Just starting to bloom are my two ‘Sunshine Blue’ caryopteris, a shrub with fuzzy lavender-blue flowers and yellow leaves. There are other cultivars with light green leaves, but I like ‘Sunshine Blue’ because the yellow foliage really makes the mixed border in front of my house come alive all summer long. The only thing that makes me slightly grumpy about this plant is that as soon as the flower buds start opening, the leaves tend to fade a bit. My plants are currently about 4 feet wide, so next spring I may give them a serious haircut. Will they grow back to their current size? I have no idea.


Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners.

By the way, one common name for this plant is blue mist spirea, but don’t let that lead you astray. This is not a spirea. Another common name is bluebeard, which makes more sense since its flower tufts do look at least a little bit like whiskers.

—Carolyn Ulrich