Lavender-Pink outside and white inside funnels in June
Size: 20” x 12-24” Care: sun in well-drained soil Native: northeast North America Wildlife Value: feeds native bees, Baltimore butterfly and endangered Rusty patched Bumble Bee
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.
Achillea filipendulina Fernleaf Yarrow Z 3-9
June-July clumps of mustardy yellow platters on erect stems
June-July clumps of mustardy yellow platters on erect stems
Size: 3’-4’ x 30” Care: Full sun. Dry, well-drained soil. Heat and drought tolerant, stands up to wind. Native: Caucasus, Iran, Afganistan. Wildlife Value: Deer resistant.
Achillea named for Achilles, hero of Homer’s Iliad, used Achillea millefolium to stop bleeding of his wounded soldiers at the siege of Troy. Achilles learned about the uses of Achillea from Chiron, the Centaur. A. filipendulina collected by French explorer and botanist Joseph Tournefort (1656-1708) in the Levant c. 1700.
Thymus serpyllum syn. Thymus praecox Mother-of-thyme, creeping thyme Z 4-9
Size: 3” x 24” Care: sun in well-drained soil Native: Europe & Western Asia Size: groundcover, rock garden, herb, fragrant foliage, thyme lawn
Thymus from the Greek word for “odor” due to the plant’s fragrance. Ancient Greeks made incense with thyme. This species since at least 1753. Acc’d to Parkinson in 1640 this remedied hysterics in women. Wm. Robinson wrote,”nothing can be more charming than a sunny bank covered with” Thymus serpyllum. LH Bailey extolled it as “prized as an evergreen edging and as cover for rockwork and waste places …The leaves are sometimes used for seasoning.”
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.”