A new-to-these-shores line of Hellebores is the Winter Sparkle series, one of the first drama queens to bloom in the early spring. A mix of niger and orientalis, the breeder paid attention to retail details such as upward-facing flowers and bright colors. In the United States, they bloom from about late February into early April with thick, durable petals that keep the plant evergreen on most of the continent.

A sister variety to the Winter Sparkles, Spring Sparkle Red blooms a couple of weeks later with an especially large and vibrant flower. It’s only a couple of weeks but in the heavy retail month of May, it makes a difference to some firms in the middle and southern tier states.

Smokey blue on 'Lapis Blue' runs from the thistle-like top down the stems and into the deeply serrated leaves. One of the deepest blues of the category, it’s dusky, not dark. A useful source of food for the winter bird garden.

The gold standard for supporting a wide range of pollinators native to North America, Eryngium yuccifolium has interesting ornamental features as well: golf ball-like blooms and yucca-style leaves.

'Orange Marble' comes from the same aggressive variegation as 'Sunstruck', this time with very bronze leaves under the frosting. Over the top are yellow flowers stained with a blood red eye.

Technically a bicolor, 'French Tips' blurs the meaning with a very smooth color transition from dark pink at the base of the petal to nearly white at the tips. It sounds simple, but for an Echinacea it’s a hard trick to perform.