Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ipomoea lobata (syn. Mina lobata)

Family: (Convolvulaceae)

Annual vine to 10′.  Spanish Flag or Firecracker Vine.  Mexico.  An excellent, vigorous, twining vine with attractive, tri-lobed leaves and single-sided, six-inch long racemes of tubular flowers held on slender red stems.  The flowers gently arc upward and outward, away from the vine, and mature from red to pale yellow, creating a gradient from the top to the base of the raceme. Blooms freely from mid to late summer until frost. The flowers are highly attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. A show-stopper on a tripod.  Sun.  1, 2B, 3 & T3

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

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

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): Callicarpa dichotoma var. albifructa

Family: Lamiaceae

Hardy shrub to 6′.  China and Korea.  White Fruited Beauty Berry.  Callicarpa dichotoma is, according to Dirr, the “most graceful and refined of the species.”  It is also the most cold-hardy.  This variety has white berries instead of typical purple and may get a bit taller than the typical form.  Sun to partial shade.  PC- 4 weeks, 3 & T1

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): Euonymus americanus

Family: Celastraceae

Hardy shrub to 6′.  Hearts-a-Burstin.  North America.  A small native shrub with many inconspicuous, greenish-purple flowers in summer.  By October however, the scarlet fruit capsules have popped open to reveal the bright pinkish orange seeds inside, hence its common name.  Excellent red autumn colour.  Truly spectacular.  Sun/partial shade.  3 & 6

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

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): 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): Anthericum liliago

Family: Asparagaceae

(P) to 2′.  St. Bernard’s Lily.  Europe, Turkey.  White, trumpet-shaped, star-like, 1½-inch long flowers with showy yellow anthers appear in spike-like clusters atop 2 foot tall stems rising well above a clump of narrow, grass-like, dark green leaves. Flowers resemble miniature lilies and bloom in mid to late spring.  This plant is also very reliable in our Gravel Garden.  Sun.  3, 7 for 4 weeks, T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Saponaria ocymoides

Family: Caryophyllaceae

(P) to 6”.  Rock Soapwort.  Native to Europe and SW Asia found in meadows and rocky areas.  A nice sprawling plant that forms an attractive carpet of semi-evergreen foliage.  Grows nicely over rock walls, in crevices, or between stepping stones.  Sprays of ½-inch, pink flowers appear in early summer.  Readily seeds and a vigorous grower.  Cut back after flowering to maintain compact form.  Prefers full sun to part shade.  4 & T2