Two varieties in the new Garden Candy Itoh peony series are Simply Scrumptious (left) and Candy Apple (right). (Credit: Plants Nouveau)

Garden Candy series of Itoh peonies

Itoh peonies are a cross between herbaceous and tree peonies that yield the best of both worlds – bushy, disease- and deer-resistant plants with big flowers in lots of colors. They’re named after Dr. Toichi Itoh, the Japanese botanist who made the first cross decades ago.

Donald Smith, a retired atmospheric research physicist, has been breeding new varieties of these "intersectional" peonies since 2010 and has come up with a line of 11 Garden Candy Itoh peonies in new colors and double-flowered versions.

The new introductions include Candy Apple (a double red), Simply Scrumptious (a double bloomer with lemony-peach petals and a cherry blush), Evie Jane (a double pink), Pineapple Fizz (bright yellow), and Summer Sunset (peach).

"These also do not attract those annoying ants or fall in the mud after a hard rain," says Angela Treadwell-Palmer, co-owner of the Alabama-based Plants Nouveau, which is introducing the Garden Candy series. 

All of the Garden Candy varieties grow nearly three feet tall and four feet wide, die back to the ground in winter, and do well in full sun to part shade. (Winter-hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8a.)

Large 'Big Sky' is a salvia with large flowers and a large overall size. (Credit: Proven Winners/Walters Gardens)

Salvia Living Large 'Big Sky'

So much perennial breeding has focused on compact varieties lately, but new for 2025 is a "super-sized" new perennial salvia from Proven Winners.

Living Large 'Big Sky' salvia has both large flowers and a large plant size that add up to a large impact in the perennial garden.

The variety grows nearly three feet tall and wide and sports violet-blue spires from late spring into early summer.

Salvias grow best in full sun and are both deer- and rabbit-resistant. (Hardy in Zones 3-8).

Coneflower Revelation 'Coral' produces large, long-lasting blooms of coral-pink. (Credit: Terra Nova Nurseries)

Coneflower Revelation 'Coral'

Another big-bloom newcomer is coneflower Revelation 'Coral,' which boasts the biggest flowers yet of any coneflower bred by Terra Nova Nurseries, one of the nation’s leaders in perennial innovations (especially coneflowers and coralbells).

Dan Heims, owner of the Oregon-based company, says Revelation 'Coral' "stands out for its extra-long, long-lasting coral-pink blooms that beautifully crown the plant... The flowers are not only striking but also highly fragrant, making them a favorite for bumblebees and other pollinators."

Like most coneflowers, this variety performs best in full sun. It grows two feet tall, blooms from June through October, and is a selection of a U.S. native plant. (Hardy in Zones 4-9.)

Summerlong Coral is a long-blooming pollinator attractor with coral flower spikes in summer. (Photo by George Weigel)

Agastache Summerlong series

Agastache (a.k.a. hyssop) is another long-blooming, sun-loving pollinator attractor that’s becoming more popular in U.S. gardens.

The Summerlong series is a new five-variety line from Darwin Perennials that offers the many pluses of Mexican giant hyssop (Agastache mexicana) – excellent heat- and drought-toughness, summer-long bloom, licorice-scented leaves, deer-resistance, and pollinator attractiveness (it’s a magnet for hummingbirds and bees).

The caveats are that plants need good drainage, full sun, and winters that don’t get any colder than about 5 degrees. Though it’s a mint-family plant, agastache is not an over-aggressive grower.

The Summerlong series debuts in five colors: Magenta, Coral, Lemon, Peach, and Lilac.

Plants grow 16 to 22 inches tall. (Hardy in Zones 7a-10b.)

Helleborus 'Endless' has upward-facing white flowers that open lime-green. (Credit: National Garden Bureau)

Helleborus 'Endless'

Endless is an impressive enough new helleborus (Lenten rose) that it earned the 2025 Professional’s Choice Green Thumb Award from the National Garden Bureau as the year’s top perennial flower.

The variety features upward-facing white flowers that open lime-green and last for weeks from late winter through early spring.

Like all hellebores, 'Endless' is also one of the last flowers that deer will bother.

Plants grow a compact 12 to 18 inches tall and do best in shade to part shade. (Hardy in Zones 5-9.)

Changeling is a coralbells variety that changes its foliage color throughout the season. (Credit: George Weigel)

Coralbells 'Changeling'

The aptly named 'Changeling' is a new semi-evergreen coralbells variety that starts out in a peach and cherry blend, then morphs into more of a champagne-taupe combination, then finishes the season in various shades of green, silver, gold, orange, and salmon.

It’s a plant that changes its look almost weekly throughout the season.

'Changeling' produces some wiry white flowers in May and June, but they’re more of a distraction from the plant’s main attribute, which is the foliage.

Plants grow about 10 inches tall, and although labeled for full sun, do best in morning sun and afternoon shade. (Hardy in Zones 4-9.)

Furby is a compact new lamb’s ears that can take high heat. (Credit: George Weigel)

Lamb's ears 'Furby'

Lamb's ears are silvery-gray, fuzzy-leafed perennials that kids (and grownups, for that matter) love to touch.

'Furby' is a compact new lamb’s ears that features full, dense growth, a soft leaf shade of fuzzy gray, and a height that tops out at about 14 inches.

It also produces purple flower spikes in summer, is tolerant of hot summers, and is hardly ever bothered by deer or rabbits. Furby will grow in full sun or part shade... just no wet spots. (Hardy in Zones 4-9.)