Ideal to complement colorful perennials in beds or borders, award-winner Pearly Everlasting 'Sommerschnee' or 'Summer Snow' (Anaphalis triplinervis) is a rewarding bushy perennial topped with bountiful clusters of long-lasting, buttonlike flowers which are perfect for dried floral arrangements. More compact than the species, 'Sommerschnee' features shining white flowers atop mats of bright, silver-green, narrowly elliptic leaves. Anaphalis triplinervis is one of the few gray-foliaged plants that doesn't rot in moist soils or humid conditions.

Striking when well sited, Carex flagellifera is a very distinctive ornamental grass that maintains a golden-brown color throughout the growing season. Its long, grasslike leaves, in various shades of brown curl gracefully towards the ground, delicately softening any landscape. The low mounding form and subtle color of this New Zealand Sedge make it an unusual accent in many plant combinations. Growing easily in a dense fountain-like clump, it is drought tolerant, deer resistant, and requires very little care.

Blooming its heart out, Rosa 'Dusky Maiden' is a charming shrub rose which produces sprays of rich, velvety, dark crimson, single flowers (4-8 petals) lit with golden yellow stamens. Slightly fragrant, they turn brilliant red as they mature and are nicely complimented by the dark green, glossy foliage. This small upright shrub is a good repeat bloomer that deserves a spot in the garden. Bred by LeGrice in 1947, 'Dusky Maiden' has been used by David Austin in his breeding to obtain his line of red English Roses. Blooming in flushes from late spring until frost, this Rose is nicely branched, bushy and fairly disease resistant.

A later flowering variety with lance-shaped flower spikes rather than tufted plumes, Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii 'Purpurlanz' (Chinese Astilbe) is a tall, upright perennial boasting purple flowers held in dense, graceful plumes. Blooming in late summer to early fall, each plume consists of hundreds of densely packed tiny flowers opening in succession for a long-lasting floral display. They fade to lavender as the flowers mature before turning a rich caramel color which provides winter interest to the garden. The blossoms are held on sturdy stems and rise above an attractive mound of fern-like, dark green leaves. This exquisite Astilbe is relatively trouble-free, requires little maintenance, is heavy shade tolerant, and attracts butterflies but is deer and rabbit resistant. The perfect perennial for a shady border with dappled light.

An excellent garden plant, Astilbe 'Stand and Deliver' features long and full, bright reddish-pink flower plumes which are borne on upright, strong stems. Quite showy, they rise gracefully in early-mid summer above an attractive mound of fern-like deep green, glossy foliage. Long-lasting, they turn a rich caramel color which provides winter interest to the garden.

Tall and spectacular, award-winner Chinese Silver Grass 'Cosmopolitan' is a fabulous ornamental grass grown for its luminous, variegated foliage of arching green leaves with creamy margins and pale green midribs, which turn to golden yellow in the fall, before fading to straw-beige by winter. Elegant copper flower plumes appear in late summer or early fall, well above the foliage. They delicately change to silvery white as they mature and provide excellent good winter interest. It looks fabulous when planted with large-leaved perennials for contrast. Easily grown in a dense, upright, rounded fountain-like up to 6-8 ft. tall (180-240 cm). Drought and salt tolerant, it is deer and rabbit resistant!