Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Cenolophium denudatum

Family: (Apiaceae)

(P) to 3′.  Baltic Parsley.  Europe and Asia.  A lovely, hardy, Queen Anne’s Lace relative.  Abundant, five-inch, flat-topped umbels of creamy white flowers on branching red stems, float atop mounds of dark-green, fern-like foliage.  Blooms mid-summer to mid-autumn.  Attractive to many beneficial insects, especially butterflies.  Adds a delicate airiness to the summer border.  Full sun and well-drained soil.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Hyssopus officinalis

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 2′.  Hyssop.  Southern and eastern Europe.  An aromatic, semi-evergreen perennial that forms an erect bushy shrublet, and is frequently grown in herb gardens and as an ornamental.  Hyssop features narrow, one-inch, stalk-less, toothed, shiny dark green leaves with tufts of smaller leaves borne in the leaf axils.  Fragrant, two-lipped, tubular, purple-blue flowers with protruding stamens bloom in whorls on long, dense spikes from mid to late summer.  Foliage and flowers have a long history of culinary and folk medicine uses.  Leaves have been and still are used in cooking to flavor meats, soups, sauces, salads or stews.  Hyssop oil is currently used as a flavoring agent in the French liqueur Chartreuse.  Known for attracting and feeding bees and bumble bees, legend has it that beekeepers rubbed their hives with Hyssop and other herbs to encourage bees to stay. Hyssop also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.  Sun, well-drained soil.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Aquilegia sp. Double Wine

Family: (Ranunculaceae)

(P) to 3′.  One of our favourite and oldest.  Many petalled flowers with no spurs and a beautiful, pure, rich colour.  Goes with anything.  Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Catananche caerulea White

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 2′.  Mediterranean.  A lovely white form of Cupid’s Dart.  Clumps of short, grey-green, grass-like foliage put up multiple branching, wiry stalks topped with white, cornflower-like blooms.  The dark markings at the base of each notched, ray floret create a central dark-eye.  The flowerhead is subtended by an involucre of multiple papery, scale-like bracts.  Starting in early summer, these long-lasting blooms make worthy cut flowers.  Sun.  Well-drained soil.  3 & T2

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): Verbascum chaixii Mix

Family: Scrophulariaceae

(P) to 4′.  A delightful blend of yellow and white.  Very versatile.  Sun.  4 & T1

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): Agastache foeniculum 'Alba'

Family: Lamiaceae

Short-lived perennial to 3.5′.  White Anise Hyssop.  A white cultivar of the above. Sun/partial shade.  4 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Berkheya purpurea

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 3′.  Purple Berkheya.  Mountains of South Africa.  This treasure forms clumps up to 18 inches in width of thistle-like leaves with spiny margins.  The single flowering stem carries numerous flowerheads on short side branches with the buds opening in succession from the top of the stem downwards. The flowers are comprised of a ring of pale smoky lavender outer ray florets with central dark purple disc florets.  Bees go crazy for this extraordinary plant that blooms June through August.  Full sun, well-drained soil.  4 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tanacetum parthenium

Family: (Asteraceae)

(P) to 2′.  Feverfew.  Europe.  A short-lived perennial with lovely pale green foliage.  Flowers are small white daisies.  Feverfew sandwiches are good for migraines!  Sun.  4 & T2