Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Datisca cannabina

Family: (Datiscaceae)

(P) to 7′. False Hemp. An imposing herbaceous plant from India with graceful arching stems and finely divided foliage. A midsummer bloomer with ornamental tassel-like yellow flowers in racemes. This herb yields a yellow dye often used for silks. We have enjoyed it in a pot and now love it in the garden. Sun. 3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amsonia ciliata

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 20″. Narrow-Leaved Bluestar. This native of open sandy woodland and prairies from North Carolina to Missouri resembles a petite, more refined version of the Arkansas Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) with five-petalled, starry, periwinkle-blue flowers in early summer. The narrow, almost needle-like foliage turns a brilliant golden yellow in the fall. Dry, well-drained soil. Sun. 3 & 7 for 12 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amsonia rigida

Family: (Apocynaceae)

(P) to 2′. Stiff Bluestar. Southern Georgia and Northern Florida. A smaller Amsonia with a distinctive, dark reddish purple colouration to its emerging stems contrasting beautifully with the shiny, leathery, elliptical leaves. Loose cymes of light blue, starry flowers. The outer flower tube is flushed a darker hue giving it more pizzazz. Surprisingly hardy given its southern origin. Moist, well drained sandy soil. Sun/partial shade. 3, 7 for 4 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Thermopsis villosa (syn. Thermopsis caroliniana)

Family: (Fabaceae)

(P) to 5′. Carolina Lupine. Southeastern United States. Tall spikes of bright-yellow, pea-like flowers over loose clumps of glaucous, softly downy foliage with three-part, clover-like elliptical leaflets. Blooms in early summer. Well-drained soil. Sun. 1 & 2B then 3 & T2

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): 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

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Echinops tjanschanicus

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 5′.  A tall, imposing Globe Thistle from Kazakhstan and the mountains of Central Asia.  A vigorous, erect, clump-forming, architectural perennial with spiny, deeply-divided, grey-green leaves, white beneath, and rounded, thistle-like, violet-blue flowerheads in summer.  Both Echinops make great cut flowers.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Helianthus mollis

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 4′. Ashy Sunflower. Tallgrass prairie, Michigan to Ohio. The dense, soft hairs that cover the stems and clasping, broadly ovate leaves, give the whole plant an attractive, ashen grey appearance. The large individual blooms are a rich buttercup yellow, appearing from midsummer into early autumn over open, somewhat wide and spreading clumps. A widespread and drought tolerant native for a wild garden or an informal planting. Sun. 3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ratibida pinnata

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 4′. Grey-headed Coneflower. Central North America. Tall, branched flowers stems are topped by yellow-rayed blooms resembling badminton shuttlecocks. The short, rounded, central cone of each long-lasting flower begins a greyish green and ripens to chocolate brown. The handsome pinnate leaves adorn only the lower half of the flower stems and form a tidy, bushy clump. A much underused, long-blooming and carefree plant. Sun. Well drained soil. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sisymbrium luteum (syn. Hesperis lutea)

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 4′. Japan and Korea. Forms a bushy clump of coarsely pilose, pinnate, grey-green foliage that freely produces dense, elongated racemes of four-petalled, pale yellow flowers in summer. Good for cutting. Well-drained soil. Sun/partial shade. 4 & T3