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: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:Mexican Hat
Botanical name:Ratibida columnaris

Mexican hat is a tough, drought tolerant, sun-loving perennial that thrives in nearly any well-drained soil. It grows about 18 to 20 inches tall and wide, though sometimes as tall as 30 inches. The deeply recurved flower petals are a russet to maroon red with yellow tips (though sometimes they are entirely red, or entirely yellow), and are topped by a prominent central disc, the entire effect reminiscent of the old hats worn during Mexican fiestas. Use in meadow or naturally-styled landscapes. Blooms June to July, and sometimes later. Foliage is finely cut and ferny, with a strong aroma when crushed.

Common name:Double Sunburst Coreopsis
Botanical name:Coreopsis grandiflora 'Double Sunburst'

'Double Sunburst' Coreeopsis has showy, double to semi-double, daisy-like flowers with yellow rays and darker yellow center disks atop long, slender stems. Blooms from June to August. Leaves are lance-like, green, and mostly basal. It makes for good cut flowers, and cutting the flowers off helps to keep the plants abundant with blooms. Grows 18 to 24" tall and 12 to 18" wide.

Common name:Purple Coneflower
Botanical name:Echinacea purpurea

The Purple Coneflower is a long-lived, reliable standby for the perennial garden. And while not xeric, it manages quite well with just weekly watering. Rosy purple petals fall below the prominent orange-tinged cone and blooms in late June to September. Foliage is large, with a rounded lance shape. An excellent cut flower, they provide nectar for bumblebees and butterflies, and the seeds provide forage for migrating song birds, so don't cut them all!