Our Plants

Silver foliage with 3' tall stems topped with broad, sulfur-yellow flower heads. A hybrid of A. x 'Taygeta' and A. clypeolata, introduced by Alan Bloom in the 1950s. An excellent choice for a hot dry site, especially if it's windy. A beautiful cut flower!

Another fine Ernest Pagels introduction. Pronounced silvery foliage and sturdy stems supporting bright peach flowers that slowly turn to rich hues of earthy reds and oranges. An excellent cut flower!

Naturalized yarrow has soft fern-like leaves that provide textural interest in the garden with soft white blooms in summer and occasionally into fall. Beloved by pollinators, yarrow spreads by rhizome and can be trained to be a full sun native lawn substitute.

Common yarrow is a carefree garden plant that spreads easily to fill available space. 'Oertel's Rose' is rosy pink with good strong color that is slow to fade.

Intense red flowers surround bright yellow centers. This Achillea is a vigorous grower that will quickly form a dense weed-blocking mat. It is one of the most floriferous of the Achillea cultivars, presenting a solid block of red in early summer. An easy and rewarding production plant, it has very few pest or pathogen problems.

Acorus americanus is a hardy perennial swamp or bog plant with sweet, spicy-scented leaves. Spadix-like flowers appear in June and July, followed by dark berries. Found at water's edge from Nova Scotia to Virginia to Washington to Alaska. Great for stabilizing pond edges or filling a boggy area.

Dainty, bright green fronds are held aloft on shiny black stems, creating a light, airy texture in the woodland garden. In rich soil and bright shade it will spread by shallow rhizomes to form a dense groundcover. Found in the humus-rich woodlands and moist woods of Eastern North America. Easy to grow as long as the soil is loose and rich.

Selected for its profusion of long lasting, deep violet-blue flower spikes that appear from July to September above fragrant foliage. Prefers average to dry locations and is a butterfly magnet! Bred and selected by Gert Fortgens of the Arboretum Trompenberg, in Rotterdam. Agastache 'Blue Fortune' is long flowering, heat and drought tolerant, as well as insect and disease resistant. 'Blue Fortune' is a hybrid of species native to the US and Korea, A. foeniculum x A. rugosa.

Definitely a WOW! plant. Chartreuse, Coleus-like foliage is incredible on its own, but the blue bottlebrush flowers in mid summer top it off beautifully. Very hardy and will self sow. Benefits from a little shade in production to protect leaf color. A 2003 All-America Selection Flower Award Winner.

An upright, clump-forming perennial native to parts of the upper Midwest and Great Plains region. Lavender to purple flowers are densely packed along showy, cylindrical, terminal spikes mid to late summer. Medium green, lanceolate foliage remains clean throughout the season and carries a refreshing anise scent, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

A new and distinct cultivar from Darwin Perennials that is characterized by its medium violet-purple flowers, dark green foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright-mounded growth habit. In side-by-side comparisons with its cousin, Agastache ‘Black Adder’, A. ‘Little Adder’ sits a little lower in the perennial border and exhibited a better-branched habit.

The bonus of ‘Little Adder’ is the abundance of blooms—with three times the blooms of ‘Black Adder’ for three times the flower power—it’s safe to say pollinators will be very happy with the addition of this little gem in the landscape.

Green to bright chartreuse flowers appear in clusters above scalloped, grey-green foliage from late spring through summer. Robust and vigorous, Alchemilla mollis 'Auslese' prefers full sun to part shade and has a wonderfully uniform habit.

This ornamental onion features snaky, twisty leaves reminiscent of the snake-haired Medusa from legend. It creates a low mound of grey-green, narrow foliage, with leaves that curl slightly at the tips. The nodding buds resemble snakes at the stem tips, which then straighten out to become clusters of light amethyst purple flowers.

The 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year! The globe-shaped, rosy-purple flowers provide a vibrant, colorful accent to the late summer garden. Mature plants boast numerous long-lasting blooms. The foliage is a glossy, deep green, resembling grass and is tolerant to heat. This low-maintenance, reliable plant is not only a gardener's favorite but also beloved by pollinators.

This long-blooming, compact Amsonia forms a dense, compact mound of dark green leaves that turn brilliant yellow in the fall. Looks fantastic in a gallon!

A graceful and long-lived native plant with very fine foliage, clusters of steel blue flowers in May and June on an upright, bushy plant. Excellent golden fall color. Thrives in full sun or part shade. No insect or pest problems. Found in Arkansas in 1942 by Leslie Hubricht.

The king of native grasses, big bluestem has handsome gray to blue-green stems in spring, turning to green alternating with deep red in summer, then to coppery red in fall. Three-fingered seed heads top tall stems in August. Clump forming with excellent drought tolerance once established. Found naturally in moist meadows and along side roads and rivers from Canada to Mexico.

A seedling of Andropogon gerardii 'Red October', this exciting new release from Intrinsic Perennial Gardens has dark green upright foliage that begins to turn red in the cool nights of August and becomes a ravishing nearly black color by September.

An easy-to-grow, clump-forming, native warm season grass with incredible golden copper fall color. A pioneer soil stabilizing plant that does well in poor, infertile areas and surprisingly well in floodplains. It's wonderful for xeriscaping and restoration projects, or in coastal areas. The attractive fall and winter stems make a unique addition to cut flower arrangements!

A strong-growing plant that needs room to move. Clear white single flowers top out at 18" from mid spring to early summer. A robust and competitive native plant that brightens up woodland edges and shady corners of the garden. Combines well with other spring-blooming perennials such as Polemonium, Sisyrinchium and Mertensia.

Covered in double flowering, bubblegum pink blooms from mid to late summer! The seed heads look like little fluffy cotton balls, standing atop strong stems to give interest to the garden from fall into winter. This vigorous, clumping selection is a delight in the garden or mixed container.

Delicate, nodding white flowers bloom early to mid spring atop lustrous dense, green foliage. A low maintenance groundcover for bright shade! Easy to grow in containers, overwinters well in cold frames if protected from heavy rain and snow melt.

This stately, clear-white Anemone selection was made in the mid-1800's and is still beloved by the modern gardener. Perhaps it is the charm of its unique flowers and preblooms in late summer or the joy of watching its easy sway in the late summer breeze. Ultimately, we love it because it is an effortless and reliable presence in the garden. Whatever the reason that you fall in love with 'Honorine Jobert' know that it is a timeless classic. 

Anemone × hybrida Wild Swan™ 'MACANE001' is a long-blooming, compact, floriferous new anemone with lovely lavender coloration on the reverse side of the petals. Wild Swan begins flowering an average of two months earlier than other varieties and keeps on trucking until the end of the season. Flowers are held high and proud, allowing them to catch gently on the breeze. A graceful beaut to be sure! 

Looking for a tough groundcover that thrives in full sun, dry, and lean soils? Need it to be low-growing with an attractive but discrete foliage? Then, look no further. Antennaria plantaginifolia fills that niche with style. Native to the eastern United States, this little plant is great in an open woodland edge, rocky slope, rock gardens, or prairie.

Red flowers with yellow centers hang like drifts of softly illuminated lanterns in April and May. Excellent as a shady rock garden naturalizer, it also is quite content in average garden conditions. Occurs naturally in rich rocky woods, north-facing slopes, cliffs, ledges, pastures, and roadside banks. Native to all states east of the Rockies, but not found in Louisiana.

Profuse show of butter-yellow, lantern-shaped flowers from April to May. Its short stature, delicate color and mid spring bloom time make it an ideal companion for spring bulbs! It was spotted by Lawrence Clemens who asked that it be named after the Corbett Historic District which is near Monkton in Baltimore County, Maryland. Bluemount Nurseries, of Monkton, MD was the first to offer this charming local Aquilegia to the market. 

'Little Lanterns' is short in stature, but free with flowers! Numerous pendant flowers of red and yellow cover the plant in late spring. This selection resolves a few grievances that some have expressed about Aquilegia canadensis by having consistantly shorter stature and more intense color than the species.

A fantastic native with large, fine-textured feathery blooms in late Spring. Though closely related to Spiraea, goat's beard more closely resembles a giant Astilbe. When happy, Aruncus can be a formidable garden plant, reaching a spread of 6 feet or more. It is lovely when used at woods edge and it can provide a dense screen beneath a high canopy.

One of the most beautiful of native perennials with clusters of upturned pink flowers in June and July. Much underused in average garden conditions! Attracts butterflies of all kinds. Willow-like leaves are 4-5" long. Occurs in floodplains and wet meadows.

She's the belle of the ball! Sweetly scented with blooms of blush pink, Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella' from Walters Gardens lasts longer in your garden than her namesake. A perennial with beauty, grace, and staying power, this wetland native does well in average garden conditions and is a pollinator favorite!

This native classic is best known as a food of larval monarch butterflies (along with its cousins A. incarnata and A. tuberosa). Robust, yet beautiful with deep pink clusters of fragrant flowers in June and July followed by lovely pods of silky seeds in October.

A tough, drought-tolerant native with intense orange flowers in mid to late summer. Attracts many varieties of butterflies and is especially attractive to Monarchs. A beautiful solution for a dry sunny slope! Occurs in dry fields and roadsides in most of the US.

A widely adaptable and tough native that is a deer-resistant food for larval butterflies. The fine-textured foliage provides a dark green backdrop for the clusters of white flowers that appear in June and July.

This member of the Wood's Aster group has the typical low rounded habit and profuse blooming associated with all three. 'Wood's Blue' has perfectly clean foliage, and in the early fall it is covered with clear, medium blue flowers with gold centers. Bred for compact habit, long bloom period and heavy flowering, all of the Wood's Asters are outstanding pot crops and should be used far more often as a sturdy perennial alternative for mums.

Aster 'Wood's Pink' is virtually mildew and rust free. Like all the Wood's Asters, it is a wonderful container plant, with a compact habit and unstoppable clear pink flowers with gold centers. Bred for compact habit, long bloom period and heavy flowering, all of the Wood's Asters are outstanding pot crops and should be used far more often as a sturdy perennial alternative for mums.

Aster 'Wood's Purple' has perfectly clean foliage, and is loaded with single, clear purple flowers in late summer and early fall. It is slightly earlier than 'Wood's Blue'. Bred for compact habit, long bloom period and heavy flowering, all of the Wood's Asters are outstanding pot crops and should be used far more often as a sturdy perennial alternative for mums.

Clouds of blue flowers in early fall in shade! A great naturalizer under trees, at the edge of woods, or as a filler among Hostas and Astilbes, which look pretty rough by September. Found in woods and dry meadows.

This selection of the native wood aster is a prolific bloomer, carpeting the shade garden with light blue in early fall, when little else blooms and the hostas are in decline. A quick and easy pot crop for fall sales. Beautiful and long-lasting as a filler in autumn flower arrangements!

Produces a fairyland of glistening small white daisies in September and October. Lovely when naturalized in shade and average to dry soil. Found in deciduous woods and along roadsides of the Eastern US.

We have grown this select form anonymously for many years and have deemed it worthy of a name. It is shorter than the species and has deep dark shining mahogany stems. It came our way from Canyon Creek Nursery, via Roger Rache, then of the Berkley Botanic Gardens's Eastern US section. Originally collected from coastal Rhode Island.

A very low, dense carpeting groundcover that is smothered with 1/2" single white flowers with gold centers in September. A good strong grower and a totally new look and use for Asters! Makes an excellent container plant.

'Bluebird' is a superlative selection of the native smooth aster introduced by Dr. Richard Lighty of the Mt. Cuba Center. This tall, vase-shaped wildflower has large 1" diameter blue flowers held in cloud-like clusters at the tips of the arching branches. You can pinch back the young shoots in June for denser habit and more flowers, but it is not essential. Staking is helpful by late summer if you forget to pinch. Perfectly clean foliage makes for easy maintenance in production and in the landscape. Aster laevis is a great source of nectar for migrating monarchs and other late season butterflies. Ranked #1 in Mt. Cuba Center's aster evaluations.

Who can resist plants with great names? Aster 'Lady in Black' is an elegant 3-4' mound of purplish-black strappy leaves smothered in red-centered tiny white daisies in late summer and early fall. A stronger, more statuesque sister of Aster 'Prince' that will thrive in average soil in sun or part shade, but shows best foliage coloration in full sun. Thousands of flowers per plant—a butterfly's dream!

Blooms ranging from blue-purple to lavender-pink pop in the late summer and fall landscape. A large, showy native aster that is a must-have autumn nectar source for pollinators.

A dark pink fall-blooming aster with a tidy habit and smothered in flowers? Oh man, we think we may have developed a crush. A 'Pink Crush' that is. An introduction from Walters Gardens, this New England aster is a shorter variety that doesn't splay in the late season like other aster cultivars. 

A naturally compact form with deep purple flowers in August and September. Eye-popping with Solidago 'Golden Fleece'. One of the most garden-worthy native selections out there. A fine introduction from the Mt. Cuba Center.

Vibrant, hot-pink, star-shaped flowers with yellow center accents adorn lance-shaped green foliage through autumn. The compact, mounding habit of this sport of Aster 'Purple Dome' has proven mildew resistance. Reaching between 18 and 20 inches, 'Vibrant Dome' performs best in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. A beautiful performer for late season color.

Local Mid-Atlantic native of moist to wet meadows. Flowers may vary in shades of pink, purple and white and bloom in early fall, which is late August and early September here in PA.

Medium blue, fine textured single ray flowers in September and October, aromatic foliage. Irresistable, a really tremendous plant. Introduced by Holbrook Farm.

If you are looking for style and substance in the autumn landscape, it is hard to beat Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘Twilight Sky’. 'Twilight Sky' aromatic aster has long been a favorite of the horticulture staff at Mt. Cuba Center where it has been an integral part of the gardens for decades. Compared to other selections of aromatic aster, 'Twilight Sky' has the edge thanks to its robust mounding habit and its extravagant periwinkle blue floral display. Our newest introduction from the Mt. Cuba Collection.

Large leaves (to 2') emerge in the spring and provide a bold backdrop for earlier blooming perennials. In the fall, numerous flower stalks rise to 4 or 5 feet and each is covered with 1" sky blue daisy-like flowers. Flowering is later than many other asters and this species often provides brilliant color until frost. Found by Rick Darke and Skip March at the Jindai Botanical Gardens. This cultivar is shorter than the species and less likely to require staking.

Tough and easy to grow, this enchanting aster cousin is covered in hundreds of double white flowers from mid-summer to frost. Undemanding by nature, it is ideal for most any sunny garden spot and is a great container plant. Fantastic flower in arrangements too!

An introduction by Plant Delights Nursery in 2009, this Japanese painted fern is a monster! Growing up to 3' tall and spreading up to 6' wide, 'Godzilla' has the appearance of 'Picta' with the punch of an ostrich fern. 'Godzilla' is great in shady locations in moist soil to dry shade.  

Strong-growing and dependable, the lady ferns are great garden plants. This selection from the New England Wildflower Society features red stems, making it a great choice to combine with purple-leaved plants. Tough and easy to grow, this beauty is the right choice for perennial borders and woodlands alike. A breathtaking flush of new fronds appears in the spring, with new leaves appearing throughout the season for a continuously fresh look.

Handsome crowns of feathery fronds are typical of this genus. Delicate and lacy with arching fronds and dark red stems at maturity. Strong-growing and dependable, lady ferns are great garden plants. Tough and easy to grow, this beauty is the right choice for perennial borders and woodlands alike. A breathtaking flush of new fronds appears in the spring, with new leaves appearing throughout the season for a continuously fresh look. Found in swamps, thickets and damp woods east of the Rockies.

"This is the most spectacular of all cultivars in its magnificent frond architecture. It is really the Queen of Green", according to Dr. John Mickel, former curator of ferns at the New York Botanical Garden and author of "Ferns for American Gardens". As with other forms of lady ferns there is so much variability with spore production that it is necessary to produce this form in tissue culture, so its clones are identical to the parent. This superb selection has fronds whose pinnae (leaflets) crisscross to form x's and has crested pinnae tips. Another superior cultivar in the Mickel Collection™.

Handsome and ruffled, this high-color selection has been a much requested Japanese Painted Fern. The dark violet red interior of each 'Regal Red' frond is contrasted by bright silver edges making each leaflet distinct and creating an overall tapestry effect. The pinnules also twist a little giving the frond a "fluffed" up look. 'Regal Red' combines beautifully with red-purple Heuchera such as 'Plum Pudding' and blue sedges like Carex platyphylla. The fronds work well in cut flower arrangements, providing lasting color and soft texture. Unique and beautiful!

The most colorful fern around with subtle shades of green, purple and red on a grey-blue background. The color is more intense with some direct sun, preferably morning or late afternoon. Strong-growing and dependable, the lady ferns are great garden plants.

From the garden of Virginia's Nancy Swell comes this stunning lady fern with silver-white fronds and a decidedly upright habit. Leaves age to light green with new fronds appearing throughout the season. Upright with a beautiful formal appearance that really stands out in the shady garden. This fern really prefers shade and will stand up with all fronds perpendicular to the ground in full sun.