Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Mentha longifolia Buddleia Mint Group

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 2′. Buddleja Mint. Eurasia. Narrow, soft grey leaves and long, lilac-purple flower spikes. This lovely herbaceous plant resembles a miniature Butterfly Bush. An essential part of our Flower Garden beds for both colour and texture. Long blooming. Well-drained soil. Sun. 3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Myrrhis odorata

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 5′. Sweet Cicely. Europe. Grown for its anise-scented, fern-like foliage. Flowers bloom midsummer and are small, white, flat, compound umbels. Well-suited to naturalizing in woodlands and flower borders where it is an admirable foil for withering bulb foliage. Important for any herb garden for both culinary and medicinal uses. Chew the leaves and young stems for their anise flavour or chop and add the leaf stalks to acid fruits to reduce the amount of sugar required in cooking. Moist soil. Sun/partial shade. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Patrinia scabiosifolia

Family: (Caprifoliaceae)

(P) to 4′. Gold Lace. A great “see-through” plant with open, airy cymes of sweetly scented, dainty, star-shaped chrome-yellow flowers in summer. Attractive glossy dark green leaves that turn yellow in autumn. Long bloomer. Sun/partial shade. 3 & T2 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Phlomis tuberosa 'Amazone'

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 5′. Central and southern Europe. Numerous stems with many dense whorls of rosy purple blooms, each with a long upper lip. Whorls can have from 14 to 40 flowers each. Attractive clumps of large, arrow-shaped, slightly hairy, textured leaves. Late spring to early summer. Robust and floriferous. Moist, well-drained soil. Sun. 4 & T1 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Rubia tinctorum

Family: (Rubiaceae)

(P) to 2′. Dyer’s Madder. East Mediterranean to Central Asia. The roots of this plant have been used since ancient times as a red dye for leather, wool, cotton and silk. Early evidence of dyeing comes from India where a piece of cotton dyed with madder has been recovered from the archaeological site at Mohenjo-daro (3rd millennium BCE). The red coats of the British Redcoats were dyed with madder, after earlier being dyed with cochineal. The foliage resembles sweet woodruff or bedstraw with whorled lanceolate leaves that are leathery, rough and prickly. The mostly five-petalled flowers are tiny in loose, many branched, leafy cymes, yellow-green to honey coloured. Round, shiny black, berry-like fruit follow. Summer flowering. Sun. 3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Rudbeckia triloba

Family: (Asteraceae)

(B/P) to 4′.  Three-lobed Coneflower.  This biennial or short-lived perennial is native to Central Eastern US.  Densely branched and somewhat hairy with thin, three-lobed, rough-textured leaves.  The lower leaves ovate to ovate-cordate with long petioles, and upper leaves are less rounded and stalkless.  Yellow-orange ray petals surround and accentuate the black to purple button discs.  Good colour for the garden throughout the summer.  Makes an excellent cut flower and is a mainstay in our bouquets.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Rumex sanguineus var. sanguineus

Family: (Polygonaceae)

(P) to 12″. Bloody Dock. Europe. A fantastic foliage plant with pointed, oblong, medium green leaves, veined blood red to maroon. Reddish brown flowers froth in panicles. If you want a striking foliage plant at the front of the border, this is your plant. Sun/partial shade. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ruta odorata

Family: (Rutaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Dwarf Rue.  Central Asia.  Shrubby, low branching, woody-stemmed mounds of deeply divided, blue-green, aromatic foliage.  Showy sprays of small, four-petalled, long-lasting, sulphur yellow blooms in summer.  Makes a good edging plant but be careful when handling foliage as oil in leaves can cause a rash.  This rare relative of R. graveolens has survived winters on our exposed Order Beds and is a gentle self-sower  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Salvia lyrata

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 20″. Lyre-leaved Sage. A native of eastern North America. Leafless flower stems display hooded, purple flowers in whorls in early summer. The calyces remain ornamental after the flowers fade. An attractive yet tough plant. Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sanguisorba officinalis

Family: (Rosaceae)

(P) to 6′.  Great Burnet.  A tall, airy herb with a mass of ¾-inch maroon drumsticks.  Basal leaves have dark green, glossy leaflets.  Quite a sight growing through our purple fennel.  We love it in the herb garden and in the flower garden.  Easy to grow in moist, rich soil.  Blooms June to October.  Sun.  3 & T2 & Δ