Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Kirengeshoma palmata Koreana Group (syn. Kirengeshoma koreana)

Family: (Hydrangeaceae)

 

(P) to 4′.  A Korean dignitary.  Large, sharply lobed, maple-like leaves in opposite pairs display a handsome silvery pubescence when emerging in spring.  The foliage provides interest through late summer when the flowers emerge.  Pale yellow, waxy, five-petalled flowers are borne on a stiffly upright inflorescence.  Blooms a bit earlier than K. palmata.   A “must-have.”  Prefers partial shade.  5 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aquilegia flabellata var. pumila f. rosea

Family: (Ranunculaceae)

(P) to 6″. Fan Columbine.  A Japanese garden treasure with short-spurred, pale pink, nodding flowers in spring.  Biternate to triternate, blue-green foliage is somewhat suggestive of meadow rue.  The leaflets of this species are rounded and fan-shaped, hence the common name.  Adorable.  Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula poscharskyana

Family: (Campanulaceae)

Perennial to 12″.  Serbian Bellflower.  Northern Balkans.  Serbian bellflower is a prostrate, sprawling Campanula capable of clinging to dry walls or developing into a low, mounding ground cover. Classic bell-shaped, lilac-blue, five-petalled flowers with flaring, star-shaped lobes (to 1-inch wide) appear in loose panicles along the stems in late spring.  The dark green, toothed, cordate leaves are semi-evergreen in warmer climates.  A real mainstay on our raised beds in late spring.  Sun/partial shade in moist, well-drained soil.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Draba bruniifolia

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 4″.  Caucasus to Turkey.  An excellent and carefree Draba for the rock garden or trough.  The slender, hairy leaves form a nice mound of stiff, woolly rosettes. In early spring, corymbs of small, showy, four-petalled, bright yellow flowers rise just above the tight green mat and last for weeks.  Full sun in well-drained soil.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Inula ensifolia

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 18″. Swordleaf Inula. Eastern Europe. A sturdy little plant with narrow, stalkless 4″ leaves on erect branching stems carrying terminal, solitary golden yellow daisies. Very likable. Blooms mid-summer onwards. Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Talinum paniculatum 'Aureum'

Family: (Portulacaceae)

(A) to 2.5′.  Jewels-of-Opar.  Southeast US to Central America.  Many slender flower stalks bear panicles of shiny, red-orange, three-part buds followed by tiny, rose-red, ¼-inch flowers containing 15 to 20 stamens.  Jewel-like, ruby-orange, rounded berries that eventually turn black.  The bright yellow-green, fleshy leaves make this a “must-have” in the yellow border.  Sun.  4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Leontopodium alpinum

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 8″.  Europe.  “Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me.  Small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me…”  The large, distinctive, star-like flowerheads are formed from tight terminal clusters of small, whitish yellow, dense florets surrounded by white, petal-like, woolly bracts.  They are held on short, erect stems above a small, tufted clump of linear basal leaves.  Grows well for us outside in an alpine trough.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Angelica polymorpha

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 6′. China. Exquisite, airy umbels of small, creamy white flowers and attractive lobed leaves. The flowering umbels look like a perfect firework display. A choice plant. Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Lychnis viscaria subsp. atropurpurea

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(P) to 18″. Balkan’s Catchfly. This striking Catchfly has reddish purple marked leaves, purplish stems, and 10-inch panicles of deep purple, five-petalled flowers. Eye-catching.  Late spring. Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aralia continentalis

Family: (Araliaceae)

(P) to 4′. Manchurian Spikenard. Clump-forming, architectural perennial with arching stems of alternate, bipinnate leaves. In midsummer, many terminal racemes of green flowers are soon followed by globose, blue-black fruit. Partial shade. Likes moisture. 3 & 7 for 4 months, then T1