Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Dianthus carthusianorum
Family: (Caryophyllaceae)
(P) to 2′. Cluster-head Pink. Native to sunny hillsides and dry meadows throughout central and southern Europe. Dianthus carthusianorum was named to commemorate the monks of the Carthusian order, founded in the 11th century in the Chartreuse Valley in the French Alps. Dense, terminal clusters of five-petalled, toothed, pinkish purple flowers on slender, airy stems. Grassy clumps of narrow, pale grey-green foliage adds to the charm. Blooms in midsummer. Well-drained soil. Sun. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Amsonia elliptica
Family: (Apocynaceae)
(P) to 18″. Dwarf Oriental Blue-Star. China, Japan, and Korea. Amsonia elliptica makes a bushy mound of tight-clumped, upright stems topped with starry, five-petalled, porcelain-blue flowers in early June. The glossy green, broad, grass-like leaves make an excellent backdrop for other garden plants during the summer. In fall the foliage turns a glowing yellow to orange. A great Amsonia for the small garden with a good display of flowers and excellent autumn colour. Sun/partial shade. 3, 7 for 4 weeks, then T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis grandiflora
Family: Plantaginaceae
(P) to 3′. Yellow Foxglove. Central Europe to Turkey and Siberia. Showy spikes of two-inch, tubular, soft yellow, open bells have speckled brown throats. Leafy stems from a basal rosette of dark green, finely-toothed leaves are attractive too. Blooms late spring to early summer. A lovely addition to the garden. Sun to partial shade. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Linum perenne
Family: Linaceae
(P) to 2′. Perennial Flax. Europe. A short-lived but floriferous perennial producing masses of open, sky blue flowers on upright, branching stems. Narrow, pointed, blue-green leaves give plants an attractive, feathery appearance. Blooms from late spring to midsummer. Well-drained soil is essential. Sun. Best sown in situ or 3 & T2.
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
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
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Conoclinium coelestinum (syn. Eupatorium coelestinum)
Family: (Asteraceae)
(P) to 3′. Mist Flower, Hardy Ageratum. Eastern United States. Small tufts of misty blue flowers cluster in dense panicles on erect stems. Apple green leaves are triangular-ovate and coarsely toothed. A sturdy perennial, that performs superbly at the front or mid-border. Late summer and autumn. Sun. 4 & T2
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Veronicastrum sibiricum 'Album'
Family: (Plantaginaceae)
(P) to 5′. This Japanese native has broad, whorled, lanceolate leaves and a centralized group of white spikes that bloom July through September. Differs from V. virginicum in that its leaves are coarser and much wider, and the flower spikes denser and shorter. Sun/partial shade. 4 & T1
Category: Seminum | Sub-Category: Perennials for Sun
Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Nepeta parnassica
Family: (Lamiaceae)
(P) to 5′. Tall Greek Catmint. Albania and Greece. Truly the biggest and most impressive Catmint we have ever seen. Although native to the dry, rocky meadows of the Balkan Peninsula it seems to luxuriate and thrive in our fertile garden soil. The strong, upright stems bear fragrant, greyish green foliage and produce dense whorls of rich lavender-blue flowers in crowded, elongated spikes. This is a “sturdy item,” that does not need to be cut back halfway through the season. Blooms mid-summer onwards and will add stature, colour, and fragrance to the late summer garden. Sun, well-drained soil. 4 & T2