Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Syneilesis intermedia coll. DJHT 99104

Family: Asteraceae

(P) to 2′.  Japan.  Purchased from Heronswood Nursery in 2001.  Wonderful foliage plant very reminiscent of Aconitum, with woolly, peltate, filigreed leaves.  Clusters of small, fluffy pink flowerheads atop stiff, dark stems.  Intriguing.  Partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sanicula canadensis

Family: Apiaceae

(B) to 2′.  Canadian Black Snakeroot.  Eastern US and Canada.  This common woodland wildflower produces umbels of tiny five petalled, greenish white flowers with a green calyx.  Each umbel consists of one to four umbellets.  Each umbellet has five male flowers and two or three perfect flowers.  The perfect flowers are very short stalked and have a prominent ovary covered in rows of hooked bristles.  The green bristly fruit splits into two seeds.  Leaves are alternate and palmately compound with three leaflets.  Useful for naturalizing in woodland areas and native gardens.  Blooms late spring to early summer.  Shade to part shade.  Moist to dry, loamy soil.  Best sown in situ.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Hydrangea arborescens subsp. radiata

Family: Hydrangeaceae

Shrub to 7′.  Silver Leaf Hydrangea.  Eastern US.  This versatile, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrubs is very free-flowering.  The inflorescences consist of two to six-inch wide, flat corymbs of sterile flowers with creamy white, large sepals.  These showy, sterile flowers are borne around the periphery of an inner cluster of smaller, shorter, fertile flowers.  Leaves are opposite, serrated, and dark green; the undersides are densely covered with silvery, felt-like hairs that look striking when revealed by a breeze.  Long blooming.  Shade to part shade. Moist, well-drained soil.  5 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Veronicastrum virginicum

Family: Plantaginaceae

(P) to 6′.  Bowman’s Root.  Northeast America.  A beautiful plant adorned with eight-inch long spikes of tiny, blue, tubular flowers.  At the base of each central spike exists a second whorl of smaller flower spikes.  This plant makes an exotic and very architectural statement in the garden.  Midsummer.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis grandiflora

Family: Plantaginaceae

(P) to 3′.  Yellow Foxglove.  Central Europe to Turkey and Siberia.  Showy spikes of two-inch, tubular, soft yellow, open bells have speckled brown throats.  Leafy stems from a basal rosette of dark green, finely-toothed leaves are attractive too. Blooms late spring to early summer. A lovely addition to the garden.  Sun to partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Gomphocarpus physocarpus (syn. Asclepias physocarpus)

Family: Asclepiadaceae

(TP) to 4′.  Bladder Fruit.  Narrow, lanceolate leaves and attractive, hanging, pendant clusters of cream to green-white, starry flowers.  However, the main attraction follows with huge, inflated, spherical, spiny seedpods that are pale green blushed maroon in colour.  They are terrific fresh or dried in flower arrangements.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aristolochia clematitis

Family: Aristolochiaceae

(P) to 30″.  This non-climbing herbaceous Dutchman’s Pipe has small apetalous, tubular, greenish yellow flowers that bloom from late spring to early summer in clusters from the leaf axils. Each flower has a straight funnel-shaped tube with pointed, curved upper lips (considerably different in appearance from the curved Dutchman’s smoking pipe-type blooms found on some other species in the genus).  Full sun to part shade.  4 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Linum perenne

Family: Linaceae

(P) to 2′.  Perennial Flax.  Europe.  A short-lived but floriferous perennial producing masses of open, sky blue flowers on upright, branching stems.  Narrow, pointed, blue-green leaves give plants an attractive, feathery appearance.  Blooms from late spring to midsummer.  Well-drained soil is essential.  Sun.  Best sown in situ or 3 & T2.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus japonicus

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(B/P) to 2′.  Hama-nadeshiko, Japanese Dianthus.  Japan and East Asia.  From lush rosettes of thick, glossy, narrowly ovate basal leaves emerge leafy stalks topped with dense clusters of vivid rosy-purple, five-petalled, toothed blooms.  Extremely floriferous the second year from seed and may be somewhat biennial.  Persistent winter foliage develops attractive, rich burgundy overtones.  Not your typical “Pink.”  Blooms midsummer till fall.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Symphyandra zangezura (syn. Campanula zangezura)

Family: Campanulaceae

(P) to 10″.  Armenia.  A delightful, short-lived perennial for the rock garden.  Slender, wiry stems with pendulous, violet-blue bells in sparse terminal racemes.  Dark green serrated foliage.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2