ONE OF THE DELIGHTS of spring nursery cruising is finding plants we've never seen before. Sometimes it takes a plant with a fresh flower color, new variegation or dwarf size to jolt us into appreciating an entire species, or into planting up a new pot or border. Often it turns out that some new plant is just exactly what we need ... although we didn't know it until the moment we laid eyes on it.

I spent a recent week talking with local-nursery buyers about the most exciting plants for 2001. Tough duty. I've finally stopped scheming over how to squeeze a few of these into my own garden long enough to write about them. This week, I'll talk about achingly irresistible annuals and perennials, and next week the roses, shrubs and trees out to tempt you. A warning: Nursery stock changes weekly, so you may need to shop around (darn!). If you have a problem finding any of these plants, call the new-this-spring Plant Answer Line at 206-616-0322, or use "The Pacific Northwest Plant Locator 2000-2001," a handy paperback by Susan Hill and Susan Narizny (Black-Eyed Susans Press). It can be found in local libraries and bookstores. If you're a serious plant shopper, you may want to order a copy by calling the publisher at 503-623-8937, or going to www.blackeyedsusanspress.com.

Now, about those new plants: Sunflowers are big and yellow, right? Not anymore. `Ring of Fire' has 5-inch flowers with gold-edged petals and a ring of red around a chocolate-brown center. `Apricot' has semi-double flowers with an apricot center surrounded by lemon-yellow petals.

City People's Garden Store on East Madison Street has a variety of fancy-leafed geraniums; their buyer suggests 'Occold Shield' for its bright chartreuse leaves and cerise flower, and 'Grossersorten,' which has dark-green leaves ringed in mahogany, accented by coral flowers.

The most frequently asked question at Swanson's Nursery over the summer is about the Million Bells (Calibrachoa hybrids) growing in the window boxes around the property. These self-cleaning vines are easy to grow, drape gracefully and look like flashy baby petunias. 'Terracotta' is a new color, and 'Trailing Blue' has yellow-centered flowers. Bidens ferulifolia has lacy foliage, is a prolific bloomer and comes in a new compact variety, `Goldie,' with a sweet scent. `New Blush' nasturtiums are a new, double-flowering apricot, and `Jewels of Africa' is a climbing nasturtium in yellow, red and peachy-pink with leaves marbled in cream.

My head is especially turned by all the new perennials. Emery's Garden in Lynnwood suggests a couple of plants grown mainly for foliage: Heuchera sanguinea 'Monet,' which holds its green-and-white variegation well in sun or shade, and Rumex sanguineus, a mounding, clump-forming perennial with dark-red leaves traced in purple veining. Emery's perennial buyer was also excited about Verbascum 'Jackie,' a shorter mullion growing to only about 2 feet high, with a long-lasting purple-eyed apricot flower, and tuber oat grass (Arrhenatherum elatius subsp. bulbosum) a foot-high ornamental grass with dark-green blades striped in white, which can take partial shade, lasts late into the fall and is expected to be clumping rather than invasive.

Swanson's stock of new perennials includes Dicentra 'King of Hearts,' with grey-green leaves and rosy-pink flowers; Heuchera 'Amber Waves,' with leaves in shades of chartreuse, bronze and gold, and light-pink flowers (who cares about the flowers with leaves like that?) and Verbascum 'Dijon,' whose golden flowers fade to yellow with a purple flush in the center. Their buyer also recommends a new spiderwort, Tradescantia 'Blue and Gold,' which pairs the familiar flowers with solid gold leaves, and two low-growing sedums with surprising coloration: S. makinoi 'Ogon' has greenish-gold foliage and yellow flowers, while S. makinoi 'Variegata' is mottled green and white. Both prefer a bit of shade and moister soil than you'd expect for a sedum.

Whew! That was a lot to take in. But save space for the larger plants next week. ...

Now In Bloom: Old-fashioned, sweet-scented wallflowers (Erysimum or Cheiranthus) are one of the longest-blooming perennials, flowering from early May through the summer. E. 'Bowles' Mauve' has gray-green foliage and blooms so vigorously it is often short-lived; E. cheiri Bedder series are compact and come in shades of gold, yellow, orange and scarlet. E. 'Starbright' is a brand new wallflower in bright, pure yellow.

Valerie Easton is a horticultural librarian and writes about plants and gardens for Pacific Northwest magazine. She is the co-author of "Artists in Their Gardens" from Sasquatch Books. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com.