The new stems and leaves of Genista lydia are fresh green.  As myriad forsythia-yellow flowers open, the shrub becomes, briefly, the brightest plant in the entire garden.

Round, pointed leaves in solid acid-green, sparked with heads of tiny rose-red and white flowers.  Look closer: The flowers also have pale sepals that tweet out to the bright leaves.  Full-moon maple: Could any hardy plant be more subtle—as well as more brilliant?

This variegated shrub is a member of the citrus family, with foliage that looks a lot like that of variegated orange trees.  But Orixa japonica is hardy as far north as Montreal.