Caltha palustris may be a common plant but each spring it becomes a star in the garden for about 3 weeks. It has been in my garden for over 10 years, never gets any maintenance, never has pest or disease problems and it flowers like crazy. How many garden plants can match these qualities?
Ligularia przewalskii is a great plant for part shade to heavy shade. It likes lots of moisture but does just fine with medium moisture levels. It has interesting toothed leaves and tall yellow flower spikes that contrast well with other shade plants. I cut it back the flower spikes after flowering and that is all the maintenance it gets. By spring, in zone 5, the leaves are on the ground and you can just leave them there. New foliage will soon cover them.
Edraianthus horvatii is a small companula-like plant with vivid blue flowers. It is not very common in gardens but deserves more attention.
Do you want to grow gunnera but your climate is too cold? Then Astilboides tabularis is a good alternative. It has some of the largest leaves you can grow in colder climates and it makes a strong statement in any garden. Most people who visit my garden are unfamiliar with the plant and find it very exotic. Its leaves are an odd round shape that reminds one of an umbrella or table top. They easily reach 60-90 cm (2-3 feet) in diameter.
Incarvillea mairei, looks very tropical with its large pink flowers. It’s hard to believe that such a plant is hardy to zone 3.
Delosperma congestum is a cold hardy succulent that makes spectacular flowers that glisten in the sun. It is an alpine plant that originates from the mountains of South Africa.
Jeffersonia diphylla is uncommon both in the wild and in gardens. It starts early in spring with purplish new growth that opens white flowers long before leaves show on deciduous trees. Unfortunately the flowers only last a few days. Its real beauty comes next as the blue-green leaves develop. The shape of these is very unusual and look as if someone has pasted two leaves together, hence the name diphylla.
Corydalis ophiocarpa is an unusual corydalis that is evergreen all year. Its blue-green ferny leaves make a nice display in spring. It flowers in late spring and becomes more upright in growth to form a very airy plant.
Ddecatheon pulchellum, the shooting star, has unusually shaped flowers that stand out in the garden. It is not common in nurseries but it is easy to grow from seed.
The information in this post is for Dodecatheon pulchellum, but I can’t be certain the pictures are of that species. The seed was obtained from the ORG&HP society seed exchange, labeled as D. jeffreyi, but I think that name is incorrect. Dodecantheon species are all very similar, and even D. pulchellum is quite variable. The pictures may also be a garden hybrid. In any event, all Dodecatheons are great plants.
Scopolia carniolica var. brevifolia is rarely found in gardens. It has interesting shinny leaves that develop very early in spring, followed by low-key flowers at a time when few perennials are flowering. It has cream-yellow flowers while the main species, Scopolia carniolica, has chocolate-red flowers. The plant pictured here was a gift from my friend at BotanyCa, a great source for rare seeds.
Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora ‘George Davison’ is a little-known late summer flowering plant. In my zone 5 garden it starts flowering around mid-August for about a month. The yellow-orange flowers add quite a sparkle in a garden when most perennials are starting to shut down for the year.
Primula veris is best known as the common cowslip. With a name like that you would think everyone grew it, but it’s not common in gardens or nurseries which is really odd since this is a very easy to grow primula that sparkles every spring.