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): Plantago major ‘Rosularis’

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(P) to 4”.  Rose-flowered Plantain.  Rounded rosettes of ribbed basal foliage.  Green, many-petalled, rose-like flowers perch atop the foliage replacing the traditional Plantago spike.  Bizarre!  Sun. 3 & 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): 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

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Veronicastrum sibiricum 'Alba'

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

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Paeonia tenuifolia subsp. carthalinica

Family: (Paeoniaceae)

(P) 2.5′.  A rare Peony, known to hail from only one colony in the Dampalo hills of the eastern Caucasus, Kartli, Georgia.  The medium green, fern-like leaves are not as finely cut as those of P. tenuifolia, but have an equally delicate-textured effect.  Crimson red, cup-shaped flowers, 3 to 4 inches across, beautifully frame the showy, central cluster of golden yellow stamens.  There are usually three, sometimes two, coarse, felty carpels that develop into dry, dehiscent follicles, which eventually open to expose the black seeds within.  A trouble-free, show-stopping specimen in our Systematic Order Beds.  3 & 6A

This seed is either sold out or unavailable

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

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Marrubium vulgare

Family: (Lamiaceae)

(P) to 2′.  White Horehound.  Europe.  Rounded, wrinkled, downy, thyme-scented leaves in opposite pairs along a stiff stem.  Clusters of white hooded flowers in the leaf axils.  Very accommodating.  Self-seeds.  Sun, well-drained soil.  3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Eryngium giganteum

Family: (Apiaceae)

Short-lived perennial/biennial to 4′.  Miss Willmott’s Ghost.  Miss Willmott was known to scatter this seed surreptitiously in the gardens she visited, leaving her horticultural calling card!  The elongated, dome-shaped, greenish flowerheads are surrounded by spiny tipped, silvery bracts.  Attractive, marbled, grey-green, spiny foliage with dark green basal rosettes adds more drama.  Excellent dried flower.  Self-sows happily.  Well-drained soil.  Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Digitalis ferruginea ‘Gigantea’

Family: (Plantaginaceae)

(B/P) to 4′.  Rusty Foxglove.  South Europe, West Asia.  We have this plant at the entrance to our Gravel Garden, and what an extraordinary focal point it is.  Long dense spikes of hooded, pendulous, downy flowers.  The outsides of the flowers are rusty red, with darker veins inside.  After flowering, the whole spike is still covered in the incredibly attractive, five-lobed calyces with white edges, persisting for weeks.  Sun.  4 & T2