Common name:Christmas Rose
Botanical name:Helleborus niger

This perennial will grow less than 1' tall and has dark green leaves with flowers that come in a variety of colors and bloom in winter and spring.

Common name:Oakleaf Hydrangea
Botanical name:Hydrangea quercifolia

This fast, dense, rounded deciduous shrub reaches an overall size of 4-6' tall, bearing broad, thin, lobed leaves that are light underneath. In the summer and early fall, long, conical clusters of sterile white flowers mixed with tiny fertile flowers appear. Because it bloom on its old wood, the plant should not be pruned until after flowering. Its leaves turn a dark bronzy purple during the fall. The plant should receive sun to part shade, with average to little summer watirng. -Monterey Bay Nursery

Common name:Snow-In-Summer
Botanical name:Cerastium tomentosum

Masses of snow white flowers highlight this plant during the early summer season.