Description
Purple to white nodding bells with petal tips flipped up on this short perennial – not a vine
Purple to white nodding bells with petal tips flipped up on this short perennial – not a vine
Purple to white nodding bells with petal tips flipped up on this short perennial – not a vine
Outfacing, white, waxy cup-shaped flowers resembling single roses in late winter, evergreen leaves.
Size: 12-20” x 12”
Care: part shade in moist well-drained soil Native: rocky places in Europe
Awards: Received Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.
The name Helleborus is Greek from hellein meaning “to kill” and bora meaning “food” referring to the plant’s poisonous qualities if placed in food. This species is ancient – known as long ago as 300 BC in Greece where it “purged and cured the mad or melancholicke daughters of Praetus with the roots thereof.” (Parkinson, 1629) Grown in the Eichstätt Garden, the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, c. 1600. In Middle Ages petals thrown on floor to drive out evil and ward off power of witches. Gerard recommended it for curing poisoned animals. Sorcerers made themselves invisible by tossing the powdered plant in the air. The German name of Schneerose (snow rose) is perhaps more appropriate.
OUT OF STOCK
White-lavender flowers in May atop wiry stems look like fantastical birds with too many wings, or a four-cornered bishop’s hat. Ornamental heart-shaped leaves and red stems.
Size: 6-12” x 18” slow spreader
Care: shade to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Once roots established, valuable in dry shade
Native: China, Japan & Korea
Its Chinese name is “Yin Yang Ho” meaning “Licentious goat herb, “ because allegedly an aphrodisiac for goats! In China & Japan thought to remedy impotence, liver ailments & all age related maladies. In Western gardens since 1834.
OUT OF STOCK
Lavender-Pink outside and white inside funnels in June
Size: 20-30” x 12-24”
Care: sun in well-drained soil
Native: northeast North America
Wildlife Value: attracts Baltimore butterfly
Penstemon is named for its five stamens, penta meaning “five” and stemon meaning “stamen” in Greek. Penstemons are “handsome and deserving,” Bailey. P. hirsutus sent from America to England in 1758.
OUT OF STOCK
Cluster of crimson, star-shaped florets atop 2’ stems bloom their heads of ALL summer into fall.
Size: 24-36”x 12”
Care: Sun in well-drained alkaline soil, drought tolerant
Native: Mediterranean
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies, bees and hover flies.
Centranthus is from the Greek meaning “spurred flower.” According to Culpepper, an English herbalist from the early 1600’s, this plant comforts the heart and stirs up lust. Parkinson, in 1629 describes it “of a fine red colour, very pleasant to behold.”