Briliant orange with purple spots, turks-cap type lily blooming in late summer to early fall
Size: 10’ x 12” Care: shade to sun in moist, acidic soil Native: from VT to Fl & west to Mississippi River, incl. Wisconsin
Lilium was named for the Greek word for smooth, polished referring to its leaves Collected before 1762. Sold in America’s 1st plant catalog, Bartram’s Broadside, 1783. L.H. Bailey (1913): “The most magnificent and showy of native North American species, well worthy of extensive cultivation.”
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.)”
Penstemon hirsutus Downy penstemon Z. 3-9
Lavender-Pink outside and white inside funnels in June
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.
Stachys minima syn. Stachys spathulata Dwarf betony Z 5-9
Emerging from a rosette of charming crinkly leaves, spikes of pink-purple trumpets bloom generously from June – July.
Emerging from a rosette of charming crinkly leaves, spikes of pink-purple trumpets bloom generously from June – July.
Size: 2-6” x 15-18” Care: sun to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil Native: South Africa Wildlife Value: Walnut tolerant, deer resistant, hummingbird plant
Stachys is an old Greek word meaning “spike.” This species collected from the wild before 1834.