Dark pink-purple flowers from late spring to mid-summer
Size: 32” x 18” Care: full sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil Native: Europe Wildlife Value: a favorite of Bumblebees
In Greek mythology Silene was a companion of Bacchus who was covered with foam. Dioicus means that male and female plants are separate. Described by 1750’s. Grown in American gardens since 1800’s
Amsonia hubrichtii Thread leaf amsonia, Arkansas amsonia Z 5-8
Powder-blue flowers in early summer; feathery foliage turns caution-sign yellow in fall.
Powder-blue flowers in early summer; feathery foliage turns caution-sign yellow in fall.
Size: 2-3’ x 2-3’ Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil Native: Central-So, US Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies & bees Awards: Missouri Botanic Garden Plant of Merit; Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal; and Mount Cuba Center, botanic garden in Delaware, trialed several Amsonias and gave this its highest rating.
Collected in 1940 in Yell County Arkansas along a stream 3 miles west of Birta.
Buxus microphylla var. koreana syn. B. sinensis var. insularis
Size: 24” x 30” Care: Light to Part shade in well drained, alkaline soil. Do not crowd with other plants, roots prefer no competition. Fertilize regularly for dramatic growth. Prune in early spring. Unlike English boxwood this can be pruned back hard. One of a few shade tolerant evergreens and deer resistant too. Also the most hardy Boxwood.
Introduced from Asia to American and European gardens around 1900 by Ernest Henry “Chinese” Wilson (1876-1930) who scoured Asia for plants.