Turn up the heat. The blazing beauties are the plants that bring fire to the garden, the hot reds, blazing oranges, and molten yellows that carry the sunniest, most exuberant color a border can hold.
Mexican Buckeye is a deciduous small tree or large shrub has pink flowers in spring before the compound leaves emerge. When in flower it suggests Redbud (Cercis). The fruit consists of three marble size poisonous seeds in woody capsule. It is an adaptable large shrub for sun or semi-shade. It is soil tolerant if soil is well-drained. This native of Texas and Mexico is not related to the true buckeyes (Aesculus) but to the Soapberries (Sapindus).
Sometimes put in the genus Glandularia, this low growing South American perennial Verbena has dissected leaves and clusters of bright crimson or scarlet flowers. Our stock is raised from seed we collected in steep, rocky, overgrazed pastureland above the town of La Carolina, in San Luis Province, Argentina. This low-growing warm climate perennial should be planted in a sunny location in well-drained soil and kept free of competing plants. It could be a rock garden plant in warm regions. Flowers don't get any more red than this !!
This tall evergreen shrub has glossy, leathery leaves about 4 inches long. It bears white flowers in flat-topped clusters followed by bright red fruits. It has proved hardy here in zone 8. Our plants were originally received from the U.S. National Arboretum and not believed to be hardy outdoors there. This rare and little known Viburnum from China appears to be an excellent shrub for the South. Introduced by Woodlanders but probably due to become much more widely available. Plant in semi shade in good moist but well drained soil.
