'Artisan™ Soft Orange' Echinacea warms the garden with vibrant, glowing flowers that gradually soften in hue as they age. This cultivar features uniform, full plants and large, open flowers, blooming from mid-summer to fall. Bees and butterflies feed on its flowers. In fall and winter, the spiky brown seed heads provide visual interest, and are especially prized by goldfinches. This native cultivar thrives in most sunny spots. (Echinacea x hybrida)

Gardeners who plant ‘Brilliance’ Autumn Fern will find that the sturdy fronds stand up to all but the harshest ice storm, providing green when we need it most. Winner of the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society Award-winner, this evergreen fern unfurls bronze-colored fronds in spring and sports particularly bright orange-red ripe spores on the undersides of the leaves in autumn. In early spring, cut away the old foliage to reveal new fronds emerging in extraordinary shades of coppery pink. Though it can stand on its own with grace, it provides a fantastic backdrop to shade plants such as Variegated Solomon’s Seal and Blue Brunnera. Autumn Fern is easy to grow in rich, moist, cool soil in full shade to part shade locations. It can grow in full sun with plenty of moisture. It is tolerant of dry shade, and drought tolerant once established. It benefits from regular moisture in its first season, and from an annual dressing of compost or mulch.

Violet Columbine is a spectacular hybrid with columbine colors--rich blue with white. A heavy bloomer. (Viola cornuta)