Bred in the Antipodes, Tasmanian Angel™, an unusual variety of the Mediterranean Bear's Breeches, has bold, scalloped leaves that are vividly mottled and edged with white while young, then gradually fade to green with age. Eye-catching spikes of flowers in pink and cream tower above mature clumps in late summer, guaranteeing a center-stage position in your garden.

Appreciation for Acanthus, a genus of about 30 Old World species of perennials and small shrubs, dates back to the ancient Greeks, who used the handsome, lobed leaves as the pattern for the Corinthian order on columns. Plants form imposing, generally evergreen mounds that produce grand spikes of hooded blooms in early to midsummer. Grow in full sun or partial shade (required in the South) and moist but well-drained soil. Hardiness is a vexing question. We've opted, as usual, to be conservative, but experimentation with this dramatic group can yield impressive rewards.