Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Geum triflorum

Family: Rosaceae

(P) to 16″.  Prairie Smoke.  North America.  A wonderful choice for the native garden or rock garden, this Geum has distinct, light red, globular, drooping flowers with styles that elongate and collectively begin to resemble a hair blowing in the wind.  Rosette-forming habit, with dissected dark green foliage.  A slow growing but fantastic groundcover. Unusual and unique.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aquilegia fragrans

Family: Ranunculaceae

(P) to 18″.  Fragrant Columbine.  Western Himalayas.  A wonderful Columbine with delicate, nodding, short-spurred flowers that have pale yellow, cupped centres surrounded by five white, ovate sepals sometimes flushed pale purple.  Triternate, rich green foliage is suggestive of Meadow Rue.  This species is fantastic for cultivation in the rock garden and has a sweet honeysuckle-like scent. 4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Achillea alpina

Family: Asteraceae

(P) to 20″.  Sibirean Yarrow.  North America to Asia.  A lovely Yarrow perfect for cultivation in the rock garden and alpine trough.  This species has six to eight creamy white ray florets that are notched at the tips, surrounding yellow disk florets with 10 to 25 flowerheads.  Intriguing, highly serrated, dark green narrow foliage.  Late spring bloomer.  Tough & sweet.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Globularia nudicaulis

Family: Plantaginaceae

(P) to 5″.  Naked-stemmed Globe Daisy. Northern Spain to Pyrenees.  A “must have” carpet-forming alpine for the rock garden.  Rosette-forming in habit with oblong to spoon-shaped, glossy, dark green leaves.  Round, one-inch wide, light blue flower heads with delicate grayish hues are borne on three-inch long dark green stems.  Spring-blooming with persistent seedheads that follow.  Full sun and well-drained soil.  3 & T2 & Δ

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sedum fosterianum subsp. elegans

Family: Crassulaceae

(P) to 8″. Stonecrop. NW and SW Europe. Lovely hardy sedum with blue-green, needle-like foliage. Prolific midsummer bloomer with attractive corymbs of star-shaped, yellow flowers and persisting attractive flat seedheads. Perfect for the sunny rock garden.  4 & T1

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

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): 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): Aethionema schistosum

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 6″.  Turkish Stonecress.  Turkey and Lebanon.  Erect, woody stems with narrow, blue-green foliage produce rounded heads of rosy lilac, four-petalled flowers in early summer.  Interesting multi-coloured, flat seed capsules follow and persist.  A welcome self-sower.  Sun.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula rigidipila

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(P) to 12″.  This rare plant is the world’s most southerly occurring Campanula from Ethiopia and the Kenyan highlands.  From a clump of thick, triangular, hairy, grey-green leaves, arise strong, erect stems carrying pale buds that open to lovely, clear blue bells with flared tips edged with white hairs.  Summer-blooming.  Sun.  4 & T2