-ft.stems with smallish leaves branch into airy clumps that wave short spires of sky-blue and white flowers in midsummer to fall breezes. Allow bog sage to spread its shallow rhizomes through the back of a border against a backdrop of canna, to weave through the chartreuse foliage of Tiger Eyes staghorn sumac, or to run pondside with red-twig dogwood.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and moist soil (growth will be stunted and its reach limited in dry soil). Divide and transplant in spring, or propagate by tip cuttings in late spring or late summer.
STRAWBERRY BEGONIA, MOTHER OF THOUSANDS
Saxifraga stolonifera
Perennial | Zones 6 to 9
DESCRIPTION Neither a strawberry nor a begonia, its rounded, fuzzy, silver-veined leaves are vaguely begonia-ish, while the plantlets that form at the ends of dangling red stolons are decidedly strawberry-like. Bunches of foliage hug shady ground and send shooting-star flowers skyward on loose 1-ft. tall stems in early summer. Position “mother of thousands” where her daughters can dangle over the edge of a shady rock wall with corydalis and climbing snapdragon, or plant it in containers.
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade to shade, and rich, moist soil. Propagate by placing plantlets on soil and wait two or three weeks until roots have formed before severing the parental connection. Potted plants can be brought indoors for the winter to dangle in an east window.
Sedum
STONECROP
Sedum dasyphyllum in flower.
Succulent perennial | Zones vary
DESCRIPTION With more than four hundred species to choose from there has to be a stonecrop for every sunny garden. S. acre (zones 3 to 8) is famous for covering acres as lushly as lawn although it can’t take heavy foot traffic or soccer games. S. dasyphyllum (zones 3 to 7) makes tiny mounds of miniscule pinkish gray leaves that break off to make new tiny mounds, and produces clusters of the palest pink flowers on 1- to 3-in. stems in early summer. Dusty gray rosettes and bright yellow star flowers of S. spathulifolium (zones 5 to 9) can handle a little shade to look like exquisite beadwork at the garden’s fringes.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and average, neutral to alkaline, well-drained soil. Propagate sedums by accidentally or intentionally breaking leaves and letting them fall on the soil where they will eventually root, or divide them in spring.
FALSE SPIREA
Sorbaria sorbifolia ‘Sem’
Multi-stemmed shrub | Zones 2 to 7
DESCRIPTION While the straight species is generally considered too coarse and boring for gardens, ‘Sem’ is almost too interesting. From spring into early summer the 3- to 4-ft. tall suckering mound of finely cut blushed-peach foliage calls attention to itself like madras plaid shorts on a tourist. The foliage quiets down to ferny green right around the arrival of vanilla-soft-serve flowers in early summer. It is short enough to include in mixed borders underplanted with forget-me-not and blue fescue or to use as an eye-catching filler in a shrub border with ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and Black Lace elderberry (Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’).
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and moist, well-drained soil. Flowering occurs on new wood so stems can be cut to the ground in spring to keep them from getting out of scale. Divide suckers and transplant in spring or fall.
Stachys officinalis ‘Hummelo’
BETONY
Stachys officinalis ‘Hummelo’
Perennial | Zones 5 to 8
DESCRIPTION Introduced by the master of year-round garden design, Piet Oudolf, and named for his hometown in the Netherlands, ‘Hummelo’ betony has something for every season. Stoloniferously spreading evergreen clumps of rough but lustrous green foliage look their best in spring and give rise to 2-ft. tall abundant midsummer cob-ettes of intensely purple flowers, which in turn become sturdy seedheads that carry their drifts through fall and winter. The plants are so upright, tidy, and static they look best with anything that moves in the breeze, be it Mexican feather grass or sea holly, butterflies or bumble bees.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun, and average well-drained soil. Drought tolerant. Like its cousin lamb’s ear (S. byzantina), ‘Hummelo’ requires sharp winter drainage but its leathery leaves make it more tolerant of overhead watering. Divide and transplant in spring.
Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Steroidal Giant’
RICE PAPER PLANT
Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Steroidal Giant’
Tree, shrub, or herbaceous perennial (depending on hardiness) | Zones 6 to 11
DESCRIPTION If you really want to impress the neighbors, plant ‘Steroidal Giant’ where it will make coppiced Paulownia tree leaves look weensy, and cannas—kid stuff. Just don’t plant it too near the boundary fence. Enormous raw silk pinwheels (1 to 3 ft. in diameter) produced through the summer on brown felted trunks that rise anywhere from 5 to 12 ft. will certainly cause jaws to drop in awe and envy. But the neighbors might give you the hairy eyeball if its suckers start popping up in their yard.
FINE PRINT Prefers full sun to partial shade, and average, well-drained soil. In zones colder than 8, plants will die to the ground in winter. In warmer zones, height can be restricted by cutting it to the ground in early spring or by replacing older plants with pups. Transplant suckers in spring.
FOAMFLOWER
Tiarella ‘Elizabeth Oliver’
Perennial | Zones vary
DESCRIPTION North American native foamflower is too sweet to ever be called aggressive or invasive yet some species and cultivars are vigorous enough to satisfy our craving for more. The East’s heart-leaf foamflower (T. cordifolia, zones 3 to 8) spreads its blanket of soft green leaves, sometimes marked with maroon streaks, and frothy flowers along the ground via underground stolons. Others, such as T. wherryi (zones 3 to 7) from the Appalachian Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest’s T. trifoliata var. laciniata (zones 4 to 7) form clumps. Hybrid crosses introduced in the 1980s and 1990s like ‘Elizabeth Oliver’ (zones 4 to 8) have been endlessly tweaked to produce a wide variety of leaf shapes, leaf colors, flower production (though all are either white or pink), and vigor perfect for adding elegance to woodland vignettes of celandine poppy, cranesbill geranium, and lungwort (Pulmonaria).
FINE PRINT Prefers partial shade to shade, and rich, moist, well-drained soil. Protect from slugs and excessive winter wetness. Divide and transplant in spring, making sure not to bury the crown.
