Mound of graceful thinnest of grass blades
The description in the Chiltern Seeds catalog cannot be improved: “This is the most elegant and refined of the North American prairie grasses …the finest texture composed of the thinnest of thin, thread-like, glossy green blades,.. in autumn turning deep orange before fading to a light copper for the winter. In late summer the plants bear, on very slender stalks high above the foliage, unbelievably delicate, graceful flower panicles, excellent for cutting.”
OUT OF STOCK
Showy purple thistles on show-stopping prickly silver foliage mid summer to early fall.
Can not ship to: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Size: 4-6’ x 12”
Care: full sun in moist, well-drained soil
Native: Europe and western Asia
Wildlife Value: Bees, butterflies and birds
Chosen as the symbol of Scotland by King James V. According to legend the Scotch thistle helped Scotland fend off a Viking invasion by preventing a sneak attack. It caused the Vikings to scream in pain waking the Scots. Introduced to American gardens in late 1800’s.
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.
Balloon shaped buds opening to white bells in mid to late summer
Size: 24" x 12"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil.
Native: Eastern Asia
Awards: England's Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.
Platycodon is Greek from platys meaning “broad” and kodon meaning “bell”, referring to the shape of the flower. Planthunter Robert Fortune found the white form in a nursery near Shanghai and sent it to England in 1845.
Fast-growing, pyramidal-shaped deciduous conifer. The orange to brown trunk base tapers and thickens with up to a dozen large buttress-like root flares extending several feet up the trunk. Feathery, fern-like, soft foliage emerges light green in spring, and turns red-bronze in fall before dropping. Its branches are well-attached and make excellent climbing.
Size: 70-90’ x 15-25’
Care: sun in moist to moist well-drained, slightly acid soil
Native: Szechuan China
Awards: Royal Botanic Garden Award of Garden Merit, Yew Dell Botanical Gardens’ Theodore Klein Plant Awards & Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold
From fossil records, dawn redwood is known to have existed as many as 50,000,000 years ago. However, it was not until 1941 that dawn redwood was first discovered growing in the wild near the town of Modaoqi China by Chinese forester, T. Kan. Seeds collected from the original site were made available to the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1947. Seedlings grown therefrom were planted in front of the Lehmann Building at MBG in 1952 where they have now developed into large mature trees (70’+ tall). Dawn redwood is a deciduous, coniferous tree that grows in a conical shape to 100’ tall. It is related to and closely resembles bald cypress (Taxodium) and redwood (Sequoia).
