Hardy Protection Zone at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

C. medius blooms with lavender-purple flowers in October. Height is 4 inches and the leaves show up after flowering is finished. It is hardy protection Zone from Zone 6 south. C. orhroleucus starts in mid-October and if temperatures are a bit above normal, will continue to November. The flower is a delicate cream color with the throat stained with orange, and compared with other crocuses, the flower seems thin and papery. Where snows come early in the North C. orhroleucus will need a sheltered spot, but it's hardy protection Zone from Zone 5 south.

The first grass is a bamboo (Arundinaria viridistriata), that is hardy protection Zone with protection in Zone 5, where it is not invasive. Farther south is another matter and care should be taken in planting to prevent unwanted spread. This bamboo is a true beauty: The leaves have a velvety look when new and are a rich combination of gold and green that glows in the distance. The stems reach a height of 2 1/2 feet. It likes partial shade and I find it does best when grown in a 12-inch pot.

C. byzantium has rosy lilac flowers, often up to 4 inches across, blooming in September. The plants grow 6 inches tall and the leaves of spring are up to 16 inches long. This species is hardy protection Zone from Zone 6 south. C. cilicicum have flowers of a deeper shade of rosy lilac than C. byzantium, 5 inches high, and of a greater number. The 12-inch leaves appear directly after flowering. They are hardy protection Zone from Zone 5 south.