Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Bellevalia dubia

Family: (Asparagaceae)

Tender bulb to 16″.  Portugal.  An unusual bulb that we grow in our Pit House, formerly in the genus Muscari.  A Grape Hyacinth look-alike.  In bud, loose racemes of bright, violet-blue flowers with green tips turn to a maroon-brown with yellow-tinted lobes as they open.  Blooms in early spring.  Summer dormant.  Sun.  3 & ∆, then T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Clethra pringlei

Family: (Clethraceae)

Tender shrub to 6′.  Mexican Sweetspire.  Whorls of large, glossy, elliptic leaves with toothed margins that are bronze when young, then turn a deep green with age.  Long, showy racemes of white flowers that are sweetly fragrant with a cinnamon-like aroma.  Summer blooming.  Makes a reliable pot plant – we’ve had for over 20 years, and we still love it.  Sun.  3 & T1

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Morina longifolia

Family: (Caprifoliaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Himalayan Whorlflower. Kashmir, through Nepal to Bhutan.  A beautiful and not often grown Morina from the high valleys of the Himalayas .  Scented, tubular flowers are white flushing to pink after pollination, in whorls on stiff upright stems.  Glossy, dark green leaves are spiny, thistle-like and sharply lanceolate – ouch!  June to August.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T2 & Δ

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Draba rigida var. imbricata

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 2″.  Caucasus.  A real treasure forming the tightest of neat, mounded cushions from tiny, pointed, dark green leaves.  Bright, golden yellow blooms appear atop short, slender stems in April.  Thrives in our Alpine House but will also withstand a Zone 5 winter.  Worth trying in a trough or raised bed.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T1

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula raddeana

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(P) to 8”.  Caucasus.  Compact and clump-forming with leathery, glossy, ovate to heart-shaped, toothed, dark green leaves.  Wiry, branching, red or purple-flushed stems bear clusters of large, nodding, open bell-shaped, deep violet flowers in summer.  Reminiscent of fairy-caps.  Sun.  4 & T2

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Zizia aptera

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Heart-leaved Alexanders.  Western Canada to southeast United States.  Smooth, glossy, heart-shaped, toothed basal leaves.  Compound umbels of tiny, bright golden yellow flowers complement the attractive foliage.  A delicate yet tough plant for the woodland.  Zizia is one of the larval food plants for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly.  Blooms late spring.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Pimpinella major 'Rosea'

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Greater Burnet Saxifrage.  A gorgeous pink flowered form of this European native.  Airy, arching, delicate umbels of pale pink are held above a leafy basal rosette of serrated, fern-like foliage.  Summer blooming.  Sun/partial shade.  Moist, well-drained soil.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Echinacea laevigata

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 3′.  Smooth Purple Coneflower.  Native to the Piedmont, from Pennsylvania to Alabama.  A rare species on the Federally Endangered list since 1992, is now considered a threatened species due to conservation efforts.  This clump-forming, deciduous perennial has mid-green, lance-shaped, toothed leaves.  Hairless, dark-coloured stems are topped with pale pink flower heads with linear, drooping petals surrounding a prominent cone of dark purple florets.  A long-bloomer that is perfect for the native garden.  This seed came from Hermannshof Garden, Germany courtesy of Stephen Zelno.  Sun.  4 &T2

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula makaschvilii White-flowered form

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(P) to 18″.  Caucasus. A relatively recent introduction to cultivation.  From a basal rosette arise arching stems of small, mid-green, heart-shaped leaves. Along the length of the stems are slender, five-petalled, white, bell-shaped flowers with pronounced flares.  Charming, long blooming and tough.  Mid-summer.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Moonlit Night’

Family: (Apiaceae)

(B/P) to 4′.  Another stunning, dark-leaved cultivar of the European Cow Parsley and cousin of Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Raven’s Wing’.  We got this seed from the Hardy Plant Society /Mid-Atlantic Group, and it has become a reliable fixture in the Apiaceae bed on the Systematic Order Beds.  We are not sure how it varies from ‘Raven’s Wing’, but we keep them very separate and enjoy them both.  Self-seeds gently.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 6