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): Dianthus knappii

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(B/P) to 16″.  A unique, yellow flowered Dianthus native to scrubby hillsides and dry, grassy meadows in the Western Balkans.  Dense, terminal clusters of soft lemon yellow flowers on slender, nodding stems.  Loose, grassy clumps of narrow, pale green foliage.  A short-lived perennial that often dies after blooming, best treated as biennial.  Blooms in midsummer.  Well-drained soil.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(B) to 4′.  An elegant white form of the British Foxglove.  Shines in borders or woodlands.  Partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis purpurea

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(B) to 2-3′.  The Foxglove, a charming British native.  Rosy violet bells open wide to show off speckled interiors.  An old-fashioned ‘must’ for the cottage garden.  Great in the woodland or flower garden too.  Self-sows.  Moist soil.  Partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tanacetum niveum

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 3′.  Silver Tansy.  Silver-grey, deeply cut, fragrant foliage is covered with masses of ½ inch, white, daisy-like flowers with yellow centres.  Midsummer.  Delicate yet striking.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Salvia horminum Blue (syn. Salvia viridis)

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(A) to 2′.  Annual Clary.  Mediterranean.  Upright, spikes of flowers with colourful bracts in dense verticillasters rise above the pale green, rugose, oblong leaves.  These colourful bracts are the main show; they have prominent dark venation and almost hide the tiny two-lipped flowers, which are cream-colored, with the upper lip tinged with violet-blue, echoing the bract colour.  Stunning en masse.  Sun.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus barbatus White

Family: (Caryophyllaceae)

(B/A) to 18″.  Sweet William.  South Europe.  This old-fashioned favourite has long-lasting mini carnation-like flowers with a spicy, clove-like fragrance that wafts in the air.  The five petalled flowers have wonderfully serrated edges and are borne in dense clusters of up to 30 at the top of the stems and occur in a variety of colours including white. Glaucous green to blue-green, tapered leaves form a low and spreading mat.  Sun. 4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Anoda cristata var. albiflora

Family: (Malvaceae)

(A/TP) to 3′.  Blooming from June until frost, pure white, satiny, mallow-esque flowers are accented by large triangular leaves.  Never needs deadheading.  This Central American and West Indian native prefers poor soil.  Sun.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amaranthus cruentus 'Hot Biscuits'

Family: (Amaranthaceae)

(A) to 5′.  Thick, drooping flower spikes of an unusual burnt orange or rusty brown.  Combines well with other warm colours in the garden.  Glossy, green foliage.  Very nice.  Sun.  3 & T3

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Verbascum bombyciferum

Family: (Scrophulariaceae)

(B) to 5′.  Giant Silver Mullein.  Asia Minor.  A bold, architectural plant that forms large rosettes of silvery-grey, heavily felted leaves in their first year. They send up tall, branched, woolly, silvery spikes adorned with five petalled, saucer-shaped, sulfur yellow flowers with orange anthers during the second summer.  Sun and well-drained soil.  4 & T1