Saponaria ocymoides Rock soapwort Z 4-9

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• Linaria purpurea Purple toadflax Z 5-9

  Violet racemes all summer July to September

  

  $6.25/bareroot

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  Violet racemes all summer July to September

  Size: 36” x 12”
  Care: Sun, well-drained soil
  Native: Southern Europe

  Both the Latin and common names are related to flax.  Linaria comes from “linum” which is Greek for “flax” and toadflax includes the word “flax.”  The leaves of Linaria purpurea resemble flax leaves.  According to 17^th century English herbalist, John Parkinson, the plant “causes one to make water.”  Grown by Tradescant the Elder, 1634.  American garden cultivation since 1800’s.

• Helleborus niger Christmas rose, Black hellebore Z 5-8 POISON

  Outfacing, white, waxy cup-shaped flowers resembling single roses in late winter, evergreen leaves.

  

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  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.

• Silphium perfoliatum Cup plant Z 3-9

  Golden daisies waive at the sun from July to September, its cup shaped leaves hold water where butterflies drink & bathe

  

  $11.95/bareroot

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  Golden daisies waive at the sun from July to September, its cup shaped leaves hold water where butterflies drink & bathe

  Can not ship to: Connecticut and New York

  Size: 7’ x 3’
  Care: full sun to part shade in moist soil
  Native: Central North America, native to Wisconsin.
  Awards: England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit

  Sap used by Native Americans to chew and freshen breath.  Also used to cure colds, neuralgia, fever, and liver disorders.  The Chippewa used to stop lung hemorrhaging, menstrual bleeding and cure chest pain.  The Winnebago drank a potion from the plant to purify themselves before a buffalo hunt.  For the Iroquois it cured paralysis, prevented children from seeing ghosts and illness caused by the dead.  Goldfinches feast on the seeds in fall.

• Centranthus ruber Jupiter’s beard, red valerian, Pretty Betsy Z 5-8

  Cluster of crimson, star-shaped florets atop 2’ stems bloom their heads of ALL summer into fall.

  

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  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.”