Common name:Japanese Silver Grass, Maiden grass
Botanical name:Miscanthus sinensis

Miscanthus is a large group of ornamental grasses ranging from a few feet to over 7 or 8 feet tall. Blade colors range from solid green, to green with silver mid-ribs, to variegated forms. Plumes are generally held well above foliage clumps, appearing in late summer to early fall, depending on the variety, and may be cut for fresh or dry arrangements.

Common name:Gaura
Botanical name:Gaura lindheimeri

Gaura is a lovely addition to a perennial border, with its fine green foliage and delicate white to pink flowers. The plant has an open vase shape, and grows about 36 inches tall and 24 to 36 inches wide. Leaves are fine, green, and sometimes spotted with maroon. Flowers are arrayed on long stems and are reminiscent of butterflies; the blooms open from the bottom of the stems towards the top, over a long season of bloom (early summer to fall). Its airy quality creates movement in the garden. Combines well with other perennials and ornamental grasses. A number of named cultivars are now available, some with more distinctively pink flowers or variegated foliage.

Common name:Blue Atlas Cedar
Botanical name:Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca'

As a large, slow-growing conifer, Blue Atlas Cedar requires ample room for growth. It has a broad, pyramidal form and is an eye-catching specimen for a large landscape. It's needles are 1 inch long, and are a beautiful shade of silvery blue. In order to develop its best color, the tree needs to be exposed to full sun. It can reach up to 40 to 60 feet tall and up to 30 feet wide. There is also a weeping form, Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula.' Cedars have lovely cones, emerging bluish when young and aging a reddish brown.

Common name:Scotch Pine
Botanical name:Pinus sylvestris

Scotch pine is a medium-large pine growing 30 to 50 feet tall and nearly as wide. It has an upright, pyramidal habit in its youth, becoming broad and flat-topped as it ages. Branches are strongly horizontal. Older bark has a distinctive orange color (look towards the top of the tree to catch a glimpse). Blue-green needles are stiff, vary in length, and twist 360 degrees. Cones are 1 to 3 inches in length. A number of cultivars are avaialble, including dwarf and prostrate forms.

Common name:Hummingbird Trumpet; Fire Chalice
Botanical name:Zauschneria latifolia

Eye-catching as red lipstick, little red-orange trumpets stand out from leafy stems, creating a lovely sphere of color that lasts from mid-summer to frost. Native to droughty, rocky places at higher elevations, it also makes its home along waterways, indicating that a little additional water will be appreciated and used to extend the flowering season. Fire Chalice will form a slightly woody perennial base then die back to the ground with the coming of the first hard frosts. Grows 12 to 18 inches tall and about 24 to 36 inches wide.

Common name:Blue Mist Shrub
Botanical name:Caryopteris x clandonensis

This group of shrubs grows from 2 to 4 feet tall and up to 4 feet wide. All have a mounded form, with gray green to pale green leaves. Flowers appear in mid to late summer, and appear in a range of blue hues, depending on variety. Flowers are clusters of tiny flowers and mostly form and the tips of branches, so cutting the shrubs back hard in the late winter as new growth emerges makes for more flowers.

Common name:Russian Sage
Botanical name:Perovskia atriplicifolia

Russian sage may be the ubiquitous low-water garden plant. With its grey green, aromatic foliage, and azure blue spires, it provides a long-lasting show in hot, dry gardens. It grows to 3 to 5 feet tall, and nearly as wide. It is a woody perennial and forms a very hard trunk over time. It is both airy and substantial, and partners well with herbaceous perennials, woody shrubs, or ornamental grasses. It also would grow well against a south or west facing wall or fence.