Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Pycnanthemum pilosum

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Hairy Mountain Mint.  Eastern and Central US.  This herbaceous perennial branches frequently to create a slender bushy appearance with flowers appearing in both terminal and axillary clusters.  The stems are light green, 4-angled, densely pubescent on all sides (giving an overall grey appearance), and very aromatic when bruised.  The upper stems terminate in branching flowerheads that are flat-topped, spanning up to one inch across.  The typical mint-like flowers are hooded and lipped with purple specks and dots scattered across its throat and the lobes of its lips.  The nectar-rich flowers are very attractive to many native pollinators.  A good candidate for the white garden.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Pisum sativum subsp. elatius

Family: (Fabaceae)

(Annual vine to 6′).  Wild Pea.  Europe.  The Wild Pea is one of the oldest cultivated plants in Europe. A glabrous climber with angular or roundish hollow stems covered with a waxy bloom. Leaves consist of one or more pairs of opposite, slightly toothed, ovate leaflets with distinct ribs, and are borne on petioles together with several pairs of tendrils. The two large stipules at the base of the leaf are striking, ovate, much larger than the leaflets, and deeply toothed. The flowers are characteristically pea-shaped with a large bright pink upper petal (standard), two wing petals that are a dark maroon and two fused inner keel petals that are a paler pink.  We grew this in a pot last season…a lovely addition to the Garden Room.  Seed collected from the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, courtesy of Stephen Zelno.  Sun.  2A & 3 then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Clematis serratifolia

Family: (Ranunculaceae)

Hardy vine to 9′.  Korean Clematis.  A graceful Clematis with ovate to lanceolate, serrated leaves that sets forth a succession of soft yellow, nodding bells with violet stamens.  The flowers have a delicate lemon scent and bloom from August to October.  An added delight is the fluffy, white, snowball seed heads that cover the plant until winter. A stunning beauty for the late summer garden.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 7 for 8 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow'

Family: (Ranunculaceae)

(P) to 2.5′.  This beautiful cultivar that honours Charles Darwin’s granddaughter is in fact an old, unusual type of double-flowered, spurless Columbine known as far back as the 16th century.  A short-lived but self-seeding perennial with rose-pink, green-tinged flowers arranged in perfect symmetry.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Anoda cristata var. albiflora

Family: (Malvaceae)

(A/TP) to 3′.  Blooming from June until frost, pure white, satiny, mallow-esque flowers are accented by large triangular leaves.  Never needs deadheading.  This Central American and West Indian native prefers poor soil.  Sun.  3 & 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

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

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