Palace Purple is the coral bells that started the dark-leaf craze: maple-shaped foliage in bronzy purple with a soft sheen, holding its color in a neat, evergreen mound about a foot tall. Airy sprays of small white flowers rise on wiry stems in summer.

In Birmingham it wants morning sun or bright shade; hot afternoon sun washes out the leaf color. Give it well-drained soil, and lift and reset any clumps that heave after a few winters. Deer skip it, and hummingbirds visit the blooms.