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The native known as “false indigo” has deep roots – in the garden, and in American history. Now an ornamental favorite, it was once prized and even subsidized by the British government for the blue dye made from its sap.Baptisia sends up erect racemes of purple/blue lupine-like flowers in late spring. The blooms give way to decorative green seed pods that ripen to charcoal black. Flowers, foliage and seed pods in all color stages are all valuable as cut flowers, with exceptional vase life. Nativ

Say Veronica, and many of us picture flower spikes rising a foot or two in mid-border. But another category of “speedwell” keeps a lower profile. These varieties charm as groundcovers and edging, or planted as a “spiller” in containers or beside stone walls. Here’s the lowdown.Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue’Mats of small round leaves disappear under a slathering of tiny blue flowers with white eye zones. The foliage turns dark green in summer, then bronze in fall. The name is from Eura

Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, was the daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo. Wielding a bow and arrow, she drove a chariot pulled by golden-horned stags.Which fails to explain why a genus of soft, silvery perennials, medicinals and annuals is named for her -- if it is: The name may actually honor Artemisia II of Anatolia (now Asia Minor), a botanist, doctor and 4th century BC queen.Whichever eponym you prefer, here are two newcomers that belong in your perennial selection. Introduce y