There are several freckled/variegated selections of beauty berry (callicarpa) on the market, but virtually all are variegated forms of Asian species. We were excited to learn that plantsman Ted Stephens of Nurseries Caroliniana had found a speckled form of the native Callicarpa americana on his property in South Carolina. Our garden plant of his C. ‘Carolina Sunrise’ was interesting, but not spectacular. So, we grew quite a few from seed, knowing that the variegation would be heritable, and those finalists which remain in our evaluation area today are far nicer than the original. Here is one of our finalist selections in the garden this week.