Once upon a time, I had a lovely clump of E. epithymoides - often listed as the synonym E. polychroma. I really liked it...it did not really like where I'd put it and did not return after one glorious season. I keep meaning to replace it because it is a mound of sunshine in spring for quite a long time.
Native to Eastern Europe, Cushion Spurge is a low grower to around fifteen inches (38 cm), but can enlarge to a nice dome about two feet (0.6 m) in diameter. It's also one of the hardy ones, rated from USDA zone 3 to 9. It is supposedly long-lived - I think mine was simply in the wrong spot - and one of the best all around border plants. I don't recall the red or coral fall tints I've read that it has...but it's been a while. I keep forgetting to get it until it's too late. Hopefully, next spring I will remember to do this!
The flowers are much more complex than most euphorbs, appearing double and frilly in the center. It's a truly nice plant; a good one to try if you're just starting out with this genera.
Euphorbia griffithi 'Fireglow' is another that I once grew for several years, until I stupidly let it get shaded out while my back was turned. This one's a sprawler (at least in my garden), but the color makes it well worth the space. Stems are an orange-brown while the light olive green foliage has red veins. But most colorful are the flowers, a vibrant coral-red, enhanced by the same red staining of the leaflets just below the flower head. If it stood up straight, it would reach between three and four feet (90 - 120 cm) in height. Bloom time is from early to late summer. Native to the Himalayas, it's rated hardy to USDA zone 6 and prefers a rich retentive soil with as much sun as you can give it. Mine did quite well with about three or four hours of direct sun, but when the surrounding shrubs and trees matured to shade it all the time, it simply faded away.
It has a cousin that looks, if anything, even more interesting. Euphorbia griffithii 'Great Dixter', Christopher Lloyd's selection, has darker flowers and stems. Heronswood says it's hardy to zone 5 and, as you can see from the photo link, it's being grown in zone 2, Canada!
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