Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Eupatorium hyssopifolium

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 3′.  Hyssop-leaf Thoroughwort.  A plant of sandy soils and coastal areas from New England to Florida.  Large, flat-topped inflorescences of white flowers up to one foot across.  Fine textured foliage of narrow, whorled, grey-green leaves.  Easy and a good late summer bloomer.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Eryngium yuccifolium

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 4′.  The Rattlesnake-Master of North America.  Greenish, prickly, thistle-like flowers on a towering branched stalk.  Broad, blade-like, blue-grey serrated leaves form large striking rosettes.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & 6 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Echium vulgare

Family: (Boraginaceae)

(B) to 3-½’.  Viper’s Bugloss.  Europe.  Rosettes of slender, bristly foliage from which arise many stout flowering spikes with funnel-shaped flowers along their length.  The buds start off pink, then the five-petalled flowers turn the most exquisite shades of intense blue to violet with five protruding red stamens.  As the flowers fade, they become tinged with crimson. Viper’s Bugloss is one of the best plants to attract bees to your garden by producing nectar throughout the day unlike most plants which only produce nectar for a short period of time.  Sun.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima

Family: (Onagraceae)

(P) to 4′.  Hairy Evening Primrose.  Western North America.  From a basal rosette of leaves, reddish flowering stalks arch up and have grey-green, lance-like, hairy leaves with white veins. The unbranched inflorescence bear flowers that open from the bottom up. The beautiful two-to four-inch-wide fragrant, yellow flowers open about an hour before sunset and wither the next morning.  Each flower has four large, heart-shaped petals, four smaller sepals that appear fused in pairs, and a prominent X-shaped stigma that extends out beyond the petals and eight stamens. Pollinated particularly by Hawk or Sphinx Moths during the night. Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aethionema schistosum

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 6″.  Turkish Stone Cress.  Turkey and Lebanon.  Erect, woody stems with narrow, blue-green foliage produce rounded heads of rosy lilac, four-petalled flowers in early summer.  Interesting multi-coloured, flat seed capsules follow and persist.  A welcome self-sower.  Sun.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Papaver rupifragum

Family: (Papaveraceae)

(P) to 20″.  Spanish Poppy. Solitary, crepe-like, four-petalled, soft orange flowers are 1-½ inches across and held on wiry stems.  The flowers appear to float above the basal rosettes of sparsely hairy, grey-green, pinnately lobed leaves.  Long-blooming.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T2, cover and keep dark

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Papaver atlanticum

Family: (Papaveraceae)

(P) to 2′.  Moroccan Poppy.  Soft orange, two-inch, single, tissue paper blooms with yellow anthers are followed by club-shaped pods.  Pale green, silken, jagged basal leaves.  Self-sows beautifully.  Sun.  4 & T2, cover and keep dark

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Crambe maritima

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Sea Kale.  Coastal North Europe, Baltic and Black Seas.  Often grown as a vegetable, however, we like it in the mixed border.  The early emerging foliage is flushed deep purple; this is the edible stage.  The unfurled leaves are wide, wavy, lobed, and glaucous providing an attractive foil  for the large panicles of honey-scented, white, four-petalled flowers.  Long summer bloomer.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Agastache nepetoides

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 5′.  Yellow Giant Hyssop.  South Canada to Southeast US.  Whorls of tiny, greenish-yellow flowers closely packed into five-inch terminal spikes appear on stiff, square stems. Toothed, arrowhead-shaped leaves are up to five inches long. Whilst the leaves lack the strong smell like other species in the mint family, the bitterness of its leaves make it deer resistant.  Tolerant of summer heat and humidity, this late summer bloomer is a favourite of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.  Grows best in rich, open woodlands. Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Hyssopus officinalis

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Hyssop.  Southern and eastern Europe.  An aromatic, semi-evergreen perennial that forms an erect bushy shrublet, and is frequently grown in herb gardens and as an ornamental.  Hyssop features narrow, one-inch, stalk-less, toothed, shiny dark green leaves with tufts of smaller leaves borne in the leaf axils.  Fragrant, two-lipped, tubular, purple-blue flowers with protruding stamens bloom in whorls on long, dense spikes from mid to late summer.  Foliage and flowers have a long history of culinary and folk medicine uses.  Leaves have been and still are used in cooking to flavor meats, soups, sauces, salads or stews.  Hyssop oil is currently used as a flavoring agent in the French liqueur Chartreuse.  Known for attracting and feeding bees and bumble bees, legend has it that beekeepers rubbed their hives with Hyssop and other herbs to encourage bees to stay. Hyssop also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.  Sun, well-drained soil.  3 & T1