Garden Plants That Delight And Amaze

Echinacea "Hot Papaya" in a few of its flower iterations. Great for cuts but hard to use in formal settings. ANDREW MESSINGER

Two "bottle rocket" flowering types of Ligularias. Note the monarch butterfly feeding (center top). Diphylleia, or umbrella leaf, is the large-leaved plant on the lower left with its red flower stalk and blueberry-like fruits angularly extended to the right. ANDREW MESSINGER

The oriental hybrid lily Salmon Star has wonderful colors and just as wonderful scent. ANDREW MESSINGER

Phlox paniculata "Glamour Girl" has coral colored flowers with a small darker pink eye surrounded by faint rays of white. This phlox has proven to be one of the most mildew free in several years to trials. ANDREW MESSINGER

Acer "Shaved Chocolate" actually has very small leaves and you might not recognize it right away as a maple. ANDREW MESSINGER

Acer "Shaved Chocolate" gets its name from the peeling bark that looks like … shaved chocolate. ANDREW MESSINGER

Acer shirasawanum "Jordan" has foliage that changes color from unfurling in the spring to the fall when it turns to oranges and reds. ANDREW MESSINGER

One of the new dwarf hydrangeas, "Mini Mauvette" has tiny florets making up a larger "flower" that’s still small enough to be unfazed by heavy rain and it never droops. ANDREW MESSINGER

The only truly perennial Impatiens that will make it through our winters is Impatiens omeiana or the Silver Pinskter. Next year, this will have yellow flowers. ANDREW MESSINGER

Hibiscus Brandy Punch seems to glow around sunset as the flower ribs radiate reflected light. Cars and pedestrians always stop to look. ANDREW MESSINGER