Noted for its season-long interest, Euphorbia myrsinites, commonly called Myrtle Spurge is an evergreen, succulent perennial with sprawling stems of fleshy, blue-green leaves in close spirals. Through the spring months, it produces eye-catching clusters, 4 in. wide (10 cm), of star-shaped yellow-green flowers within a collar of chartreuse to bright yellow bracts, sometimes suffused with pink.

Reminiscent of the desert sun in Arizona, Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Arizona Sun' (Blanket Flower) produces 3 in. wide (7 cm), single flowers with mahogany red rays adorned with a golden-yellow ring at their tips. This short-lived perennial is renowned for its profuse, long-lasting, colorful mounds of bright flowers atop attractive gray-green foliage from early summer to fall. Rich in nectar, the flowers are real magnets for butterflies!

A great pick! Compact, and extremely fragrant with rosy purple flowers, Lavender 'Munstead' is very attractive throughout the year. Introduced in 1916 by the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, this small cultivar grows well in containers and is a great choice for hedges or knot gardens. Excellent for potpourris or dried arrangements as it retains its color. Blooms twice starting in late spring or early summer. Lavenders blooming twice are known to have a full second flush of blooms after the flowers of the first bloom have been harvested.

Adding a bright note to the garden year-round, award-winner Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' (Spanish Dagger) is a very ornamental, broadleaf evergreen shrub featuring a basal rosette of attractive, rigid, sword-shaped, spine-tipped blue-green leaves, striped and edged creamy-yellow. They are topped in early summer with a dramatic flowering stalk reaching 4 ft. (120 cm) and bearing dense panicles of nodding bell-shaped creamy white flowers. Adds architectural interest to the garden.