Only just over a foot tall and filled with 3in double pompom flowers, this breeding breakthrough fits snugly into smaller spaces and terrace containers. Its showy central cone, surrounded by pink ray petals, begins lime green and becomes bright pink, then golden as summer progresses. Well proportioned, with sturdy stems. PP 24,458
Echinacea, a North American genus in the Daisy family, has big, bright flowers that appear from late June until frost. Coneflowers thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions and shrug off cold. Blooms last well, cut or dried, and the seeds in the large cone at the heart of the flower head provide nourishment for birds. Coneflowers are equally at home in formal borders or cottage gardens. Deer resistant. For more information on growing and care, click on "Growing Guide."