Blue spikes of pea-shaped flowers resemble the tall racemes of lupines in May and early June. A slow to mature, but very rewarding native garden perennial. Found in open woods, river banks and sandy floodplains, New York to Nebraska to Georgia.
Selected by Steve Lighty while at The Conard-Pyle Co., this dimunitive Joe Pye has the vivid color of 'Gateway' at a height more appropriate for small gardens. 'Little Joe 'is also more compact in a container too.
Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Burning Hearts'
Common Name: smooth oxeye
A seed selection by Jelitto Perennial Seeds, Heliopsis helianthoides 'Burning Hearts' stands 4' tall with dark red purple foliage and abundant contrasting yellow daisy-like flowers with orange centers. Plant begins blooming in its first year and blooms from June to mid-October.
Shiny, dark purple-red ruffled leaves with faint silvery marbling between the veins accented by attractive, delicate heads of pink flower clusters held aloft by tall, thin stems in early and mid summer. Fast growing with a tidy, mounding habit. Very popular!
The non-reseeding progeny of 'Walker's Low'. This low-growing, compact catmint packs a punch of lavender-blue flowers from late spring through summer over aromatic blue-green foliage. Its tidy habit is ideal for mixed containers, the perennial border, and along paths and walkways. A Star Roses & Plants introduction.
Meaning "many eyelashes," polyblepharum describes the fuzzy stems of this glossy deep green garden fern. Dependable and hardy, it lends elegance to the shade border and combines well with Carex, Heuchera, and other ferns. Evergreen in warmer zones.
Rudbeckia triloba 'Prairie Glow' has our attention! With brightly colored flowers of yellow with a bright red eye fading to a glowing orange to bronze, this native beauty brings fire to the sunny border. Its multi-branching habit provides dense flower cover, more so than the straight species, and its late blooming time, starting in July and flowering right through to October, makes this a valuable pollinator plant.