Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Cardamine heptaphylla

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 15″.  Seven-leaved Toothwort.  Central and Western Europe.  This woodland charmer is characterized by the smooth, erect, unbranched stem with few but large ovate-lanceolate and irregularly toothed leaves.  The stem is topped with an inflorescence composed by a cluster of four cup-shaped, broad flowers carried by a long pedicel.  Flowers may be white, pink, or purplish with petals that are somewhat wrinkled.  Blooms from April to July.  Partial shade.  Prefer moist, humus-rich soil. 3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Schivereckia doefleri (syn. Draba doerfleri)

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 6”.  Eastern Europe. A tough and attractive dwarf cushion with grey-green loose rosettes of oblanceolate, slightly toothed leaves. Four-petalled white flowers in terminal racemes of up to fifteen in late spring.  Long-lasting, buff-coloured seedheads follow.  Sun.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Verbena hastata

Family: (Verbenaceae)

(P) to 5′.  Simpler’s Joy.  Eastern North America.  Tall, erect stems with a branched inflorescence of tiny, tubular, purplish pink blooms in dense terminal panicles.  The lance-shaped, toothed foliage is rough textured and somewhat coarse in appearance, making this a better candidate for informal plantings.  Blooms July to September.  Sun.  Moist soil.  Sun.  3, D & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Armeria juniperifolia

Family: (Plumbaginaceae)

(P) to 3″.  Dwarf Spanish Thrift.  Europe.  This alpine form makes a very dense bun or cushion of greyish green, needle-like leaves with soft pink, globe-shaped, five-petalled flowers with papery bracts which are held just above the foliage.  Sun, well-drained soil.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Lychnis coronaria

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Rose Campion.  Asia, Europe.  A cottage garden classic.  Tall grey stems with vivid, five-petalled, rose-magenta blooms are borne over clumps of ovate, densely woolly, silver-grey, flannelly leaves.  Blooms June and July.  Sun/partial shade.  Prefers moist soil but will tolerate poor soils with some dryness.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Bellevalia dubia

Family: (Asparagaceae)

Tender bulb to 16″.  Portugal.  An unusual bulb that we grow in our Pit House, formerly in the genus Muscari.  A Grape Hyacinth look-alike.  In bud, loose racemes of bright, violet-blue flowers with green tips turn to a maroon-brown with yellow-tinted lobes as they open.  Blooms in early spring.  Summer dormant.  Sun.  3 & ∆, then T1

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): Pycnanthemum pilosum

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Hairy Mountain Mint.  Eastern and Central US.  This herbaceous perennial branches frequently to create a slender bushy appearance with flowers appearing in both terminal and axillary clusters.  The stems are light green, 4-angled, densely pubescent on all sides (giving an overall grey appearance), and very aromatic when bruised.  The upper stems terminate in branching flowerheads that are flat-topped, spanning up to one inch across.  The typical mint-like flowers are hooded and lipped with purple specks and dots scattered across its throat and the lobes of its lips.  The nectar-rich flowers are very attractive to many native pollinators.  A good candidate for the white garden.  Sun.  4 & T2

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