Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly'

Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly' (Heather) is one of the most colorful and attractive Heathers you can find. Its semi-double, vibrant deep mauve flowers, on display for many weeks in late summer (Aug-Sept), are among the showiest of all Heathers. Wait until you see its foliage that changes through the seasons: bright chartreuse and primrose yellow in spring, whose color intensifies in early fall as it gradually acquires brilliant shades of orange and red until late fall - early winter when the entire plant turns a spectacular, glimmering brick-red.

• Grows up to 18-20 in. tall and wide (45-50 cm).
• Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society for its outstanding qualities
• Performs best in full sun in sandy or gravelly, acidic, moist, well-drained soils. Part shade is welcomed in hot summer areas. Moist and cool climates are preferred. Do not let the soil dry out! Protect your plants from strong winds. Mulch with peat moss.
• Easy to grow, this plant is a welcomed addition to rock gardens, slopes, and cottage gardens. Excellent as a groundcover.

Thymus pseudolanuginosus (Woolly Thyme)

Woolly Thyme, Creeping Thyme, Wild Thyme, Coconut Thyme, Thymus drucei, Thymus polytrichus subsp. britannicus 'Coconut', Thymus praecox subsp. arcticus, Thymus woolly

Primarily used as a ground cover, Thymus pseudolanuginosus (Woolly Thyme) is a creeping, mat-forming sub-shrub forming a dense cushion of small, dark green leaves usually covered with long hairs. The foliage may take pink tones in cold winters. Pale pink flowers are borne in early summer, however, Woolly Thyme is not as floriferous as the other species. Prized for its fuzziness, this wonderful plant adds great interest to the garden and is a terrific rock garden plant. Use it only where drainage is excellent. The leaves have little fragrance and are not used in cooking.

• Grows up to 3 in. tall (8 cm) and will spread over time by rooting stems to 12 in. (30 cm).
• A full sun lover, this plant is best grown in moderately fertile, average dry to medium, alkaline to neutral, well-drained soils. Tolerates drought and poor soils.
• Excellent ground cover or filler between stepping stones, where it releases its fragrance when trodden on. Provides an interesting texture to pathways. Adds character to rock gardens where it will beautifully sprawl over small rocks.
• Virtually pest and disease free. Deer resistant
• Cut back in spring.
• Propagate by seed, by division or plant rooted basal stem cuttings in spring
• Native to the British Isles.

Waldsteinia ternata

Waldstein ternata, commonly known as barren strawberry, is a compact plant grown primarily as a ground cover. Features strawberry-like, trifoliate leaves arranged in rosettes, 5-petaled, strawberry-like, yellow flowers, and inedible fruit (berries). Typically grows 4-6" tall and spreads by stolons and rhizomes to form a thick carpet of foliage.

Genus name honors Count Franz Adam von Waldstein-Wartenberg (1759-1823), the Austrian botanist and writer.

Specific epithet means in clusters of three for the trifoliate leaves.

Lonicera nitida

Lonicera nitida is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family. In English, it is sometimes given the common names box honeysuckle or Wilson's honeysuckle. It is widely used as a low-hedging plant, and for topiary. It is also a popular low-maintenance ground cover plant for urban landscaping.

The species is native to China, in the area of Yunnan and West Sichuan, where It grows in scrub form along streams at 1,200–3,000 m (3,900–9,800 ft).

Carex oshimensis 'Everest'

Carex oshimensis 'Everest' is a very distinctive Japanese Sedge with narrow, arching, glossy, dark green leaves adorned with fine silvery-white edges. Valuable for its stunning appeal, this highly decorative evergreen Sedge is one of the most beautiful ornamental grasses for the garden, where it provides a lovely contrast with other plants, mulch, or gravel. Easy to grow, low maintenance, vigorous, cold-hardy and a compact clumping habit make 'Everest' a splendid ground cover or container plant.

• Forms a densely tufted, spilling tussock of slender, iridescent foliage that shimmers in slight breezes. It mixes beautifully with almost any flowering bulbs or perennial plants to create spectacular and elegant mobile combinations.
• Grows easily about 12-18 in. tall and wide (30-45 cm).
• Enjoys full sun or part shade and thrives in moist, fertile, well-drained soils. The best foliage color is obtained in the part shade rather than in sun. Do not let the soil dry out.
• This is a graceful accent plant for beds, borders, rock gardens, city or cottage gardens, and as ground cover. Excellent choice to brighten shady areas. Does well in containers too where it adds wonderful character and texture to your plant combinations.
• Deer tolerant, it requires very little care and provides year-round interest
• Propagate by seed, sown in containers in a cold frame in spring or by division in early summer
• Cut out any dead leaves in summer.
• Generally disease free. Watch for Aphids.

Juncus effusus

Juncus effuses, commonly known as soft rush, common rush, bog rush, or mat rush, is a grasslike-like, rhizomatous, wetland perennial that features smooth, upright, cylindrical, unjointed, spire-like green stems (leaves are absent) which grow in spreading basal clumps to 20-40” tall. It is one of the true rushes. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution, being found in many places around the world, but primarily in cool-temperate regions, particularly ones having wet soils. It is often found growing in ditches, bogs, swamps, marshes, wet pastures, and along the margins of lakes and rivers. It is infrequently found growing in tropical areas. Stems are usually solid, with the leaves typically reduced to bladeless basal sheaths. Insignificant, minute, yellowish-green to pale brown flowers blooms in one-sided clusters (many-flowered cymes) located on stem sides slightly below the stem tips. Flowers emerge in summer (July to September). Fruit is an obovoid capsule. Clumps provide a vertical accent to moist garden areas. Although the stems appear from a distance as coarse and stiff, they are soft to the touch. Soft rush is considered to be a somewhat invasive weed in several locations. Foliage turns yellow in fall before browning up for winter.

• Grows up to 2-4 ft. tall and across (60-120 cm). This plant will spread in the landscape by rhizomes and by self-seeding.
• Performs best in full sun in moist to wet soils. While it thrives in consistently moist garden soil, it can also be planted in standing water to 4 in. deep (10 cm).
• This architectural grass is highly versatile. It may be grown at the edge of a pond or water garden, in boggy areas, or shallow water, and may help control soil erosion on moist banks. Great for containers too.
• Requires very little care, is virtually disease-free, pest-free , and provides year-round interest
• Remove dead foliage and old flowering stems in spring.
• Propagate by division from mid-spring to early summer.