Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asclepias incarnata

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 4.5′. Swamp Milkweed. Northeast and Southeast United States. Pale pink umbels are tough, reliable, and attractive. Flowers July through September. An important butterfly plant. We love it in our Pink/Chartreuse Bed. Sun. 4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asclepias incarnata 'Alba'

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 4′.  A lovely white-flowered form of the Swamp Milkweed.  Tolerates average, well-drained soil in cultivation but does best in moist areas.  Blooms July through September.  Sun.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asclepias purpurascens

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 4′.  Purple Milkweed.  Northeast and Central United States.  Large, dark, rosy-purple umbels on a tough, reliable plant now sadly rarely found in the wild.  Broadly elliptical, grey-green foliage.  An important butterfly plant that is a good non-invasive substitute for Common Milkweed.  Very showy.  Flowers July through August.  Moist, well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asclepias syriaca

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 5′. Common Milkweed. Eastern North America. The familiar pale pink flowering version of the butterfly-luring milkweed. The ribbed, hairy pods are attractive, rattle in the wind and resemble Okra pods. Essential host plant for Monarch caterpillars. Vigorously spreading roots to the point of being invasive but a “must have” for any wild garden. Blooms June to August. Sun. 4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asclepias syriaca f. leucantha

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 5’. White Milkweed. Eastern North America. A unique and striking form of the Common Milkweed.  Many umbellate cymes of fragrant, five-petalled flowers.  The petals are light green with white margins, the bright white corona consists of five hoods with beaks. Discovered this season colonizing in a relatively undisturbed border. This beauty is equally as supportive to pollinators as the more common pink form. Blooms June to August.  Sun.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asclepias tuberosa

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 2-½’.  Butterfly Flower.  East and Southeast US.  Numerous, small, starry, luscious orange flowers in flat-topped axillary cymes.  We are trying to establish it in an undisturbed part of the Car Park.  Like all species of Asclepias, A. tuberosa is one of the larval hosts plants for the Monarch Butterfly.  Prefers drier, well-drained soil.  Blooms June to August.  Sun.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Asparagus schoberioides

Family: (Asparagaceae)

(P) to 3′. Siberian Asparagus. Far East Asia. This delicately textured perennial, though edible, is largely grown for its ornamental value in a garden setting. Arching stems of fine needle-like light green foliage provide an airy, ethereal presence. Tiny white flowers in summer are followed by bright red fruit in fall when the foliage turns golden yellow. Asparagus plants are typically dioecious and therefore both male and female plants are required for fruit production. Our plant was purchased from Seneca Hill Nurseries in 2007. It is planted in the Grass Garden where it has been producing fruit happily for at least the past 10 years. Just lovely. Sun. 2B, 3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aster divaricatus (syn. Eurybia divaricata)

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 2′. White Wood Aster. An American native. Clusters of white ray flowers with yellow centres and heart-shaped leaves on dark stems. Very floriferous. Sun, tolerates dry shade. 3 & 6 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aster tataricus

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 7′.  Tatarian Aster.  Siberia.  Tall, long-blooming Aster with glorious, loose sprays of bold, lilac-blue daisies with yellow centres.  Dense clusters of wide, lance-shaped leaves.  Tough, durable plant that will thrive in a variety of conditions.  No staking needed, blooms late – September and October and well worth the wait.  Sun/partial shade. 3 & 6 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Astilbe biternata

Family: (Saxifragaceae)

(P) to 4.5′. False Goat’s Beard. North America. The only native Astilbe and unaccountably rarely seen. Tall, imposing stems with profuse, creamy white flower panicles light up the woodland in early summer. Dark green foliage is lush and resembles Actaea. Partial shade. 4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Astrantia major

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 2.5′. Great Masterwort. Central and eastern Europe. No garden should be without this effortless and beautiful plant. Several greenish white, often blushed pink flowerheads each arranged in a dome with a “collar” of bracts. Dense clumps of divided basal foliage. Content in the flower garden or in the woodland. Summer blooming. Great in flower arrangements, too. Sun/partial shade. PC- 4 weeks. 4 & 7 for 4 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Atriplex hortensis var. rubra

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Red Mountain Orach.  Asia, Central and South Europe, North America.  An ornamental Orach with glowing, blood red to purplish foliage.  We love the striking, lance-shaped foliage almost anywhere in the garden.  Tall, dense racemes of red-purple flowers are followed by decorative, terminal clusters of buff-coloured seeds that are wonderful too.  Gently self-sows.  Sun.  Best sown in situ or 3 & T2.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Azorina vidalii

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(TP) to 18″.  Azores Bellflower.  Azores.  Particularly interesting for the cool greenhouse. Thick fleshy deep green leaves give rise to a candelabra of two-inch waxy, dusky pink bells. Sun. 4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Baccharis halimifolia

Family: Asteraceae

Hardy shrub to 12′.  Cottonseed Tree.  Americas.  Multi-branched, deciduous shrub with soft grey-green, toothed, resinous leaves.  Clustered white flowers give way to white fruits that appear as silky froths of hairs.  Blooms in September.  Salt tolerant.  Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Baptisia australis

Family: (Fabaceae)

(P) to 4.5′. False Indigo. Eastern United States. Great foliage plant forming large clumps of glabrous foliage on stiff, upright stems. The blue, pea-like flowers bloom in loose racemes in midsummer. Big, black, rattling seedpods remain throughout the winter. Sun. 2A & 4 & T2