Ceratostigma willmottianum (Chinese plumbago)

Native from southeastern Tibet to central China, this deciduous shrub in the plumbago family usually grows about 2 to 4 feet tall. It has arching red stems, and its leaves turn red in autumn. Its flowers are blue and clustered; in Britain, flowering occurs in late summer and autumn. It spreads by underground rhizomes that root at their nodes. Flowers form on new growth. It holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Photographed in Virginia, USA.