Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Verbascum phlomoides

Family: (Scrophulariaceae)

(B) to 6′.  Woolly Mullein.  Southern Europe.  Grown by Gertrude Jekyll for its branched spikes of bright yellow flowers with white woolly stamens.  Attractive foliage, dense basal rosettes of large woolly grey leaves.  Miss Jekyll loved it, and so do we.  Blooms mid to late summer.   Sun.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Euonymus carnosus

Family: (Celastraceae)

Deciduous shrub to 12′.  Fleshy-flowered Spindletree.  Taiwan.  A special Euonymus noted for its excellent ornamental qualities.  Fragrant creamy-white flowers in showy, dense corymbs of 5 to 8 flowers, dangle from long pedicels over a long bloom period from spring into summer.  Glossy, waxy-looking, elliptic to ovate, dark green leaves up to seven inches long are notable throughout summer.  In late summer, coral-red fruit capsules develop which split open to reveal fleshy, orange arils that encase the seeds.  The leaves turn deep-red to burgundy-purple colour in late autumn, followed by smooth grey bark in winter after leaf drop.  You cannot go wrong with this all-season show-stopper.  Full sun to partial shade. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Salvia macrophylla

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(TP) to 4′.  Peruvian Sage.  Columbia, Peru, Bolivia.  We have grown this plant underglass in pots for a few years and had enough to plant out in our Flower Garden last season.  It was a big presence and performed beautifully.  The architectural, lime green spikes in bud are attractive in themselves, with hints of blue as the flowers start to open.  The flowers are large and typical of a Salvia, but of a striking Persian blue with protruding white filaments tipped with blue anthers.  The leaves add to the show; triangular-hastate in shape and very large, up to 8 inches long and 5 inches wide, and strikingly violet on the underside.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Leonotis menthaefolia

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(TP) to 2′.  Mint-leaved Lion’s Ear.  South Africa.  Vibrant, warm orange, tubular flowers are held in whorls.  Small, serrated leaves have a pungent, spicy fragrance, reminiscent of Agastache.  A long blooming, compact Lion’s Ear perfect for containers.  Overwinter in a frost-free conservatory.  Summer through to fall.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ennealophus euryandrus (syn. Herbertia euryandra)

Family: (Iridaceae)

Tender bulb to 12″.  Argentina.  This Iris relative has pleated linear to lanceolate leaves.  Intriguing, blue to violet flowers with three large, broadly spreading, triangular to obovate, outer tepals with white markings at the base…they look like an airplane propeller.  The three smaller, inner tepals are rounded, erect and reflexed, with a spot of orange on the reflex.  In the centre, the trifid, white stigma is showy and heavily clefted, with the stamens held below.  The flowers only last for part of a day. Grows on humid slopes near the forest’s edge but nicely for us in a pot.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula rigidipila

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(P) to 12″.  This rare plant is the world’s most southerly occurring Campanula from Ethiopia and the Kenyan highlands.  From a clump of thick, triangular, hairy, grey-green leaves, arise strong, erect stems carrying pale buds that open to lovely, clear blue bells with flared tips edged with white hairs.  Summer-blooming.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Lathyrus vernus Blue

Family: (Fabaceae)

(P) to 12″.  Blue Spring Pea.  Europe.  Blue, pea-like flowers in many racemes, bloom in profusion on this low-growing spring treasure.  Foliage is pinnate, providing an almost ferny effect.  Lovely and rare.  Partial shade.  2B & 3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Yucca smalliana

Family: (Asparagaceae)

(P) to 4′.  Bear Grass Yucca. Southern North America.  This Yucca is similar in many ways to the more popular Adam’s Needle (Yucca filamentosa), however smaller in stature.  Also, the leaves are finer, flatter, and narrower with smoother leaf margins, except for the occasional thread-like fibres.  The flowers are opalescent white and may at times have a light pink-tinge.  Yuccas will form a small colony over time from basal offsets.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis trojana

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(B/P) to 3′.  Helen of Troy Foxglove.  Turkey.  This beauty makes an evergreen rosette with gleaming, dark green lanceolate leaves with fine, grey-haired margins.  Flower spikes of furry, tightly set, silver buds open to caramel-coloured blossoms, featuring intricately patterned golden yellow and brown throats, and a conspicuous creamy-white lower lip.  Long blooming and more drought tolerant than other Digitalis and happiest in a cool, somewhat shady setting.  A fairly new summer bloomer in our Gravel Garden.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis mariana

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(B/P) to 3′.  Spain, Portugal.  A rare Foxglove with glowing, grey-green felted leaves that form a loose mound two feet high and wide. In late summer, multiple flower spikes are adorned with pinky-purple, nodding, tubular blossoms marked with white interiors and speckled with darker pink, irregular spots.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2