Just took a trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Saw a 6ft tall bush with flowers on it similar to the double-flowering deep yellow coreopsis. Leaves on this large bush were approx 1-2" in length, and narrow. A second bush I'm intersted in had seed pods that had opened. The pods were square or star shaped, about the size of a large marble, and open to show a deep purple inside with 4 vivid red-orange "seeds/berries" visible. I've looked for both of these in my reference books without success. I'm also looking for a source for spider lilly bulbs. Thank you for any help you can provide.
I suppose the question that needs to be asked first is if these plants are grown in a cultivated or wild setting (ie. street trees and perennial border plantings, or native trees and plants from a hike). I'm going to throw out a few names, but they are only guesses. I'm assuming you were looking at plants in a cultivated setting. For the yellow-flowering coreopsis lookalike, how about Rudbeckia laciniata 'Hortensia'? Missouri Botanical Garden - Rudbeckia laciniata 'Hortensia' Fa. C. Esveld Nursery in The Netherlands - Rudbeckia laciniata 'Golden Glow' Please note that this plant is often sold as the cultivar name 'Golden Glow', but golden glow is actually the common name, and is properly named Rudbeckia laciniata 'Hortensia'. My slight concern on this one is your description of the leaves: while narrow and of that length near the blossoms, the older leaves are a fair size larger. For the second plant, perhaps Euonymus europaeus, commonly known as the spindle tree? Euonymus europaeus photo from UBC Botanical Garden Euonymus europaeus - interpretative sign from UBC Botanical Garden Please confirm or suggest how the plants you've observed are different from the above. To source plants, you may want to post separately in the Seed Sourcing and Exchange forum.