'Red Birds In A Tree' (no kidding thats the real name)
Persecaria 'Painters Palette' (not odd, by underused)
Fern 'Dre's Daggar'
Corydalis 'Blue Panda'
Campanula 'Sarastro'
Schisandra chinese (I have 'Eastern Prince', its self fertile, and beautiful. Not a vine, not a shrub, not a tree, it grows to 15' here)
'Poppy Mallow' one plant can stretch its arms 4' on the ground, under taller plants to give a constantly flowering groundcover of bright magenta poppies.

'Red Birds In A Tree' (no kidding thats the real name)
Persecaria 'Painters Palette' (not odd, by underused)
Fern 'Dre's Daggar'
Corydalis 'Blue Panda'
Campanula 'Sarastro'
Schisandra chinese (I have 'Eastern Prince', its self fertile, and beautiful. Not a vine, not a shrub, not a tree, it grows to 15' here)
'Poppy Mallow' one plant can stretch its arms 4' on the ground, under taller plants to give a constantly flowering groundcover of bright magenta poppies.

Just keep in mind that weirdness, much like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Here are some other suggestions:

Seseli gummiferum
Angelica gigas
Crambe maritima
Crambe cordifolia
Pycnanthemum muticum
Calamintha nepeta--not too unusual but the cloudlike haze of its blooms is unique and unmatched
Sarracenia--only for acidic bog-like conditions

Perhaps you could provide us with more details of what you might be looking for? Any size or light restrictions? Any particular bloom season or other special attributes? That might help us provide more useful answers to your query :-)

These are annuals, not perennials, but are unusual:
Amaranthus caudatus, love-lies-bleeding
Celosia cristata, cockscomb (which is also in the amaranth family)

Many succulents are unusual looking.
Non-hardy perennials:
Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'
Many forms of Sedum such as S. morganianum (donkey's tails)
Echeveria
Senecio mandraliscae & other similar spp. (blue chalk sticks)
Euphorbia tirucalli var.rosea (sticks on fire)

Hardy succulents:
Sempervivums
Some Sedums, such as S. Angelina are rather unusual looking
Opuntia (prickly pear) several hardy species

Hardy bulbs:
Alliums, especially the tall types such as A. gigantium and A. 'Globemaster' and some of the irregularly headed ones such as A. flavum or A. carinatum pulchellum or A. schubertii
An Allium relative (that used to be classified as an Allium) Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. Bulgaricum
Narcissus Rip van Winkle
Fritillaria imperialis (crown imperial)

Shade or part-shade hardy perennials:
Arum italicum
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack in the pulpit)

Are we including plants that are rare/not often grown, plants with an unusual trait, or just bizarre looking??

Red Birds in a tree IS super unusual looking, though also quite hard to keep alive for me ;-(

Acanthus
Adlumia fungosa- bleeding heart vine
Akebia quinata- chocolate vine
Arisaema- jack in the pulpit
Arisaema proboscideum- mouse plant
Aspelnium scolopendrium and crested forms- any crested fern really
Athyrium filix-femina ‘Frizelliae’
Aristolochia- Dutchman’s pipe vine
Campanula ‘Pink Octopus’
Chiastophyllum oppositifolium
Codonopsis
Dicentra calceolaria
Digitalis furruginea, parviflora ‘Milk Chocolate‘, & ‘Pam’s Split’,
Dracunculus vulgaris
Frittilaria imperialis
Gentiana- unique at least
Geum triflorum
Hacquetia
Heleniunm 'Autumn Lollipop'
Kirengeshoma
Lycoris seamier- naked lady bulb
Orostachys - Chinese dunce caps- monocarpic plant
Paris polyphylla
Peony ‘Green Halo’
Phlox “Feelings” series (like ‘Natural Feelings’)- colorful bracts
Sempervivum ‘Oddity’
Spilanthes cernua var. odorata
Stachys ‘Hidalgo’ - 7-up scented foliage (might be pushing it in your zone)
Tellima grandiflora- fringe cups
Rheum palmatum var. tanguticum
Roscoea
Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard' & 'Black Beauty'- ugly as sin but unusual I guess
Tolmiea menisci- piggy back plant (z6)
Vancouveria hexandra- inside out flower
Veratrum nigrum

Not sure if you want me to continue or not ;-)
CMK

Yes, keep going......and

'CMK' I am curious how long it took you to formulate that reply? That list is incredible!

-Doug, about a half hour- my spelling is abysmal and I had to look up a number of them. Obviously I am not very through, LOL. ;0) Not to mention my spell-checker goes and changes the words on me!!

Some corrections for my previous post....
It is supposed to be Lycoris SQUAMIGERA, SPIRANTHES cernua var. odorata (although Spilantes is a weird/cool annual), Tolmiea MENZIESII

more:
Aconitum hemsleyanum- climber, look at ‘Red Wine’!
Anemone nemorosa ‘Green Fingers Group’, Bracteata Pleniflora, Viridiflora etc.
Anemonella thalictroides 'Green Hurricane' and other cultivars
Anemonopsis macrophylla- plus its monotypic!
Asarum splendens
Astilboides
Arum italicum- invasive I hear
Aquilegia viridiflora Chocolate Soldier
Beesia
Belamcanda & Pardancanda
Berlandiera lyrata
brown foliaged Carex, like buchananii, testacea, etc
Calceolaria- some hardy others annuals/tropical
Cardiocrinum giganteum (not quite hardy in z6 I believe?)
Castilleja- might be hard to grow since it is parasitic/semi parasitic
Corydalis ‘Chocolate Stars’- love it and easy to grow
Darmera peltata
Dianthus ‘Spooky’
Dictamnus -light me! ;-D
Echium
Eucomis (might be hardy for you in protected site)
Glaucidium
Leontopodium alpinum- not as hard to grow as one might think
Petasites -can invade
Primula auriculata, double forms, gold lace group
Rosa viridiflora
Saxifraga stolonifera, S. urbium ‘Aureopunctata’,
Soldanella alpinum
Spigelia marilandica
Syneilesis aconitifolia

May we include trees and shrubs, or only perennials? If I may just throw one or two awesome looking tree out there:
Cornus floridus sub. urbinianum- Mexican Dogwood. Zone 6/7.
Ginkgo -particularly the dwarf ones and variegated
Heptacodium (tree or shrub),

Those are all my brain can muster up at he moment. But check out these cool blogs/websites below that often talk about/sell cool and unusual plants:

Nancy J Ondra's blog: lots of unique plants, particularly annuals Hayefield

Teza’s Hortus Magnificum: truly rare gems here- specialty woodland/shady plants: His Blog Here

John Jearrard’s Herbal: what DOESN’T he have is the question! Take a look at those awesome Epimedium: His Blog Here

Linda Cochran’s Garden: the perfect blend of collection and composition: Her Blog Here

Nurseries:
Annie’s Annuals
Arrowhead Alpines
Cotswold Garden- reference
Far Reaches Farms
Klehm’s Song Sparrow
Odyssey Bulbs
Plant Delights Nursery
CMK

Great posts everyone. It will take me a winter to look up each of these wonderful offerings.

Double post :(.

This post was edited by rouge21 on Sun, Oct 27, 13 at 5:55

Another duplicate post :(.

This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, Oct 29, 13 at 11:57

To give this thread extra value I am suggesting that those who have any of the above mentioned offerings comment re. their experiences with them in their garden.

I will start:

1. I do like Persicara "Painter's Palette" (one of the most appropriate clever names for a plant). So unique re. the foliage color.

It will thrive in moist shade (even deep shade); thrive sometimes too much ;) BUT it is easy to remove the stray seedlings.

2. I don't have corydalis "Blue Panda" but rather instead we have several of the similar i.e blue flowering corydalis "Wildside Blue".

In the cooler wetter weather of the fall I have a few of the WS blooming with fallen leaves all around (see picture below, taken just today)

Does BP go dormant in the summer? I ask as WSB does not.

(For a yellow corydalis I really like "Canary Feathers". But i have given up having it in our garden as I cannot get it to overwinter.)

3. Maybe it is the novelty but I do enjoy the large alliums. I don't know why it took me so long to include them in our garden as this past summer was the first and they did so well....easy. easy. (The "problem" is that the huge flowers are often too tempting for people walking buy :(. )

4. I too enjoy having Spigelia marilandica. A wonderful show of very unique blooms in the beginning of the summer and then an unexpected re-bloom late in the season. (Just be extra patient having them appear in the spring.)

This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, Oct 29, 13 at 7:18

corydalis elata is related to wildside blue I believe and works well for me....but not blue panda.

Yes, Spigelia marilandica is great. May I suggest placing a marker near it so that the spot is saved for spring...when you might forget it is late coming up.

The large alliums spread exponentially here. I try to remove them. Tired of them! I do like allium Ozawa which blooms in October!

Soldanella is gorgeous, but difficult for me to keep going.

Anemonopsis macrophylla is another beauty. I love the buds and the blooms both! It took a while before it began to spread a bit. Never enough!

I grow Vitex and LOVE it. I don't know why it grows in my cold climate, but it does. It dies to the ground and It is VERY late to return in spring, but it blooms in late summer and is lovely. I cut it back only a bit in late fall.

Other fun things:
Pinellia tripartita ‘Atropurpurea’
Cercis ‘little woody’ which should only reach about 8 feet tall
Phytolacca americana ‘Silberstein’
Artichokes, even if only for their amazing foliage!
Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’ Amazing red blooms this year!(at last!)

Spigelia marilandica is great. May I suggest placing a marker near it so that the spot is saved for spring...when you might forget it is late coming up.

As I recall this past season it finally came through the ground in...early June!

I do like allium Ozawa which blooms in October!

Good to hear as I planted a bunch of them this past month. I am looking forward to seeing them next fall. (Btw, do you recall where you got these from in 'gardenbug'?)

This post was edited by rouge21 on Tue, Oct 29, 13 at 11:59

For sure consider Thalictrum "Splendide"....an outstanding, not often seen perennial.

Thanks for all the wonderful help. My garden is mostly sunny. I'm going to start looking these up. I love cactus plants and will look to see which are hardy -- never gave them a thought. Have to see which are more rabbit resistant as the rabbits ate most of my perennial plants this summer. I think I know where there home is now and will try to discourage them from coming into my yard.

Thanks,

-gardenbug, I totally forgot to mention the Podophyllum! Yours is incredible. How long have you had it? Is it a slow grower?

I started some of that Poke weed this spring and was amazed that one bloomed! Excited to see how it does next year.

I'm so sorry to hear the Soldanella has been a problem child for you. What kind of situation did you put yours in? I have mine right by the patio where it is fairly cool and moist ((when I remember to keep it watered)). Last couple years it bloomed wonderfully, this year not so much. I think the problem was it got warm FAST, right during the time it was blooming and killed some of the flowers off. ;-(

-Doug, while I don't grow either WB or BP, I have read that a lot of the corydalis that hail from the cool/moist woodlands and mountains of China have a habit of going semi-dormant (sometimes fully dormant) in summer. I think whether or not that happens largely depends on what your summer is like. My C. elata/omeiana will oftentimes stay around if I keep it extremely well hydrated, but if I forget and it dries out it tends to yellow and go somewhat dormant. I’ve read of some folks on the other side of my state (where it is generally moister and not quite as hot/arid) not experiencing dormancy with them over summer- or if they do the plant quickly springs back up afterwards.

Ps. you might try C. cheilanthifolia as an alternative to 'Canary Feathers'- it has wonderful ferny foliage and spires of yellow flowers similar to the cultivar (of no relation, lol). I tried to grow it from seed, but it turned out to be a hideous impostor- C. ophiocarpa ;-P LOL
CMK

Peaches20, sorry to hear you are dealing with rabbits. I feel your pain; my garden has also gone through waves of destruction this season.

You have some incredible options for unusual perennials listed above. I have not grown all of them (or many of them), but here is what I have in my garden that, so far, has been either ignored by rabbits or only minimally damaged (knock on wood):

Alliums--all types
Hellebores
Pycnanthemum
Calamintha
Monarda
Lavender
Symphytum 'Axminster Gold'
Sedums
Penstemon digitalis 'Dark Towers'
Perovskia
Lycoris
Colchicum
Narcissus
Galanthus--flowers can sometimes get nipped off
Solidago 'Fireworks'
Agastache--all types
Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'
Thalictrum--all types
Chrysanthemum--all types
Hardy geraniums--in general left alone but individual plants can be targeted
Aster oblongifolius cultivars
Aster divaricatus
Helianthus 'Lemon Queen'
Ferns
Daylilies--if you search you can get some truly lovely and exotic-looking ones
Eupatorium purpureum 'Little Red'
Eupatorium 'Chocolate'
Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride'
Aquilegia
Aconitum 'Barker's Variety'
Chelone--all types
Corydalis
Dicentra

Here are things that were consistently targeted and destroyed:
Phlox divaricata
Phlox stolonifera
Aster laevis 'Bluebird'
Aster cordifolius
Callirhoe involucrata
True lilies--especially when emerging
Crocus
Lathyrus vernus

I think rabbits will eat anything if they are hungry enough. In general, though, I find that if a plant has scented leaves (i.e., anything in the mint family) it will be left alone.

I have read that a lot of the corydalis that hail from the cool/moist woodlands and mountains of China have a habit of going semi-dormant (sometimes fully dormant) in summer. I think whether or not that happens largely depends on what your summer is like.

"Lutea" is hard to make go dormant...anywhere?!

It is the blue flowerd Corydalis that easily move to dormancy. But "Wildside Blue" is advertised as much more reliable in this respect. I have not had it disappear during the growing season. Having said that it does not flower for me all season (unike "Lutea")

"Wildside Blue" was blooming again this past week. (No more....)

Rouge21, Allium Ozawa came from a nearby nursery which no longer sells it. (I asked because I wanted even more!) I'll need to hunt more. (I am in Ontario, Canada)

Cristinmk, Podophyllum was almost a vanishing species for me until it was moved to a slightly drier location. (It was flooded repeatedly) After the move, it began growing really well to my great surprise. After about 2 years more, it began blooming. I was astonished and thrilled. I was very fortunate to buy it at an odd nursery where flats of it were for sale at about $3 each! Now I see them for over $40 each.... I'd buy more if I could even get them for $10!

As for the variegated pokeweed, my friend has a gorgeous tree of it! Mine is a baby from her plant, in its second year here. Not at all a tree yet, but it blooms and has berries. (which I remove because I don't want an invasion)

I am assuming you want plants that draw attention and comments/questions from onlookers due to their unusual characteristics or simply because they are not typical of what you usually see growing. These are plants that I call 'head-turners" and they make people slow down to gape and point at your garden while driving by.

I think I can give you some suggestions guaranteed to different and not be duplicated anywhere else within miles. Personally I think its best to develop a theme and stay with it rather than having a lot of attention getters like a museum collection of unusual plants. This means not every plant needs to be a focal point but should fit into the scheme in a harmonious way. The use of appropriate fillers makes a scheme like this work.

Big rocks strategically placed can add to the unusual and taking out a standard lawn and replacing it with gravel, pavers and/or very low growing native grass & small native forbs really makes it different not to mention low maintenance. It depends on how far you wish to take it or what your neighborhood will allow.

If you decide to plant cactus, Cold Hardy Cactus online offers a very wide variety of them with differing pad textures/color, sizes and color of blooms in spring and bright pears in autumn for year round color and texture interest. You need good drainage and full sun, this is more important than temperature for success. I have dozens of varieties and they do quite well because I am on a slope. Native grasses and forbs are a good way to bring it all together and create a very unique, unusual landscape.

Here are some focal point plants with descriptions that will grow in zone 6 that have not been listed in the above posts that would create a Southwest flavor.
DESERT SPOON-- (Dasylirion wheeleri) 3 ft wide dome of stiff light blue ribbon like leaves with hooked thorns along the edges. Puts up a tall flowering spike 12 ft tall when mature.

LEAD PLANT--( Amorpha canescens) 5' x 5' drought tolerant native prairie shrub with soft grey leaves running up stems in bean formation. Spikes of indigo flowers in fall. Considered one of the most ancient prairie species. Very pretty.

YELLOW BIRD OF PARADISE-- (Caesalpinia gilliesii) Rows of small leaflets on an airy plant with big yellow flowers each with a long red sex filament. Blooms summer through early freezes.

APACHE PLUME--(Fallugia paradoxa) White rose flowers cover plant while simultaneously forming abundant plumed silky pink seedheads. Tiny leaves, the whole plant looks feathery. Looks great with low growing evergreens or native/ornamental grasses.

BEARGRASS--(Nolina microcarpa or N. texensis) 3 ft tall evergreen with multitude of thin long shiny leaves that curl on the tips. Puts out a bloom in summer, looks grasslike but its not, its in the lily plant group.

BIG SACATON (Sacaton wrightii) an impressive no care ornamental grass that puts up golden feathery seed heads in mid summer to 7 ft tall. Very distinct and different from what you usually see in the nursery's for ornamental grasses. This grass glows yellow in afternoon sunlight.

DEERGRASS (Muhlenbergia rigens) handsome commanding ornamental grass 4ft x 4ft with thin spikes that grow straight up and out like a large fireworks display. Gorgeous.

MEXICAN FEATHERGRASS--- Delicate silky grass low growing that is golden and soft all spring and summer. Good to tie in plants together or for textural contrast.

CHOLLA CACTUS--- many varieties available. Adds a strong sculptural element. Cold Hardy Cactus has one called 'Snow Leopard' that literally glows in sunlight or on a moonlit night from the dense white spines covering it.

SPANISH BROOM--- A big leafless green plant that looks like thin pencils all season or you could say it resembles a big weird grass plant except in spring when it is smothered in yellow pea like flowers making everyone ask "What is that?". Otherwise, its sculptural

JIMSONWEED (Datura wrightii) large shrublike native perennial 3-4 ft high with large soft blue leaves enormous 8" white trumpet flowers. Attracts bees like crazy.

YUCCA ROSTRATA--Very blue leaves forming a perfectly round head and a short truck (eventually). Monrovia has a very nice one available to nursery's you could probably find online. A very user friendly yucca since it won't try to stab you.

'MISS HUFF' HARDY LANTANA. It is reported to be the most cold hardy lantana around. Some reports list it hardy to zone 6. The 'unusual' factor here would be to have a 6 ft wide lantana in your zone 6 yard blooming heavily all summer making you the envy of many as butterflies flock in massive numbers. Thats how big it gets in a single season and if you don't trim it until spring and mulch it in winter, you might just be able to do one successfully. Its worth a try. Almost Eden online carries it. Cuttings are easy to root if you want to winter one over indoors for insurance or make more of them easily.
COLD HARDY AGAVE-- There are some that will grow well in zone 6. Parryii, Utahensis and others. Kelly Grummons at Cold Hardy Cactus carries them as well as some small barrel types that are also hardy. He also carried various Yucca plants that are hardy.

Good source for seeds of the plants above is Plants of the Southwest. You won't find them locally, you will need to search online but then, thats what makes them unusual and why you won't see them growing locally in your city. Unusual is a relative thing. What is common in one place is unusual in another.

I grow all of these successfully in the midwest in zone 7 with around 30" annual rainfall but they can take zone 6. You do need good drainage though for some and tweezers on hand for others. Cactus are not for everyone but nothing else can make such a statement.

Bill RI posted some photos of his garden, including cacti in fruit in the link below. Part way down the thread he answers a couple of questions about growing cacti in zone 6 RI.

Here is a link that might be useful: Late season color in New England