Zone 8

RED SWITCH GRASS (Panicum virgatum) "Red Flame"

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Hardiness zones 4-9 The foliage on this colorful switch grass emerges blue-green, and by the end of summer each leaf is saturated in wine-red. Its late summer flowers are also in hues of red. This is a vigorous plant for color texture, dependability and...

SELF-FRUITFUL HOLLY (Ilex aquifolium) "Post Office"

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Hardiness zones 7-9 Found near our local post office, this isolated (as far as we can tell) 10-15' shrub produces prolific berries every year (without a partners help?) handsome shiny spiked foliage forms a backdrop. S/M 

CHINESE WILLOW-LEAF MAGNOLIA Magnolia biondii

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This gorgeous and rare 30-50' tree blooms very early in spring (late-February). The early blossoms give it the pretty name of 'Hope of Spring'. A delightful tree from China, it produces an abundance of deliciously lemon-scented white flowers followed by...

ORNAMENTAL OREGANO

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Hardiness zones 5-9 Bees and butterflies love this fragrant mound of chartreuse foliage with lilac pink summer flowers and mauve calyxes, which continue to share their color long after the flowers have fallen. This is a wonderful, low maintenance,...

Variegated Hosta "Pocket of Sunshine"

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Hardiness zones 3-9 The distinctly cupped and corrugated leaves of this cute little Hosta start out with chartreuse centers in the spring, which become brighter yellow as summer approaches, with contrasting, broad, deep green margins. Their lavender...

LACECAP HYDRANGEA (Hydrangea macrophylla) "Izu no hana"

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Hardiness zones 6-9 This UNIQUE lace-cap surrounds its deep-pink center flowers with large pink double florets¬¨√≥each floret containing 14-16 sepals rather than the usual 4 Add dark glossy foliage a remarkable plant! S-PSh/M 

MINI HOSTA (Mini Skirt)

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Thick, wavy leaves of green with margins of yellow form adorable mini mounds 5 inches tall and about a foot wide. Its summer racemes are pale lavender, and stand just a few inches above the colorful foliage. A lovely little plant for full to partial...

VARIEGATED HARDY FUCHSIA (Fuchsia magellanica) 'Variegata'

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Hardiness zones 6-9 A striking small shrub whose gray-green leaves are variegated with cream and blush pink, creating a pretty backdrop for the small, pendulous scarlet and purple flowers which dangle along the arching branches. S-PSh/M 

VERY HARDY FUCHSIA (Fuchsia) 'Riccartonii'

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Hardiness zones 6-9 Perhaps the hardiest variety, this small upright shrub (to 3' x 3') is especially pretty when it produces its small dark-red and purple flowers during much of the summer; your hummers will love it too! S-PSh/M 

YELLOW HARDY FUCHSIA (Fuchsia magellanica) "Aurea"

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Hardiness zones 6-10 This unusual form of the always-enjoyable Hardy Fuchsia (to 2') adds some bright color to a shady picture with its yellow leaves and contrasting reddish stems and tubular flowers. S-PSh/M 

EARLY-FLOWERING DAPHNE (Daphne × burkwoodii) "Perfume Princess"

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Hardiness zones 7-9 A delightful Daphne with profusions of the earliest and longest-lasting, large, fragrant blooms from mid-winter into spring. Its large flower clusters begin with deep pink buds, which open to blush, and mature white, and the clusters...

HOSTA "Hadspen Blue"

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Charming mounds of powdery soft-looking, steel blue-gray leaves are thick, remarkably textured and cupped. Its muted tones pair beautifully with variegated and boldly colored cultivars. Summertime brings flower spikes of pale lavender trumpets which...

GIANT RHUBARB Gunnera manicata

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'Dinosaur food' says it all for this slowly creeping perennial, it looks as if it just arrived from the Jurrassic era! It is one of the largest herbaceous perennials on earth! Native to eastern South America with amazing, huge, lobed, ruffled and highly...

BLUEBERRY TREE (Elaeocarpus decipiens)

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Hardiness zones 8-11 This beautiful, broad leafed shrub-tree grows 20-30 feet tall with an equally wide spread. Handsome all year long with lovely bronzy new growth maturing to shiny deep-green laurel-like leaves. As the chlorophyll degrades in older...

HOSTA (Hosta abiqua) Abiqua Drinking Gourd

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Hardiness zones 3-9 Like tiny blue mountain-lakes, the intensely cupped and puckered leaves of this hosta with its white mid-summer flowers make it an attractive and distinctive specimen; (Walden West) 

JAPANESE HOLLY FERN Cyrtomium falcatum

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The leathery shiny-green fronds of this 2-3' species resemble Oregon Grape. Somewhat tender, it makes a fine house plant and a beautiful addition to woodland garden in warmer climates (25°F+). Do not plant too deep. Sh-PSh/M/GDr ...

HELLEBORE Helleborus Honeymoon "Irish Luck"

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Hardiness zones 4-9 Large single flowers of lime green with burgundy centers bloom readily in spring, and may last for 6 weeks! The spent blooms are attractive as well, and will last for weeks as well. They stand 18-24 inches above dark-green...

HELLEBORE Helleborus Honeymoon "Sandy Shores"

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Hardiness zones 4-9 The elegant, single flowers of 'Sandy Shores' are blushed with apricot surrounding their burgundy flecked centers on the interior side, and rosy-pink on the outside. These beautiful, two-toned flowers nod above the contrasting...

GOLD-VARIEGATED RED-TWIG (Cornus sericea) 'Hedgerows Gold'

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Hardiness zones 3-8 Bright and colorful every season of the year! Its deep red stems, eye-catching in winter, are clothed with showy golden-yellow and green variegated leaves in spring-summer, which turn various shades of pink and red for fall. Plant...

ARGYLE APPLE Eucalyptus cinerea

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Especially ornamental, this small tree is broad and irregular with attractive bluish leaves and reddish fibrous bark (not peeling); adaptable to poor soils and hot summers, hardy to 15° F. S/M-D ...

EVERGREEN DOGWOOD Cornus capitata (Mountain Moon)

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Loads and loads of beautiful creamy-white flowers (each one up to four inches across!) cover this small (to 30') somewhat pyramidal evergreen tree in late-spring; lush green leaves provide the perfect backdrop, performs best in well-drained but evenly...

CUYAMACA CYPRESS (Cupressus arizonica var.stephensonii)

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Hardiness zones 7-9 A wonderful cypress found growing in only the headwaters of King Creek in the Cuyamaca mountains of San Diego, California, this wonderful variety reaches 20-50' and almost as wide forming a spreading tree with a central leader; its...

RED-TWIG DOGWOOD (Cornus alba) 'Siberian Pearls'

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Hardiness zones 2-8 Its' Siberian hardiness and a profusion of white flowers, followed by white berries, like white (turning blue with age) pearls along the red branches in fall, give this shrub dogwood its name. S-PSh/M-W 

EVERGREEN WINTERSWEET (Chimonanthus nitens)

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Hardiness zones 7-9 An ornamental and useful native to sparse Chinese mountain woodlands, this wintersweet's leaves are dried and used for tea, and the root is used medicinally. Cup-shaped, solitary, pale yellow, winter-spring flowers are delicately...