Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Verbena officinalis var. grandiflora ‘Bampton’

Family: Verbenaceae

(P) to 3′.  Vervain.  This cultivar originates from Bampton Manor in Oxfordshire England, coming true from seed.   A short-lived perennial with a loose and informal habit, great in a mixed border.  Mini, lavender-pink flowers forming gentle clouds of colour on drooping spikes.  Late to mid-summer bloomer.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Rhus typhina ‘Laciniata’

Family: Anacardiaceae

(P) to 15′.  Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac.  Eastern North America.  A wonderful cultivar of our native Sumac with large, deeply dissected, compound pinnate, bright green leaves giving a fern-like appearance.  Female flowers produce showy, pyramidal, fruiting clusters (to eight inches long), with each cluster containing numerous hairy, berry-like drupes which ripen bright red in autumn, gradually turning dark red as they persist through much of the winter. Fruit is attractive to wildlife and can be used to make lemonade.  Fantastic autumn colour in shades of orange, yellow and red, as well as interesting architectural winter framework gives this shrub year-round interest.  1 & 2B & 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Thalictrum chelidonii

Family: Ranunculaceae

(P) to 6′.  Himalayan Meadow Rue.  A tall and elegant Thalictrum with cupped, pale purplish pink flowers bearing prominent stamens with yellow anthers.  Lovely, purple burnished foliage with variable ovate leaflets.  Great in dappled sun to part shade.  Best in rich, humusy soil.  3 & T1 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Solidago ptarmicoides

Family: Asteraceae

(P) to 2′.  Upland White Goldenrod.  North America.  This unique Goldenrod is such a charmer, with delicate white Aster-like blooms and narrow linear grasslike, dark green foliage.  Sporting blooms that persist in late summer to fall, this is a great pick for a meadow or full-sun garden. Goldfinches love to eat the seed!  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sedum fosterianum subsp. elegans

Family: Crassulaceae

(P) to 8″. Stonecrop. NW and SW Europe. Lovely hardy sedum with blue-green, needle-like foliage. Prolific midsummer bloomer with attractive corymbs of star-shaped, yellow flowers and persisting attractive flat seedheads. Perfect for the sunny rock garden.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Fagopyrum esculentum Pink

Family: Polygonaceae

(A) to 3′.  Pink Common Buckwheat.  Asia.  Cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop, this lovely pink version is an eye-catcher in the meadow at Stonecrop.  It is somewhat erect but has a tendency to sprawl in the absence of support. The stems become ribbed and reddish green with maturity. The alternate, cordate leaves are up to four-inches long and 3-inches across with a slightly undulated edge. One or two racemes of flowers develop from the axils of the upper leaves; some of these racemes may be terminal. The racemes are one to three inches long, and densely crowded with whorls of flowers. Each flower is up to ½-inch across, consisting of five petal-like, rosy-pink sepals that become green toward the throat of the flower. Long bloom period and a pleasant floral scent. Each flower is replaced by a winged achene with three sides. Primarily bees and ants visit the flowers for their abundant nectar. When honeybees visit the flowers of Common Buckwheat in fields, they produce a distinctive honey.  Self-sows.  Prefers moist, rich soil.  Direct sow or 3 & 7 for 3 weeks then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Rudbeckia hirta

Family: Asteraceae

(B) to 4′.  Black-eyed Susan.  Central US.  Cheery, golden-yellow daisies with dark, purple-brown, cone-shaped centres.  A short lived perennial and reliable bloomer that has become popular as a bedding annual, but will opportunistically self-sow where happy.  Blooms mid to late summer.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & 7

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Baccharis halimifolia

Family: Asteraceae

Hardy shrub to 12′.  Cottonseed Tree.  Americas.  Multi-branched, deciduous shrub with soft grey-green, toothed, resinous leaves.  Clustered white flowers give way to white fruits that appear as silky froths of hairs.  Blooms in September.  Salt tolerant.  Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula latifolia Mix

Family: Campanulaceae

(P) to 5′. Great Bellflower. Europe. A mix of tall, open spikes of large, violet-blue and pure white bells adorn very upright stems. Blooms in June and July. Beautiful and reliable. Sun/partial shade. 4 & 7 for 2 weeks, then T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Salvia argentea

Family: Lamiaceae

(B) to 3′.  Silver Sage.  Southern Europe, Portugal to Bulgaria.  This biennial or short-lived perennial is grown mostly for its two to three-foot wide silver basal rosettes of woolly, wrinkled foliage in its first year.  However, the two to three foot tall spikes of tubular, hooded, white flowers are attractive too, but the main appeal are the rosettes.  May self-sow gently.  Excellent for gravel gardens and drought-resistant plantings.  Blooms spring to summer.  Full sun.  Average, well-drained soil.  4 & T3