Welcome to my end-of-year wrap-up: My Favorite New Plants of 2025—Beauty, Resilience, and a Few Surprises!
While some of the plants below are, indeed, new introductions, many are simply new to me.
But after watching them thrive in both my blistering-hot Granite Bay garden (zone 9) and our cold, snowy Lake Tahoe garden (zone 6), they’ve more than earned a spot on my list of new favorites.
Cuphea micropetala (Candy Corn Plant), Zones 7b-11, Full Sun, Deer-Resistant. Loved by Hummingbirds
These fast-growing perennials have absolutely exploded into a late-season show of yellow and burnt orange blooms that (you guessed it) look like candy corn.
The show starts in late August, just as the garden is winding down and needs a long-lasting performance. It’s currently the end of November, and mine are still in their prime!
These cupheas ultimately grow to about 4’x3′, and the ones that are doing best throughout my garden are in full sun (keep in mind, my sun is a HOT one!)
However, when looking online, most sites say they want partial shade in hot climates, but that’s not the case here.
There’s been no wilting, no complaining, just a bit of water a few times a week during the summer, and that’s it!
While semi-evergreen in warmer climates, they’ll most likely die back to the ground in winter.
However, their roots are very hardy, with some people saying they survive in temperatures down to 0 degrees.
If your zone is colder than that, you might consider overwinter them or use them as annuals.
Abutilon ‘Victor Reiter’ Zones 9-11 (some even say hardy to zone 7!), Part sun, Somewhat Deer-Resistant, Loved by hummingbirds
I’ve grown many abutilon varieties over the years, but ‘Victor Reiter’ has shot to the top of the list.
Just take a look at these huge hibiscus-like flowers to see why!
The soft tangerine color, slightly tinged with yellow, is gorgeous when set off by the dark green maple-like foliage, and the profusion of oversized flowers keeps blooming and blooming for months at a time.
While many abutilon flowers hang down like colorful lanterns, these flowers are more outward-facing, making them easily seen from across the garden – like glowing spotlights beckoning you to come hither
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These flowers are amazing. And HUGE.
I have mine planted in bright shade, with moderate water, and when planted in spring, it quickly grows to 8′ tall within one season.
Ultimately growing to 8′ (maybe more?) x 5′ wide, they’ll benefit from pinching to keep them bushier. If you see this in the nursery, grab it while you can!
Heuchera ‘Changeling’ Zones 4-9, Part Sun, Moderate Water
I’m so fortunate that Terra Nova Nurseries (the plant breeder for all things heuchera, along with many other of my favorite plant species) often sends me plants to trial in both my Granite Bay and Lake Tahoe gardens.
Most do well, but some do really, really well.
As most of us know, there’s a ton of heuchera varieties in the nurseries with more introduced each spring. Some do well in our gardens, while others poop out after just a year or after a season’s brutal heat or intense cold.
Not so with ‘Changeling’!
This variety has been growing in our Lake Tahoe (zone 6) garden for a few years now, and has reliably returned each spring, stronger than ever.
‘Changeling’ is aptly named, as the foliage changes colors almost weekly. Starting from the top and working its way down, the new foliage is in shades of soft peach and cherry-cola, and as they age, they transform again into shades of amber, mossy green, and celadon.
Each leaf has deep veins that perfectly outline the kaleidoscope of colors, making this my #1 favorite heuchera of all time!
Penstemon ‘Nova Pearl’, Zones 7-9, Full Sun, Low to Moderate Water, Deer-Resistant, Hummingbird & Pollinator Magnet
Another fabulous trial plant sent to me by Terra Nova Nurseries, this smaller, well-behaved penstemon (bred with native penstemon genetics) grows to just 12″ x 12″ (24″ when in bloom).
It’s also relatively compact with an upright form (versus some varieties that can become floppy when covered in blooms).
But it’s the cloud of crisp white, pearlescent flowers that won my heart.
It has blooms that last a long, long time that also attract tons of pollinators.
And that fresh white and lush green color combination adds a fresh, calming element to the explosion of colors in my spring garden.
Once established, it’s fairly drought-tolerant (I water mine twice/week in the hot summer).
However, remember that, like a lot of penstemons, you’ll want to protect the base from over-watering by using mulch or gravel.
Euphorbia polychroma (Cushion Spurge), Zones 4-8, Full Sun, Low Water, Deer-Resistant
I’ve written a lot about my love of euphorbias (click here to read my article in this month’s American Gardener magazine), one of my favorites that has risen to the top this year is euphorbia polychroma.
Unlike most other euphorbias, this variety can’t tolerate my super-hot Granite Bay garden, but it absolutely THRIVES in our cold zone 6 Lake Tahoe garden.
It grows into a tidy 2’x2′ dome/cushion, making it perfect for the front of the border.
But it’s the colors that steal the show – just take a look at its new spring growth, with its eye-popping chartreuse and yellow new growth. It’s such a welcome sight after a long, snowy winter!
As it continues to grow, the flower buds are tinted a soft rose color, adding even more excitement to the emerging garden bed.
And then just the buds open, the yellow bracts (which most people refer to as ‘flowers’) last from summer to fall, until winter arrives once again.
While the pollinators adore this plant, the voracious chipmunks, voles, and squirrels tend to leave it alone (thanks to its toxic sap).
No wonder it won the prestigious’ Award of Garden Merit’ by the Royal Horticultural Society!
Veronicas (Spike Speedwell), Perennial, Full Sun, Deer-Resistant, Bee Favorite
I love just about any rocket-shaped flower (click here to read why), and the exclamation point-like blooms of veronicas are a perfect example. While there are many varieties on the market, three have really stood the test of time in my gardens.
Veronica ‘Skywalker Blue’ (Zones 4-8) has performed really, really well in our Lake Tahoe garden, easily shrugging off a crushing 8 feet of snow only to emerge each spring healthier than ever.
It blooms the entire summer, lasting through fall, and is swarmed by every bumblebee in the area.
While other veronicas often get powdery mildew, ‘Skywalker Blue’ doesn’t, which is an added bonus (who wants to look at diseased foliage??)
Veronica’ Royal Candles’ (Zones 3-8) has shockingly withstood several summers in the full, baking hot summer sun in my zone 9 garden.
Most other veronica varieties would fry to a crisp, ‘Royal Candles’ and its dark blue, compact flowers just power through the heat without wilting or burning.
Veronica ‘Dark Blue Moody Blues’ (Zones 4-9) has bloomed for five straight months (no joke!), and it’s still going strong as I write this in late November.
This variety does better with filtered shade and a moderate amount of water, and like the others I’ve mentioned, doesn’t have any powdery mildew on its lush, green foliage.
While I don’t think the flowers are ‘dark blue’ as the name suggests, they’re still amazing, and I adore them.
Oxalis regnellii (Ornamental Oxalis) Zones 7-10, Perennial, Partial Shade, Somewhat Deer-Resistant
There are many varieties of ornamental oxalis in nurseries, with brightly colored foliage in shades like dark plum, velvety orange, and green, and I’ve gardened with them all at one point or another (click here to read about my favorites).
But this year, it’s the oxalis regnellii that has won my heart with its unwavering hardiness in my HOT zone 9 garden (in the shade, of course, but even so, it’s hot!)
I give it just a bit of water a few times a week and it blooms like mad (5 months and counting!) with dainty white flowers that appear to float above healthy, oversized, triangular green foliage.
Growing to a tidy 8″ x 8″ mound, it’s a winner for the front of the border or in a container.
Celiosa ‘Cramers Amazon’, Annual, Full Sun, Deer-Resistant, Hummingbird & Pollinator Favorite
This has been such a fun plant to grow this year!
Even though I love flowers with spire shapes, for some reason, I’m not a huge fan of most celiosas.
However….when they soar to 7+ feet, I’m definitely trying it in my garden!
I ordered the seeds from Hayfield, Nancy Ondra’s amazing shop in Pennsylvania, (one of my favorite sources for unusual varieties).
Super easy to start, they quickly grew and grew, and grew to this 7-foot, eye-popping beauty that hummingbirds adore (as is evidenced by the one who photobombed my photo – can you spot it?)
Pelargonium ‘Oldbury Duet’, Zones 9-11 (though some report it hardy to 25-30°F), Perennial, Full Sun, Somewhat Deer-Resistant, Loved by Bees
When I first spotted this pelargonium sitting all by itself at the nursery, I couldn’t move fast enough to add it to my cart!
Hailing from South Africa, it’s part of the ‘Angel’ series, with cheery pansy-esque shaped flowers that pop against the curly, crisp white-and-green variegated foliage.
Similar to other pelargoniums, it benefits from a little light pinching after its flowers have faded to keep it tidy.
It’s somewhat slower-growing than other pelargoniums and only reaches 15″ x 15″ or so, but its smaller size makes it ideal for planting beneath my dark pink roses.
Gladiolus byzantinus (Byzantine Gladiolas,) Zones 6a-9b, Full Sun, Moderate Water, Deer-Resistant
After a cold winter, I’m craving color (now is NOT the time for subtle pastels!), and I wait in anticipation for the deep magenta Byzantine gladiolas to put on their show.
Purchased from Old House Gardens, these are some of my favorite warm-climate spring bulbs (click here for others that do really well in zone-9 gardens).
And quite honestly, if it’s good enough to be planted at Great Dixter, then it’s good enough for my garden!
The magenta flowers have a subtle pinkish-red stripe in the center, which offers opportunities for interesting color echoes (as I’ve done by surrounding it with the red flowers of ‘Rockin Red’ dianthus).
Well, that’s a wrap on my favorite new plants for the garden this year.
I’d love to hear what caught your eye – were there any unexpected stars in your garden that really shined this season?
AND – on another note…
I’m so excited to be presenting another webinar on Garden Design.com, and hope you can join me!
On December 11 at 3:00 PST, I’ll be discussing 2025 Trends in Gardening and it’s going to be a GOOD one (if I do say so, myself!)
I’ll be discussing design trends in the garden (like adding jewel-tones, green drenching, and maximalist gardening) as well as trends that adapt to our changing climate (ie: adding more keystone plants, managing light pollution, focusing on fire-resistance, to name a few.)
And, as always, if you can’t attend in person there’ll be a recording sent your way.
