Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’

Stonecrop - Crassulaceae - herbaceous perennial - zone 5-8 - june to August blooms - full sun - star shaped yellow flowers - groundcover - tolerates dry rocky soil drought air pollution - mat forming - well drained - yellow leaved variety - Europe

Gunnera manicata

Giant rhubarb - Gunneraceae - loves water all year round = wetspot in garden - big leafed one leaves up to 3m across - rhizomatous - weed in Tofino Ireland Scotland - Brazil - clump forming - herbaceous perennial - hardy to zone 7 = form tents with leaves over crowns in winter for protection

Sedum spurium

Dragon's blood stonecrop - Crassulaceae - sun part shade - excellent green roof plant - creeping groundcover - hot dry sites - tolerates poor soil - bronzy green to beet red leaves - red star summer flowers - fast growth - shade tolerant - butterflies - rock garden

Onopordum acanthium

Scotch thistle - Asteraceae - Europe - biennial - 3m tall - July to September flowers - well drained moist - sun part shade - lavender flower - bee pollinated - flower stems + young leaves edible when cooked - coarse spiny leaves - tap rooted - reproduces by seed - invasive in dry garden

Tetrapanax papyriferus

Rice paper plant - Araliaceae - related to Fatsia - a little tender = one cold winter kills most of it - huge leaves - Taiwan East Asia - 3-7m tall - white flowers - herbaceous perennial - late summer early fall blooms - sun part shade - zone 7-11 - alternate leaves - pith used to make rice paper

Filipendula x purpurea

Purple meadowsweet - Rosaceae - herbaceous perennial - clump forming - sprays of white pink purple flowers - full sun part shade - fertile moist well drained - height 1m spread 0.5m - pinnately divided leaves - rhizomatous

Verbascum thapsus

Common mullein - Scrophulariaceae - biennial - flowers in second year - Europe Northern Africa Asia - 1.5m tall - weedy - hairy silvery looking foliage - June to August flowers - flowers start at bottom of spike progressing upwards - full sun

Phalaris arundinacea ‘Picta’

Gardener's garters - variegated canary reed grass - Poaceae - doesn't revert - green version is invasive - crowd it - containers - rhizomatous - herbaceous perennial - June July flowers - zone 4-9 - white pale pink flowers - tolerates drought + air pollution - sun part shade - dry to wet - rain garden

Hebe ‘Patty’s Purple’

Patty's purple hebe - Scrophulariaceae - evergreen sub shrub - purple flowers - full sun - requires good drainage - rock garden - New Zealand - zone 8-10 - tender in this climate = plant near coast - 90cm x 90cm

Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’

Sea holly - Apiaceae - zone 5-9 - tough - dry sunny border - June to august flowers - drought tolerant - full sun - tap rooted = transplants poorly - tolerates poor soil - well drained - sapphire blue thistle like flowers - blue green stems + foliage - clump forming - height 90cm spread 60cm

Allium schubertii

Fireworks onion - Tumbleweed onion - Alliaceae - plant a lot of them - bulletproof -  bulb - zone 5-8 - May June purple flowers - full sun - fragrant - butterflies - dry medium soil well drained - Mediterranean Central Asia - 30-60cm tall - seeds are wind dispersed like tumbleweeds

Cyrtomium falcatum

Holly fern - Driopteridaceae - East Asia - crevices coastal cliffs stream banks - shiny bright green leaflets - moist - 50cm x 50cm - shade part shade - zone 6-10 - well drained

Dryopteris erythrosora

Autumn fern - Dryopteridaceae - East Asia - spores are cherry red - new fiddleheads are pink that turn copper orange as they unfurl - new growth occurs spring through fall - zone 3-8 - 60cm x 60cm - shade part shade - moist well drained

Osmunda regalis

Old world royal fern - Flowering fern - Osmundaceae - Europe Africa Asia - woodland bogs - bipinnate - 60 -160cm tall - zone 2 -  part shade - moist - rain garden

Asplenium scolopendrium

Hart's tongue fern - Aspleniaceae - scolopendrium = centipede = centipede like sori pattern - hart is old word for deer - tongue shaped leaves - Europe - North American variety is rare - simple undivided fronds - moist - damp crevices - shade - 50 cm x 50cm - slow growth rate - zone 5 - evergreen

Astilbe x arendsii

Astilbe - Saxifragaceae - sun part shade - moist well drained - pink on looks good with ferns - complex hybrid - shade garden - Japan China - can not grow near cedars - herbaceous perennial - feathery plumes in magenta pale pink white - fern-like foliage - late spring to late summer flowers - zone 4-9

Hosta crispula

Hosta - Asparagaceae - doesn't revert - pale purple summer flowers - part shade /shade - 0.5-1m x 0.5-1m - clump forming - Japan - variegated dark green with white leaves - upright flower spikes - moist well drained - zone 3-8

Phlomis russelliana

Turkish sage - Lamiaceae - yellow tubular hooded flowers - full sun - well drained moist - long summer flowering - 90cm tall - rough textured leaves - herbaceous perennial - zone 4-9 - bee pollinated - Turkey Black Sea cooast

Eryngium agavifolium

Agave leaved sea holly - Eryngo - Apiaceae - agavifolium = leaves looks like agave - well drained - full sun - july august flowers - green thistle like flowers  - 1.5m tall - evergreen perennial - tolerates poor soil - zone 5-9 - clump forming - sword like green leaves - Argentina - drought tolerant once established

Eryngium variifolium

Moroccan Sea Holly - Eryngo - Apiaceae - the spiny one - dry well drained - full sun - july august flowers - pale blue thistle like flowers - spiny grey/dark green leaves - 50cm tall - herbaceous perennial - North Africa - tolerates poor soil - tap rooted doesn't transplant well - zone 5-9 - clump forming