The perennial sections are filled to the brim with many of your go-to favorites, cool new varieties and a few that have been brought back into production. These three caught our eye:

Eryngium planum ‘Blue Hobbit’ – Sea Holly adds spiny texture to full sun borders, and this dwarf variety is a star for up front. When in bloom it will only top off at about 12″. It’s a fan of sun baked landscapes and poor sandy soil – too much fertility and moisture will cause it to sprawl. It’s also good to know that they have a tap root, so site them well to begin with to avoid transplanting.

Hosta ‘Cathedral Windows’ (seen here) is an awesome tetraploid variety with a white flower growing 20″ high x 36″ wide. It has tough corrugated leaves with a big splash of chartreuse in the center. This Hosta is new for us this year along with ‘Humpback Whale’ and ‘Blue Umbrella’. All three are big growers with Humpback Whale being the champ at 3′ high x 7′ wide! Plant these big varieties with companions that will stand up to their bravado and not get lost. Astilbe ‘Bressingham Beauty’, Bugbane (Cimicifuga racemosa/Actea), Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’) and Golden Ray (Ligularia) to name a few.

Armeria maritima ‘Splendens’ – Sea Thrift is sweet mound of grass-like foliage that sends up slim stems in spring that hold up a pink pincusion flower. It only grows about 6″ (12″ in flower). Plant in rocky, poor soil with good drainage in a full sun to partial shade site. A good choice for rock gardens, on top of stone retaining walls and troughs. Plants like Blue Fescue, Lavender and Lamb’s Ear also do well in those same conditions.