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.)”
Verbena bonariensis Perennial Z 7-10, colder zones-reseeding annual
Small purple flowers atop tall leafless stems from July to October. Great see-through blooms for growing in back, middle or front of the garden.
Small purple flowers atop tall leafless stems from July to October. Great see-through blooms for growing in back, middle or front of the garden.
Size: 3-4’ x 8” Care: full sun in moist, well-drained, fertile soil - self-seeder Native: South America Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit & Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit.
Introduced to garden cultivation from its native Buenos Aires in 1726 by the Sherard brothers.
Lathyrus vernus Spring vetchling, Spring pea, Spring vetch Z 4-9
Bushy plants bear showy, red-purple pea-like blooms age to rich purple in March-June. Ephemeral, dying back in August when you can cut it back. Spring gem.
Bushy plants bear showy, red-purple pea-like blooms age to rich purple in March-June. Ephemeral, dying back in August when you can cut it back. Spring gem.
Size: 12” x 12” Care: sun in north to shade in south, moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant once established Native: No. Europe - Siberia Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden Great Plant Picks
Introduced to gardens before 1629. Parkinson called it “Blew Everlasting Pease.”
Limonium minutum Dwarf statice Z 5-9
All summer long, droves of lavender blossoms above a mini pillow of spoon-shaped, glossy foliage.