There's always a place in the garden for an easy-going shrub. 'Fairy Queen' has a low, arching habit and frothy masses of flat-topped, white flowers in late spring. Then, it retires to the background where its glaucous foliage complements bright summer flowers.

This genus of deciduous shrubs includes about a hundred species, all native to the Northern Hemisphere. Among them are dozens of attractive varieties that are extraordinarily well suited to contemporary gardens by virtue of their generous flowering habit and easy culture in average, well-drained soil.