Plant Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ plants, flowers, trees, and succulents — with care, light, water, and how to tell them apart.
Catmint
A soft, billowing perennial with gray-green aromatic foliage and a long haze of small lavender-blue flowers. Tough, drought-proof, deer-resistant, and a magnet for bees.
herb
Annual Phlox
A bushy Texas native annual that produces dense, rounded clusters of starry flowers in nearly every color, prized for long-lasting summer color in beds and containers.
flower
Wood Anemone
A low-growing spring ephemeral of European woodlands that carpets the forest floor with star-shaped white flowers before the tree canopy leafs out.
flower
Vinca
A heat- and drought-tolerant annual with glossy leaves and pinwheel flowers, annual vinca blooms nonstop through the hottest part of summer.
flower
Swamp Milkweed
A moisture-loving native milkweed bearing fragrant clusters of pink flowers, a vital host plant for monarch butterflies and a magnet for pollinators.
flower
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet is a graceful wetland perennial topped with frothy, almond-scented cream flowers carried in branched plumes above pinnate foliage.
herb
Soapwort
Soapwort is a vigorous perennial whose roots and leaves lather in water, historically used as a gentle natural soap. It bears fragrant pink-to-white flowers and spreads readily by runners.
herb
Turtlehead
Turtlehead is a moisture-loving native perennial whose hooded, two-lipped flowers resemble a turtle's head. It blooms in late summer and thrives in wet, partly shaded gardens.
flower
Wood Betony
Wood betony is a clump-forming perennial herb with crinkled, scalloped leaves and spikes of reddish-purple flowers beloved by bees. It was a widely grown garden plant in medieval Europe.
herb
Thimbleberry
Thimbleberry is a thornless North American shrub with large maple-like leaves, white flowers, and soft red berries shaped like thimbles. It thrives in cool, shaded woodlands.
shrub
Schisandra
Schisandra is a hardy deciduous climbing vine bearing dangling clusters of crimson berries. With fragrant spring flowers and bright autumn fruit, it is an attractive ornamental climber for cool gardens.
shrub
Shooting Star
A spring-blooming North American wildflower whose swept-back petals and pointed, downward-facing flowers resemble tiny shooting stars or shuttlecocks. It goes dormant by midsummer.
flower
Rat Tail Cactus
A trailing epiphytic cactus with long, slender, spiny stems that hang like rat tails and burst into vivid pink-magenta flowers in spring. It is a spectacular choice for hanging baskets.
succulent
Peanut Cactus
A small clustering cactus with finger-like, peanut-sized stems that sprawls into a mat and produces vivid orange-red flowers. It is an easy, free-flowering favorite for sunny spots.
succulent
Pansy
Pansies are cool-season bedding flowers known for their large, flat, face-like blooms in a huge range of colors. They are a hybrid garden plant derived from wild violas.
flower
Lupin
Lupin is a striking perennial bearing tall, dense spikes of pea-like flowers in vivid colors above palmate leaves. A legume, it fixes nitrogen and is a cottage-garden showstopper.
flower
Ironweed
A tall, robust native perennial crowned in late summer with clusters of intensely purple flowers. Its tough, wiry stems and iron-hard durability give it its name.
flower
Horseweed
Horseweed is a tall, weedy native annual with a single bristly stalk topped by clouds of tiny flowers; it is a prolific seeder and one of the first weeds to evolve widespread herbicide resistance.
herb
Cup Plant
A towering North American prairie perennial whose paired leaves fuse around the square stem to form water-holding cups beneath bright yellow daisy flowers.
flower
Borage
A fast-growing annual herb with brilliant blue star-shaped flowers and bristly, cucumber-scented leaves. A magnet for bees, it self-seeds freely and is a favorite of pollinator gardens.
herb
Bugleweed
Bugleweed is a low, fast-spreading evergreen groundcover prized for its glossy rosettes and spikes of blue-violet flowers in spring. It quickly carpets bare ground in sun or shade.
flower
Begonia
An enormous genus grown for both showy flowers and spectacularly patterned foliage. From bedding wax begonias to dramatic rex begonias, there is a begonia for nearly every garden and windowsill.
flower
Angel Wing Begonia
A cane-stemmed begonia with asymmetrical, wing-shaped leaves often spotted silver and flushed red underneath, topped by dangling clusters of flowers. It is a free-flowering, upright houseplant.
houseplant
Abelia
Abelia is a tough, semi-evergreen shrub with arching branches, glossy leaves, and a long summer-to-fall show of small, fragrant, bell-shaped flowers. It is a magnet for bees and butterflies.
shrub