Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Eupatorium sp.
Family: Asteraceae
(P) to 10′. Wow. A late summer giant looming up against the blue sky with clusters of purple-mauve flowers. Foliage coarsely serrated, arranged in whorls on a dark purple stem. A statement-making “must-have.” Sun. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
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
Category: Rarium | Sub-Category: Woodland
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Astilbe chinensis
Family: Saxifragaceae
(P) to 3′. China. This clump-forming perennial features graceful, fern-like mounds of mostly basal, compound leaves with sharply-toothed leaflets that emerge coppery bronze. Tiny rose-purple flowers are densely packed into erect, plume-like flower panicles rising above the foliage on slender stems. August. A tough and reliable plant that provides long-lasting interest through the season. Moist soil. Sun/partial shade. 4 & T1
Category: Rarium | Sub-Category: Alpine and Rock Garden
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus pavonius
Family: Caryophyllaceae
(P) to 4″. Southwestern Alps. Low, needle-leaved cushions smothered in early summer with deep to pale rose-pink flowers. Blooms are quite large with a distinctive buff reverse. An ideal choice for the rock garden. June. Sun and well-drained soil. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Wildflowers
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tanacetum vulgare
Family: (Asteraceae)
(P) to 3′. Tansy. Europe. Button-like yellow flowers with absent or inconspicuous rays appear in compact, flat-topped clusters. Fern-like green leaves up to eight inches long are pinnately divided, strongly-scented, and somewhat reminiscent of Yarrow. Dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, this plant has a long history of use as a folk medicine remedy, the foliage has been used as an insect repellant, and the flowers have been used in funeral shrouds and wreaths. Summer bloomer. Well-drained soil. Sun to part shade. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Wildflowers
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Solidago canadensis
Family: (Asteraceae)
(P) to 5′. Canadian Goldenrod. This North American native with its rhizomatous growth is perfect for the meadow. Central stems are clad with many narrow, alternate, lance-shaped, sharply-toothed, leaves with conspicuous lateral veins. The leaves are hairless above but hairy beneath and tapered at each end. Stems are topped in late summer to fall with large horizontally branched, terminal pyramidal panicles containing one-sided recurving branches filled with masses of tiny yellow flowers, each to 1/8″. A magnet for pollinators, beneficial insects, and birds. Average soil. Full sun. 4 &T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Wildflowers
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Cichorium intybus
Family: (Asteraceae)
(P) to 4′. Common Chicory. Europe. Attractive, stalkless, typically clear blue flowers to 1”, clasp rigid, nearly leafless stems in a long procession of bloom from May to October. Rays are typically blue but occasionally white or pink, and usually close by noon. Lower lance-shaped, dandelion-like, basal leaves up to 6″ long are variously toothed, cut or lobed and have rough-hairy surfaces. Upper stem leaves are smaller with clasping bases. The deep fleshy taproot exudes a milky sap when cut. Chicory can be found along roadsides, and is now common in North America, China, and Australia, where it has become widely naturalized. Many varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds). Chicory roots (var. sativum), which are baked and ground, were used as a coffee substitute by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War and also used in the United Kingdom during the Second World War, where Camp Coffee, a coffee and chicory essence, has been on sale since 1885 and still popular today. 4 & T1
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Wildflowers
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Achillea filipendulina
Family: (Asteraceae)
(P) to 4′. Fern-leaf Yarrow. Native to the Caucasus, Iran, and Afghanistan. Deeply dissected, hairy, fern-like, aromatic (spicy) green leaves up to 10″ long are divided into many pairs of linear-lanceolate toothed segments and form an attractive basal clump of foliage. Tiny, long-lasting, bright golden flowers (yellow rays and yellow discs) appear in dense flattened plate-like compound corymbs up to 4″ across on stiff, erect stems rising above the foliage. Blooms throughout the summer. The genus name Achillea refers to Achilles, hero of the Trojan Wars in Greek mythology, who used the plant medicinally to stop bleeding and to heal the wounds of his soldiers. Great flower both fresh-cut and dried. Average, well-drained soil. Sun. 4 & T1
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Pots/Garden (overwinter indoors)
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Lepechinia salviae
Family: (Lamiaceae)
Tender subshrub to 3′. Chile. A more compact form of Lepechinia hastata with large, blue-green, arrow-shaped leaves that are highly pebbled and pleasantly aromatic. The flowers are magenta in colour, however in combination with the dark calyx and deep pinkish flower stem they have an overall smokey hue to the magenta. burgundy flowers, held in dark calyces on deep pinkish stems. Sun. 4 & T2