Alpine, Rock, Miniature, Bonsai and Railroad Gardens

Showing 73–80 of 97 results

  • Potentilla x tonguei Staghorn cinquefoil Z. 5-8

    Apricot-yellow flowers with red centers bloom June-September

    $12.25/bareroot

    Buy

    Apricot-yellow flowers with red centers bloom June-September. We love its long, colorful blooms and neat habit.  Perfect in rock gardens.

    Size: 5” x 12”
    Care: Sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.

    Potentilla is Latin meaning “powerful” referring to historic medicinal properties since Hippocrates.  This is a cross of P. anglica and P. nepalensis which took place naturally in a garden. This Cinquefoil has been in gardens since at least 1839.

  • Primula elatior Oxlip Z 4-9

    Nodding trumpets of soft yellow flowers with a dark yellow center  atop upright stems

    Buy

    OUT OF STOCK

    Nodding trumpets of soft yellow flowers with a dark yellow center atop upright stems

    Size: 10” x 10”
    Care: part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Europe
    Wildlife Value: deer and rabbit resistant
    Awards: Plant Select® Central Rocky Mountain region; Royal Botanical Society Award of Garden Merit

    Primula is from Italian “primavera” meaning first spring.  Elatior means “tall”, all things being relative it’s taller than some Primulas but not very tall.  In gardens since at least 1765. According to Philip Miller, Gardener’s Dictionary 1768, “they are much used in medicine.” Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811.

  • Sagina subulata Pearlwort, Irish moss Z 4-7

    Tiny white flowers in summer on extra-miniature grass-like leaves

    Buy

    OUT OF STOCK

    Tiniest of white flowers in summer on mound of extra-miniature grass-like leaves.  Perfect for rock gardens, between stepping stones on a path or as a groundcover.

    Size: ½” x 8”
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
    Native: Corsica

    Sagina subulata was discussed in Revue Horticole in 1896.  The variety aurea extensively used for carpet bedding.  H.H. Thomas, 1915.

  • Saponaria ocymoides Rock soapwort Z 4-9

    Cheery pink soapwort, in late spring, hugs the ground

    $12.95/bareroot

    Buy

    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

    Placeholder

    Buy

    OUT OF STOCK

    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.

    Buy

    OUT OF STOCK

    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.

    $9.25/pot

    Buy

    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

    $12.25/bareroot

    Buy

    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.