Common name:Blue Spire Russian Sage
Botanical name:Perovskia 'Blue Spire'

'Blue Spire' is a selection of perovskia that grows about 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide (though it will grow larger if over-watered). New wood is white and fuzzy; leaves are a soft green to grey-green and finely cut, giving it an airy appearance. Flower spires of fuzzy, lavender blue flowers begin in June and continue through the summer months. Useful in the perennial or shrub border, with ornamental grasses, and as a cut flower.

Common name:English Lavender
Botanical name:Lavandula angustifolia

English lavender is a dependably hardy, heat tolerant, drought resistant perennial, well suited to our arid, cold climate. Aromatic, green to grey-green foliage has a rich, resin scent, and grows in tight clumps 1 to 2 feet in height and width, depending on variety. Flowers form at the ends of stiff stems, in whorls of blue to lavender to purple, again, depending on variety. Flowers may add another 6 to 12 inches of height. Use in any sunny spot, such as perennial border, herb garden, parkstrip, lining a pathway.

Common name:Trumpet Creeper
Botanical name:Campsis radicans

Trumpet Creeper is a deciduous, vigorous twinning and clinging vine. Dark green leaves, coarsely toothed and pinnate; late to leaf out in the spring. Orange-red trumpet-shaped flowers appear in June and throughout the summer. Flowers are followed by long, bean-like pods. It needs substantial support to get where you want it to go. Will cover a pergola, fence, or garage. The car if you don't move it frequently.

Common name:Heartleaf Bergenia
Botanical name:Bergenia cordifolia

Bergenia has evergreen, round, heart-shaped, glossy, thick leaves, frequently with fine toothed edges. The leaves are basically stemless, growing off of a shallow rhizome, so, though the leaves are large, the plant has a fairly low profile. Some cultivars have leaves that turn reddish in winter. It is this juxtaposition of low-growing and big-leaf that makes bergenia so a fine addition to the shade border. Flowers bloom in spring, in a range of pinks, lavenders, and plums. Grows about 12 to 16" tall and 12 to 18" wide.

Common name:Mugho Pine
Botanical name:Pinus mugo

Mugo Pine is an evergreen shrub or small tree that grows slowly, from 5 to 20 feet tall and half as wide. There is a great deal of variation in size, depending on source. Needles are long and dark green. Cones are 1 to 2 inches long, oval, and tawny to dark brown. Generally a bushy, twisted, somewhat open pine, mostly grown as a shrub. If you are wanting a dwarf mugo, make certain the plant tag reads P. mugo v mugo or P. mugo pumila.

Common name:Gray Santolina
Botanical name:Santolina chamaecyparissus

This perennial has so much going for it, from its lovely silvery grey evergreen foliage to the charming yellow button flowers in summer. Foliage has a pleasing musky, herby scent. Ideal for sunny parkstrips, at the front of the perennial border, near walkways. Grows 18 inches tall and up to 24 to 36 inches wide.

Common name:Garden Sage, Common Sage
Botanical name:Salvia officinalis

This shrubby perennial is the classic garden sage of culinary goodness. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall and at least as wide and with age, grows quite the woody base. Foliage is gray green, long and oval, slightly pubescent, and highly aromatic. Flowers appear in May, forming nearly true blue spires. A beautiful cut flower, they are also edible. Attractive to bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Leaves are excellent fresh or dried, in marinades, pesto, stuffing, and fried whole. There are varieties with purple, yellow, and variegated foliage.

Common name:Sticky Geranium
Botanical name:Geranium viscosissimum

This geranium species, native to Utah, is a lovely geranium with showy pink flowers from May to August. Soft green leaves are deeply segmented and turn an attractive red in the fall. Sticky geranium grows best at our elevation with dappled light, so it is ideal as an understory plant with taller shrubs or woody perennials. Grows about 15 to 20 inches tall and wide.