1.‘Reuben’ Pineapple Lily
Name:Eucomis‘Reuben’
USDA Hardiness Zones:6 to 9
Size:18 column inch tall ; 3 bulbs per solid invertebrate foot
weather condition : Full Lord’s Day to partial spectre ; mediocre to teetotal ground
‘ Reuben ’ , to begin with breed for the cut - flower swap , has proven to be an splendid garden industrial plant . Broad , strappy farewell emerge in springiness , followed by spikes of disconsolate violet buds that open to soft pinkish bloom in midsummer . Each flower spike is cap by a tussock of pineapple - like foliage . The word form mimics the riding habit of clumping grasses , and the broad , glossy leaf and colorful flowers provide outstanding contrast over a important period in summertime . It works best with little Mary Jane .
2.Hardy Bird-of-Paradise Shrub
Name:Caesalpinia gilliesii
Zones:7 to 10
Size:5 foot tall and wide
circumstance : Full sun ; middling to ironical soil
Few plant provide the wow component that this hardy raspberry - of - paradise does . Ferny , mimosa - comparable , blue - dark-green leaf is held on woody stem and top in summer by showy xanthous heyday with long , ruddy stamen . The flowers open over an extended stop starting as too soon as May and keep at least into July . Young plant should be given some winter protection , but , once prove , they are astonishingly audacious . Reports indicate that , with excellent drain , this bush can survive in Zone 6 gardens . slew it back firmly in early spring for a shorter , entire plant , or tolerate it to grow as a picturesque miniature tree .
3.Giant Coneflower
Name:Rudbeckia maxima
Zones:5 to 9
Size:5 to 7 feet tall , 3 to 4 feet wide
Conditions : Full sunlight ; average to moist soil
Our native giant coneflower , also known as cabbage - leaf coneflower and elephant auricle coneflower , grow of course in the south - central U.S. gravid clump of powdery blue - green foliage are quite showy . When the flower still hunt blast off to a elevation of 6 metrical unit or more , shouldering 3 - inch , golden - rayed flower , you ’ll wonder why this perennial is n’t more wide big . It is a elusive performing artist and attract numerous pollinators . ejaculate heads left to dry on the plant provide winter interest and food for birds . Plant jumbo coneflower among swaying Mary Jane where the flowers will trip the light fantastic toe in the pushover .
4.‘Frosty Blue’ Whale’s TongueAgave
Name:Agave ovatifolia‘Frosty Blue’
Size:3 foot magniloquent by 5 invertebrate foot wide
Conditions : Full Lord’s Day ; very well - drained grunge
‘ Frosty Blue ’ has unruffled , broad leaves in an aid - grabbing silver - blue tip and edged with gray - black spines . This agave will seldom form showtime and after many year will develop a 15 - invertebrate foot - grandiloquent spike heel of icteric prime . It is a comparatively fast grower if given moderately fertile soils with perfect drain and , like all agave , is drought tolerant . Its unattackable presence and bold grain make it the arrant copulate for almost any grass , especially pinkish muhly grass ( Muhlenbergia capillaris , Zones 5–9 ) .
Mark Weathington is the director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University in Raleigh , North Carolina , and author of horticulture in the South : The Complete Homeowner ’s Guide .
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Photo: courtesy of the JC Raulston Arboretum
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Photo: courtesy of Mark Weathington
Photo: courtesy of the JC Raulston Arboretum
Photo: courtesy of Mark Weathington
