Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Campanula portenschlagiana

Family: (Campanulaceae)

Perennial to 4″.  Dalmatian Bellflower.  Native to the Dalmatian mountains in Croatia.  Small rounded dark green leaves form a closeknit, nearly evergreen mat beneath the long blooming summer display of five-petalled, bell-shaped, violet-blue flowers perched on wiry short branching stems.  It gradually spreads via rhizomes.  A real charmer that can tumbles down slopes or containers and soften any rock’s hard edges.  Sun/partial shade in moist, 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): Jasione laevis

Family: (Campanulaceae)

(B/P) to 12″.  Shepherd’s Scabious.  Western Europe.  Globose, terminal heads of pale blue, narrow-petalled, pincushion-like flowers on slender stalks arise from densely tufted rosettes of lanceolate, wavy-edged foliage.  Blooms midsummer.  A plant of dry, open grassland and rocky cliffs.  May prove to be biennial, so allow to self-sow.  A charmer.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aethionema schistosum

Family: (Brassicaceae)

(P) to 6″.  Turkish Stone Cress.  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

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Hornungia alpina (syn. Hutchinsia alpina)

Family: Brassicaceae

(P) to 3″.  Chamois Cress.  South and central Europe.  This charming little creeper forms neat spreading mats of bright green, pinnate, fern-like foliage, topped with dense clusters of tiny, four-petalled, white flowers from spring to autumn. Even out of flower, this Cress makes a sweet impression. Sun and well-drained soil. 3 & 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

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus turkestanicus

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(P) to 12″.  China and Kazakhstan.  This gem forms mats of blue-green, fine foliage.  Fringed, pale pink, scented flowers cover the plant in mid-May.  Sun and well-drained soil.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Sedum kamtschaticum

Family: (Crassulaceae)

(P) to 8″.  Japan to Kamchatka.  Spreading clumps of fleshy, obovate, bright green foliage with irregularly scalloped margins create a thick mat for sunny areas.  Unbranched flower stalks produce flattened cymes of deep yellow, starry flowers appearing as a veritable carpet of gold.  Beautiful when creeping along the edge of a pathway or spilling out of a crevice.  Mid to late summer.  Accommodating and tough.  Well-drained soil.  Sun.  4 & T1