Inexpensive plants

Sweet Mimosa. One of the most useful tropical plants that is very cold tolerant, blooms all winter through spring with honey-fragrant flowers - canary yellow powder puffs, attracting bees and butterflies. This is a large size, multi-stem thorny shrub 15x15 ft that requires some space. It is very fast growing, can be used as a good screen plant. It will bring you joy with pretty flowers and sweet fragrance even during freeze snaps when other trees lose leaves and suffer. This one will continue blooming and stays evergreen - a real survivor! Tolerates poor soils and drought too. Provide regular water to establish quicker.

A unique FULL SHADE plant! Rugged houseplant for shady areas of the home. Once very popular, this plant was a common feature of many a Victorian hallway.
Best sited in bright indirect light, but tolerates full shade. This variety is not the commoner A. elatior 'Milkyway', but the much nicer and difficult to find Aspidistra vietnamensis 'Ginga'.
Species of Aspidistra are perennial herbaceous plants growing from rhizomes. The leaves are either solitary or are grouped in small "tufts" of two to four. The most common variety is the one with all green leaves, A. elatior (sometimes labeled as A. lurida). Aspidistra vietnamensis Ginga is quite rare and has green leaves variegated with white striping or spots.

The Vivid Red Cherry Miniature Azalea is a very cold hardy, compact, evergreen beauty that brings a burst of color to your garden throughout the year. With clusters of rich, cherry-red ruffled blooms, this azalea creates a stunning display in spring and fall. It thrives in partial shade, making it perfect for planting beneath oak or pine trees, or along shady walkways and driveways. This semi-dwarf variety grows to 2-3 feet tall and wide, maintaining a neat, upright form that requires minimal trimming.
Best planted in well-drained, acidic soil with high organic matter content, it appreciates regular watering, especially in extreme heat. Fertilize on regular basis to promote healthy growth and vibrant blooms. Vivid Azalea is ideal for use as a low-growing hedge, accent, or screen, and its shallow, non-aggressive root system makes it a great choice for tight spaces. Its glossy, dark green foliage remains evergreen, offering year-round interest even when it's not in bloom.
Prune back in late spring to maintain its shape and encourage branching, leading to more blooms. This variety, sometimes known as Azalea Amagasa Vivid Red Flowering Satsuki Azalea, is one of our favorites for adding vibrant, multi-season color to any garden.

Pride of De Kaap, Nasturtium Bauhinia - compact shrub with large red orchid-like flowers.
Learn more: Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings

Loose clusters of pale pink flowers with golden blotch bloom on wiry stems. Broadly ribbed, iris-like leaves. Hardy and easy to grow!
Bletilla striata Yokohama is a lovely, hardy ground orchid native to East Asia. A cross of Bletilla striata Big Bob x Bletilla formosana. Bletilla Kate makes a typical clump of upright, sword-like, pleated, green leaves. Starting in late spring, terminal spikes reach 40" tall with an open cluster of medium lavender flowers, each highlighted by a dark purple stripe down the back center of each petal and a very dark purple lip surrounding a yellow throat. It is a relatively chardy orchid, in cooler climates leaves turn yellow in the fall before they die back for the winter.
Grows almost anywhere but prefers a rich, well-drained soil with adequate moisture. Water during growing season.


See video about Ground Orchids.

Chinese ginger, Fingerroot. Boesenbergia rotunda is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. It is widely used in Javanese cuisine in Indonesia. In Thai cooking it is called krachai. In the west it is usually found pickled or frozen. Kra Chai is used as an antiflatulent, expels air and nurtures strength. Used as a male tonic, vigor, health promotion, longevity, aphrodisiac.

Lady of the night. Medium size bush with large white or cream-colored flowers, which are very fragrant after dark. Shade tolerant plant, can be grown in container and as indoor plant. Can take some freeze for short time.

Very fragrant Lady of the Night. It has creamy white flowers with long tubes, which are extremely fragrant after dark. This plant grows as bush and is more compact than Brunfelsia americana.
See article about Brunfelsias: Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow, Brunfelsia from Brazil.