First Frost is a hosta that looks good longer than most, holding clean foliage deep into fall, which is where the name comes from. Its blue leaves carry a wide gold margin that softens to creamy white by summer, on a tidy mound around two feet across, with lavender blooms.

Site it in shade or morning sun; the blue leaf color holds best out of hot afternoon light. It wants rich, moist, well-drained soil and steady water through Birmingham summers. The thick leaf substance also makes it less appealing to slugs.