Colleen's Top Picks

FlowerFull^® Smooth Hydrangea stands out with bold blooms and sturdy upright stems that won’t flop in the wind and rain. With two-to-three times more blooms per season than other smooth hydrangeas, FlowerFull^® makes an outstanding focal point plant. Improved disease-resistance, low-maintenance and maturing at just three to four feet tall, it’s the perfect choice for small and big landscapes alike.

Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Shade

Mature Size:

• Height: 3' - 4'

• Width: 4 - 5'

Zone: 3

Photos courtesy of First Editions.

Precious and powerful like a Baby Dragon by Bloomin Easy, this improved Hardy Hydrangea delivers extraordinary flower power in a petite form for modern outdoor spaces. Blooms start cream and lime before igniting to a rich pink as summer fades to fall.

Light requirements: Part Sun

Mature Size:

• Height: 3ft
• Spread: 3ft
  

 A great choice for rock gardens and natural-looking landscapes. The grass grows to nearly 3 feet tall and is low maintenance. The variegated foliage will turn from creamy white in summer to pink as the weather cools in fall and return to its creamy-white color again in spring as new blades grow.

Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Sun

Mature Size:

• Height: 12 - 36"

• Width: 12 - 18"

Zone: 4

Photos and Data Courtesy of Ball Seed Company

A compact, upright cedar with lush green foliage, Baby Bear maintains a consistent shape without requiring pruning. Formerly known as Skinner's Dwarf Cedar.

Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Shade

Mature Size:

• Height: 6' - 8'

• Width: 3' - 4'

Zone: 2

Photos courtesy of Jeffries Nursery

This anemone grows 24 to 32 inches tall with single, light violet-pink flowers. It’s an extremely robust and vigorous plant that is best suited to naturalizing. This is a Creeping, Mounded, Thicket-forming perennial, meaning it can overwhelm other plants and may become a nuisance in a bed.

Light Requirement: Full Sun to Partial Sun

Mature Size:

• Height: 24 - 32"

• Width: 6 -12"

Zone: 3

Photos courtesy of Jeffries Nursery

Light Requirement: Full Shade to Partial Shade

Height: 32 - 36" 

Width: 36 - 40" 

Photos courtesy of Van Noort Bulb Co. & Florissa

We love plants with interesting architecture, and this selection of our native Eastern arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) takes skinny to the max with its sword-like sihouette. Use it to make an exclamation point in garden designs, or fit it into a very narrow bed. Certain to be iconic plant in well-designed landscapes everywhere, from the Shire to Shreveport.

Light Requirement: Partial Sun to Full Sun 

Mature Size:

• Height: 20'

• Width: 18"

Zone: 3

Photos courtesy of Proven Winners

This herbaceous perennial features large, semi-double, lightly fragrant blossoms in white with striking dark lavender central flares, towering above lush, toothed foliage. Known for its exceptional vigor, it can produce up to 50 blooms in a single season, with sturdy flower stems that require no staking. A delightful addition to any spring bouquet.

Ants are attracted to a sweet nectar on the buds of the peony plant but do not harm them in any way.

Light Requirement: Full Sun

Mature Size:

• Height: 18 - 36"

• Width: 18 - 36"

Zone: 3

Photos courtesy of Van Noort Bulb Co. & Florissa.