New plants for gardeners to fall in love with

GREAT FOR HUMMINGBIRDS Summer Jewel Pink salvia is another AAS flower winner. The little sister to last season's Summer Jewel Red, this is a dwarf-sized, compact plant with dual-tone pink flowers. "It's an all-around good performer, very versatile and it looks good in mass plantings," Blazek says. "When I saw a 6-by-6 trial bed planted with about three dozen plants, there were six or seven hummingbirds around it all the time when they were in bloom."

GREAT FOR FRAGRANCE Another new Plant Select recommendation is Ruby Voodoo rose, a fragrant shrub rose developed by John Starnes. It features dark pink double blossoms that have an intoxicating, deep rose scent. Ruby Voodoo needs much drier soil than other hybrid roses. Plant it in full sun in a mixed perennial border where it can dry out between waterings. It blooms heavily in June, and can grow to 6 feet tall unless pruned annually.

GREAT SEASONAL INTEREST Filigree Daisy (Anthemis marschalliana) offers a long season of beauty, from spring through late fall. A 2012 Plant Select recommendation, this daisy is like a silvery sage with beautiful yellow daisies, says Hayward. "It has to have sun and good drainage. I have it on the edges of raised beds because the foliage really spreads and softens the edges of rock walls." Hayward says she's been growing Filigree Daisy for many years, but the public didn't know about it. Now other gardeners will have a chance to fall in love with it, too.

GREAT FOR COLOR "Fire Spinner" ice plant — from Plant Select, a joint venture of Colorado State University, the Denver Botanic Gardens and selected area nurseries and greenhouses — is a hardy, two-tone stunner that's the current rage of the horticulture world. The shocking magenta-purple and tangerine-orange flowers are dazzling, according to Pat Hayward, Plant Select executive director. "The color is the thing about this plant," she says. "The colors are blindingly metallic-y, glistening, unbelievable. It blooms for only three weeks, but it's a pretty, green, succulent groundcover the rest of the year." "Fire Spinner" needs a winter of cold weather before gardeners will see its dazzling double colors. In its first year, the flowers will be a less vibrant orangey-red. Plant it where it can drape over rock walls or spread on slopes, and where it can get good drainage and won't be covered by snow for long periods during winter.

GREAT FOR DENSE SHADE Brunnera macrophylla Jack Frost is sure to add a cool touch to any shady perennial bed. The Perennial Plant Association selected this Siberian bugloss as the 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year. The frosty-silver leaves with green veins are especially attractive and remind some gardeners of cracked porcelain. "Our members are always looking for a plant for the shade and the variegated foliage of this plant adds another attribute to the shade garden for designers," says Steven Still, the association's executive director. An added feature is that deer don't like the rough texture of the leaves. Jack Frost looks good planted along the front of moist shade borders with other shade lovers like hostas or in a shade container. Its Blue forget-me-not flowers bloom from mid- to late spring.

A GREAT GROUNDCOVER Carpeting pincushion flower (Pterocephalus depressus) is a nearly perfect, weed-free groundcover. "This little fella has it all," Salman says. "It's completely evergreen and is a very dense grower because it roots as it spreads. It's about as weed-proof as you can get." A native of the high mountains of Morocco, this plant has large mauve flowers that grow close to the ground and form feathery seedheads. Because it can take light foot traffic, Salman recommends planting between pavers and flagstones. You'll likely find it where other rock-garden plants are sold.

GREAT FOLIAGE AND FRUIT Ornamental pepper Black Olive is an All-America Selections winner for 2012, selected for its dark foliage and purple-black peppers that ripen to brilliant red. "I like it because it's a good size (20 inches tall) and is a multi-use plant," says Diane Blazek, AAS executive director. "I especially like it later in the season when the peppers turn red for a burst of color." Black Olive can be grown in containers, as a mid-height border plant or a specimen plant. But because this ornamental pepper was announced as a winner late last year, fewer plants may be available this season. Blazek advises asking for plants at local garden centers.

GREAT FOR HOT, DRY GARDENS Brakelights, a Texas red yucca, is a new variety of the plant (Hesperaloe parviflora) that is already generating a huge amount of interest, according to David Salman president and chief horticulturist at Santa Fe Greenhouses, home of High Country Gardens. "Brakelights is really going to be spectacular," he says. "Plant it in the hottest, driest spot like hell strips, hot south or west walls, or where other plants suffer from heat and water stress." Brakelights gets its name from its true red flowers that bloom for an especially long time. This semi-dwarf plant grows to about 30 inches tall and has a compact habit, so it fits into smaller spaces.