Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Salvia patens
Family: (Lamiaceae)
(TP) to 2′. Gentian Sage. C & S Mexico. The upright, slender stems hold oppositely arranged, triangle-shaped foliage. Terminal inflorescences reaching 6-12″ tall emerge in early summer and bear 1-2″ long, showy, two-lipped, bright royal blue flowers into the fall. The blooms are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and other insect pollinators. Introduced into horticulture in 1838 and popularized a hundred years later by the Irish gardener and botanist William Robinson (1838-1935). Well-drained soil. Sun. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Papaver rhoeas ‘Mother of Pearl’
Family: (Papaveraceae)
(A) to 18″. Corn Poppy. This elegant and graceful strain was developed by Sir Cedric Morris. A beautiful mixture of pleated, crepe paper-like blooms in misty shades of grey, lilac, mauve, pink, soft orange, and white with a central black boss of stamens. The saucer-shaped flowers pirouette gracefully at the ends of the wiry stems. Easily grown from seed, it does not perform well in high heat and humidity and may require some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Deadheading spent flowers keeps the poppy blooming. Freely self-seeds in suitable conditions. Deer and rabbit tend to leave this Poppy alone. Well-drained soil. Sun. 4, D & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Nigella damascena 'Miss Jekyll Blue'
Family: (Ranunculaceae)
(A) to 18″. Love-in-a-Mist. South Europe. Soft, many-petalled, sky blue flowers are surrounded by curved, feathery bracts. Upright stems covered with delicate, fern-like foliage make the blossoms appear to be floating on a misty green bed. Fawn-coloured, inflated, papery seedheads are attractive when dried. Sun. 3 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Trachelium caeruleum
Family: (Campanulaceae)
(A or TP) to 3′. Blue Throatwort. Mediterranean. Large, umbellate clusters on upright stems bear many small, five-petalled flowers dotted with a white exserted style that looks like a tiny white pin. The flowers are a vibrant violet and lightly scented. Attractive dark foliage is toothed with purple veins. A long bloomer that makes a great cut flower. Sun with afternoon shade. Well-drained soil. 4 & T1
Category: Rarium | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tanacetum niveum
Family: (Asteraceae)
(TP) to 2-½’. Silver Tansy. A short-lived perennial with silver-grey, deeply cut, fragrant foliage that is covered with masses of ½ inch, white, daisy-like flowers with yellow centres. Midsummer. Delicate yet striking. Sun. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus barbatus 'Albus'
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
Category: Rarium | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Annuals for Sun
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