Alpine, Rock, Miniature, Bonsai and Railroad Gardens

Showing 73–80 of 92 results

  • Saponaria ocymoides Rock soapwort Z 4-9

    Cheery pink soapwort, in late spring, hugs the ground

    $11.95/bareroot

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    Cheery pink soapwort, in late spring, hugs the ground. Good for rock gardens, front of border or groundcover.

    Size: 3" x 18"
    Care: Sun, well-drained soil, cut back hard after flowering
    Native: Spain to Yugoslavia

    Both the botanical and common names come from the plant’s use as soap, the leaves “yeelde out of themselves a certain juice when they are bruised, which scoureth almost as well as sope.”  Gerard (1633).  Soapwort is still used today by antique and art restorers for its gentle cleaning: chop dried leaves and roots, boil in water for 5 minutes, and then agitate to make suds.  William Robinson, father of today’s mixed perennial border gardens, praised this as bearing “masses of rosy blooms.”  American garden cultivation since 1800’s.  Received England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.

  • Scabiosa japonica var. alpina Alpine pincushion flower Z 4-9

    Lavender-blue pincushions over mound of gray-green foliage, blooms June-September

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    Lavender-blue pincushions over mound of gray-green foliage, blooms June-September

    Size: 6-12” x 12”
    Care: sun to part shade in well-drained soil
    Native: Japan’s subalpine meadows
    Wildlife Value: attracts bees, butterflies and birds

    Described by Japanese botanist Hosayoshi Takeda before 1962.

  • Sedum hispanicum var. minus ‘Purple Form’ Little Blue Spanish stonecrop, Tiny buttons Z 4-9

    Many petite faintly pink flowers in June, soft, succulent, glaucous leaves form a perfect mound.

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    Many petite faintly pink flowers in June, soft, succulent, glaucous leaves form a perfect mound. Perfect for rock gardens, front of border, fairy gardens, roof garden, troughs and groundcover, or any place with drought.

    Size: 2” x 8”
    Care: sun to part sun in well-drained soil
    Native: Southern Europe, Balkan peninsula

    The variety minus is considered a synonym of the species which was described by the father of botany, Linnaeus, in 1750’s.

  • Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ syn. Sedum reflexum ‘Angelina’ Spruce-leaved stonecrop Z 4-8

    Chartreuse, turning red-orange in fall, needle-like leaves blooming with yellow flowers June-August but the leaves are the feature.

    $8.25/pot

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    Chartreuse, turning red-orange in fall, needle-like leaves blooming with yellow flowers June-August but the leaves are the feature.

    Size: 4-6” x 1-2’ spreader
    Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Rabbit and Deer resistant. Drought tolerant.

    Species grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811

  • Sedum sieboldii syn Hylotelephium sieboldii, October Daphne Z 3-9

    Fleshy gray-green foliage edged with pink

    $10.95/bareroot

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    Fleshy gray-green foliage edged with pink encircles the prostrate stems, flowering strawberry pink in fall.

    Size: 4" x 8"
    Care: full sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Drought tolerant and deer resistant.
    Native: Japan

    Sedum means “plant that sits.”  “Live forever” is an ancient Greek name for the plant. The Roman Pliny claimed that sedum’s juice treated wounds.  In the 1500’s English herbalist Gerard called sedums “very full of life,” referring to succulent’s quality of being very easy to grow.  William Robinson described Sedum sieboldii as “a beautiful Stonecrop loved by slugs.” (We have not found that, the slug part, to be true.)  American garden cultivation by 1850.

  • Semiaquilegia ecalcarata Spurless columbine, Z 5-9

    Dainty mauvish, dusty pink columbine-like blossoms, without the tail, dangle above foliage in May-June.

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    Dainty mauvish, dusty pink columbine-like blossoms, without the tail, dangle above foliage in May-June.

    Size: 6-10” x 8”
    Care: sun to part shade in well-drained soil
    Native: open woods and slopes in central China & Tibet

    Collected before 1891. Named “Wu ju lou dou cai” in Chinese.

  • Sempervivum tectorum Hens and chicks Z 3-10

    Rosettes of succulent leaves

    $7.75/bareroot

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    Rosettes of succulent leaves

    Size: 4” x 4”
    Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Alps & Pyrenees Mountains

    Grown in gardens for thousands of years.  Sempervivum means “live forever.”  Romans planted Hens and chicks on their roofs to ward off lightning.  As a succulent it holds water and is probably more difficult to catch fire.  “This practice was preserved for historians when Charlemagne (720-814), first Holy Roman Emperor and unifier of a large part of northern Europe, ordered that all villagers within his crown lands plant houseleeks on their roofs, presumably as a safety measure. He decreed: Et ille hortulanus habeat super domum suam Iovis barbam. (And the gardener shall have house-leeks growing on his house. Capitulare de villis, about 795,  LXX.)”

  • Silene alpestris Alpine catchfly Z. 5-8

    It flowers in May (through August) the flowers being of a polished whiteness

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    “It flowers in May (through August) the flowers being of a polished whiteness, with the petals notched, and abundantly produced over the shining green masses of leaves.” Robinson 1903

    Size: 4-6” x
    Care: full sun in well-drained soil
    Native: European Alps

    Collected in Austria by 1773