Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Albuca bracteata (syn. Ornithogalum longibracteatum)

Family: (Asparagaceae)

Tender bulb to 3′.  Pregnant Onion.  South Africa.  Beautiful spikes of white striped green, star-shaped flowers.  The smooth, green bulb becomes very large and produces many bulbils attached to the sides of the mother bulb.  These bulbils become flowering size very quickly.  The foliage is two inches wide and a smooth, glossy green.  An easy and fascinating houseplant.  Sun.  3 & T3, then may need 40º for 2-3 months.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium angulosum

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 16″. Mouse Garlic. Europe. Loose heads formed by multiple, cup-shaped flowers of pale purple. Blooms June to August. Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium flavum var. minus

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 4″.  Central Europe to West Asia.  Lilliputian form of Allium flavum.  Loose umbels of sulphur-yellow flowers in early summer.  Grey glaucous foliage.  Loves a hot dry location.  Great in a rock crevice.  Sun.  3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium sphaerocephalon

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 3′.  Drumstick Allium.  Europe, North Africa, West Asia.  Cylindrical, hollow, grey-green leaves to 14 inches long form a grass-like foliage clump in spring.  Sturdy, slender stems rise in late spring and are topped with oval, clover-like flowerheads. Each flowerhead is a tight, dense, one-inch umbel of tiny florets that emerge deep green but mature (top to bottom) to rose-purple, displaying an interesting bi-colour effect.  Excellent when weaving through their neighbours.  Blooms mid-summer.  Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium tuberosum

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 18″. Garlic Chives. Southeast Asia. Spherical, white blooms freshen the flower garden throughout August. Sun/partial shade. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Allium zebdanense

Family: (Alliaceae)

Hardy bulb to 16″.  Lebanon.  Dainty, cup-shaped, pure white flowers are held upright in loose umbels over dense clumps of smooth, bright green foliage.  Really brightens up the woodland in late spring.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 6

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Althaea cannabina

Family: (Malvaceae)

(P) 7′. Europe. A tall, wiry plant producing lavender-pink, cup-shaped blooms with darker central eyes in the leaf axils of slender, branching stems. The palmately lobed leaves are roughly pubescent with a greyish white underside. “The whole plant is light and graceful.” (GST**). Moist soil. Sun. 3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Alyssoides utriculata

Family: (Brassicaceae)

Subshrub to 14″. Bladder Pod. Mountains of Europe. Alpine with succulent, matte green leaves and panicles of fragrant, bright yellow, mustard-like flowers, which bloom with Phlox, Alyssum and Saxifraga moschata. Later on, interesting ovoid, inflated seedpods emerge and eventually fall apart to reveal their inner, translucent septum with seeds attached resembling a miniature Honesty plant. Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amaranthus gangeticus

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Elephant Amaranth.  South America, Africa.  This plant is a delightful point of interest in the flower or vegetable garden.  The tiny, congested sprays of crimson flowers form rounded, dense clusters that make up one extraordinarily shaped form, rather like an elephant’s trunk, or a pointing finger or two.  Sun.  3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amaranthus hybridus var. erythrostachys

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Peruvian Tassel Flower.  Many branched panicles of crimson, tassel-like flowers accentuated by the deep maroon foliage of this plant, creates drama in the border.  Sun.  3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ammi visnaga

Family: (Apiaceae)

(A) to 3′.  Khella, Toothpick Plant.  Egypt.  Grown since antiquity for medicinal purposes.  This sophisticated Queen Anne’s Lace relative produces masses of feathery, delicate, aromatic foliage topped with wide, compound, flat umbels of tiny, greenish-white flowers.  An excellent and unusual filler; most desirable for cut flower displays.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ammobium altatum

Family: (Asteraceae)

(A) to 3′.  Winged Everlasting.  Although a perennial in Australia, we treat this tender perennial as an annual.  The pure white, stiff, papery ray florets are short and layered and surround bright yellow, central discs. Unusual greyish green stems are flat and winged along the edges.  Flowers are in abundance throughout the season.  An interesting and easy to grow annual that dries beautifully.  Sun. 3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amsonia ciliata

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 20″. Narrow-Leaved Bluestar. This native of open sandy woodland and prairies from North Carolina to Missouri resembles a petite, more refined version of the Arkansas Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) with five-petalled, starry, periwinkle-blue flowers in early summer. The narrow, almost needle-like foliage turns a brilliant golden yellow in the fall. Dry, well-drained soil. Sun. 3 & 7 for 12 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amsonia elliptica

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 18″.  Dwarf Oriental Blue-Star.  China, Japan, and Korea.  Amsonia elliptica makes a bushy mound of tight-clumped, upright stems topped with starry, five-petalled, porcelain-blue flowers in early June. The glossy green, broad, grass-like leaves make an excellent backdrop for other garden plants during the summer.  In fall the foliage turns a glowing yellow to orange.  A great Amsonia for the small garden with a good display of flowers and excellent autumn colour.  Sun/partial shade.  3, 7 for 4 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amsonia rigida

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 2′. Stiff Bluestar. Southern Georgia and Northern Florida. A smaller Amsonia with a distinctive, dark reddish purple colouration to its emerging stems contrasting beautifully with the shiny, leathery, elliptical leaves. Loose cymes of light blue, starry flowers. The outer flower tube is flushed a darker hue giving it more pizzazz. Surprisingly hardy given its southern origin. Moist, well drained sandy soil. Sun/partial shade. 3, 7 for 4 weeks, then T2