Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Acmella oleraceae

Family: (Asteraceae)

(A) to 10″.  Toothache Plant.  South America.  A profusion of rounded, orange-yellow disc florets with brownish red centres resemble eyeballs.  Creeping, bronze-green foliage has numbing properties when chewed, hence the common name.  Easy to grow.  Very unusual and fun; a “must have”.  Summer blooming.  Sun.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Mirabilis longiflora

Family: (Nyctaginaceae)

(TP) to 3.5′.  Sweet Four o’Clock, Angel’s Trumpets.  Texas, Arizona and Mexico.  Extraordinary, six-inch long, very slender, white trumpets are borne in great profusion on mounds of sticky, bright apple-green foliage.  The flowers release a sweet orange-blossom fragrance in the evening.  These unusually long flowers need a special pollinator with an extended proboscis, such as the Hawkmoth.  The Hawkmoth is similar to the Hummingbird in that they hover in place and unfurl their proboscis and drink the sucrose-rich nectar they require, thus creating a mutually beneficial relationship.  Lift and store the swollen tubers over winter as you would a Dahlia.  Blooms midsummer to fall.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Mirabilis jalapa Yellow

Family: (Nyctaginaceae)

(TP) to 2.5 ‘.  A sunshine yellow version of the Four o’Clock.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus barbatus – Darkest of All

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(B/A) to 18″.  Sweet William.  South Europe.  Long-lasting, dark maroon to almost black, clove-scented flowers bloom in flat-topped cymes.  Attractive dark foliage too.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Petunia exserta

Family: (Solanaceae)

(A) to 2′.  A rare and lovely Brazilian Petunia with deep red, 2-inch long, five-lobed, trumpet-shaped flowers.  Flower centres are light green and showcase the contrasting yellow anthers and prominent green pistil.  The sticky, pubescent leaves are grey-green, ovate to lanceolate, sessile and oppositely arranged along the upright stems.  A star on our Order Beds!  Sun and average garden soil.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Mirabilis jalapa Pale Pink

Family: (Nyctaginaceae)

(TP) to 2.5 ‘.  A soft pink version of the Four o’Clock.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Perilla frutescens var. crispa (red-leaved)

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(A) to 4′.  Shiso.  Himalayas to East Asia.  A selection of superb, iridescent foliage plants.  Try one, or all of them in the flower border.  Easy to move around the garden to “fill in” when you need a good block of colour.  Self-sows.  Sun.  Best sown in situ or 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Impatiens balsamina

Family: (Balsaminaceae)

(A) to 2.5′.  Garden Balsam.  Southeast Asia.  An old garden favourite.  Cup-shaped, single to mostly double, spotted, five-petalled, Touch-Me-Not flowers (to 2 inches diameter) with incurved spurs come in various shades of pink, rose, red, purple, white and bi-colour versions thereof.  Flowers bloom singly or in small clusters of 2 to3 from the leaf axils throughout the growing season.  Elliptic to lance-shaped, deeply serrate leaves (to 3-½ inches long) are light green.  Interesting fruits of asymmetrical, green, hairy capsules dangle.  A fuss-free annual that may self-sow, particularly in warmer zones.  Sun to part shade and moist, but well-drained.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Cardiospermum halicacabum

Family: (Sapindaceae)

(A) Vine. Love-in-a-Puff. Tropical Africa, America, India. A fast-growing climber with tri-lobed, dissected foliage and small white flowers with four irregular petals. Fun, three-angled, membranous, inflated seedpods contain white seeds with a little black heart on them, hence the name. Good in pots too. Sun. 3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Coreopsis tinctoria var. atkinsoniana

Family: (Asteraceae)

(A) to 3′.  Atkinson’s Tickseed.  North America.  Masses of bright yellow, daisy-like flowers.  The individual ray florets contrast nicely with the purplish brown central disc florets.  Feathery, elegantly curving, branched stems of finely-cut, bipinnate foliage gently weave through its neighbours.  A long, long bloomer.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T3