Common name:Jupiter's Beard, Red Valerian
Botanical name:Centranthus ruber

An old fashioned favorite, Jupiter's Beard is a dependable perennial with a long season of bloom and a tough constitution. Blooms most heavily in late spring to early summer, with periodic water and some deadheading, it will bloom nearly all summer. Flower color ranges from carmine red to rose red; there is also a white-flowered variety. Foliage is lush green and fleshy. Grow in sun to part shade in any well drained soil. Excellent cut flower, it is also attractive to butterflies. Grows 24 to 36 inches tall and about 30 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.