Vivacious Verbena

You'll feel like you're in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory once you see these candy look-a-like specimens. Warning: Do not eat. 

Sandpaper verbena (Glandularia rigida or Verbena rigida) earns its name from its rough leaves. Bright purple flowers that attract pollinators open from spring through fall. Cut plants whenever they get leggy or spent; new growth will emerge from roots. This verbena forms a shrubby mound up to 24 inches tall and 48 inches wide. Plants are suitable for xeriscape designs and are hardy in zones 7 to 9.

'Imagination' is loved for its bright, fuchsia to violet flowers that bloom profusely from May to frost. The drought- and heat-tolerant moss verbena (Verbena tenuisecta) grows to 12 inches tall with a 20-inch spread. 

This new verbena grows vigorously and shows good tolerance to heat and mildew. The bright violet blooms of 'Violet Ice' are one of the trendy colors for 2014.