Adds fragrance to the shade

Name: Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum)

USDA HARDINESS ZONES: 5 to 8
Size: 15 inches to, spreading indefinitely
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

While it may look delicate, sweet woodruff is a vigorous spreader. It makes a dense ground cover with fragrant, star-shaped white flowers in early summer. The deciduous, emeraid green leaves are also star shaped and stay neat well into autumn.

Grows wellin difficuit spots

Name: Black jetbead (Rhodotypos scandens')

Zones: 5 to 8

Size: Up to 6 feet tall and 9 feet wide

Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; fertile, moist, well- drained soil

Peak Time: Spring to early summer

Black jetbead will grow almost anywhere, thriving in shade or sun and in a wide variety of soils. I like its graceful. arching , twiggy stems. Flowers appear in spring and are followed by pea-size black fruit. It's a moderately rapid grower, but it's easy to maintain with pruning. If the plant gets too leggy or crowded, cut back the older branches to the ground after it flowers.

A chaste tree for cool gardens

Name: Chaste tree (Vitex agnus -castus* var. latifolia)

Zones: 6 to 9
Size: 10 to 20 feet tall and wide
Conditions: Full sun: well- drained soil

Chaste tree is a southern favorite beginning to gain attention across the country. Whether left to grow as a large multistemmed shrub(pictured) or cut back annually for a more compact look, this selection is a winner. Fine, lacy leaves are glossy and green. Bright blue flower panicies begin to form in early summer and continue through the heat of the season and into fall. This is a reasonably cold-hardy, deer-resistant woody plant, and while V.agnus-castus is typially considered a Zone 7 plant, the variety latifolia can be grown in Zone 6 and even in southern areas of Zone 5.

Anything but boring

Name: Summer Wine nineback (Physocarpus opulifolius 'Seward')

USDA HARINESS ZONES: 3 to 7

Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil

Many gardeners know nineback as a nondescript, green-leaved shrub with "oh-by-the-way" white flowers. There is, fortunately, a long list of burgundy-or gold -foliaged selections that make great focal points. The best overall performer is 'Seward', sold under the trademark Summer Wine. This selection has outstanding burgundy leaves and soft pink blossoms in early summer. Summer Wine also offers acompact growth habit, which is an improvement on the purple octopus growth of other cultivars, like Diabolo.

Growing Herbs

The best time to gather herbs is in the morning of a dry, sunny day after the dew has dried from the plants. If you are harvesting leaves, the peak time for flavor and fragrance is just before the plants flower in the spring. Harvests can continue as need and plant growth permit, until early fall. Trim off any flower heads from basil and mint for continued top-quality leaf production. Annuals can be harvested until a fall frost kills them, but perennials should be allowed to grow unimpeded for 40 to 60 days before the first frost so they can harden off before winter. If, as in the case of lavender, you are harvesting flowers, cut flower stalk before the blooms are fully open since they will continue to open as they dry. Similarly, for seed harvests of coriander, anise, fennel, dill, and the like, cut the stalks before the seeds begin to shatter from the heads. For a harvest of leaves ,always cut stems; don't just strip off individual leaves and desert the naked stems in the garden. You can cut as much as three-quarters of the current season's growth in a given harvest. Naturally, harvest only disease-free growth. If you harvest is small, you can rack-dry it in a well-ventilated room out of direct sunlight. Use a screen, bamboo tray, or cheesecloth-covered cookie sheet (paper towels do fine as a covering, too).Lay the stems down in a single layer so the leaves don't overlap.Turn or stir the herbs once or a day until dry and crumbly.

A mukdenia with red leaves

Name:'Crimson Fans' mukdenia (Mukdenii rossii 'Crimson Fans', syn. Aceriphyllm  Crimson Fans')

Zones: 4 to 9
Size:14 inches tall and 16 inches wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well- drained soil

Staying Power: Lasts all season; goes dormant in fall

Mukdenia's starry flowers steal the show in early spring. The foliage of 'Crimson Fans' reddens as temeratures rise, and it holds this hue all season.

White that's exciting

Name: 'Canyon Snow' Pacific Coast

hybrid iris (Iris 'Canyon Snow')
USDA HARDINESS ZONES: 7 to 9
Size: 12 to 18 inches tall and wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well- drained soil
Staying Power: Evergreen


Prized for its pure white flowers elegantly marked with gold, 'Canyon Snow' iris will bloom as soon as

the days lengthen in late spring.