What's in Bloom
Bloom Highlights
Geranium yesoense
Hardy Geranium
This plant is native to the Japanese archipelago as well as Sakhalin Island and Kuril Islands where it is found in temperate areas along sandy or rocky coastlines and in subalpine grasslands and meadows. It is an herbaceous perennial with a mounding, clumping habit. The green, pubescent stems are blushed with red and bear leaves in an alternate arrangement. The green, pubescent leaves are simple but deeply dissected into three to five palmate lobes some with deep-set veins. The leaves turn burgundy in autumn. Leaf axils and shoot termini produce solitary or small clusters of deep purple-pink flowers. Each flower has five sepals that are outwardly green and burgundy-purple on the inside; five wrinkled, purple-pink petals with dark pink veins; ten dark red stamens arranged in two whorls of five; and five dark red pistils fused together as a central column. The genus name is derived from the ancient Greek word géranos meaning “crane” as the fruiting structure resembles a crane’s bill. The specific epithet comes from the archaic historical name for Japan’s northern island today called Hokkaido then called Yeso and the Latin suffix -ense meaning “originating.”
Hydrangea involucrata ‘Wim Rutten’
Blue Bunny™ Bracted Hydrangea
Hydrangea involucrata is native to central and southern Japan and Taiwan where it is found in temperate regions growing on mountainous slopes and in ravines. It grows as a multistemmed shrub with smooth, green, sparingly branching stems that produce light brown bark as it lignifies. The stems bear large leaves in opposite pairs. The rough-textured leaves are dark green, elliptical to ovate with fine to coarse serrated margins and deep-set veins. The shoot ends produce a showy ball of green to white bracts, called an involucre, each containing a large corymb inflorescence. Each inflorescence has a lace-cap of large, white, sterile flowers around a cushion of tiny, fuzzy-looking, bluish-purple, fertile flowers. This cultivar is noted for its compact vertical growth and blue-colored flowers regardless of soil pH. The genus name comes from the Greek words hydor meaning “water” and ảngĩon meaning “vessel” in reference to the cup-shaped fruits. The specific epithet is Latin, meaning “with a ring of bracts subtending many flowers or an inflorescence.”
Ipomopsis rubra
Standing Cypress
This plant is native to the southeastern and south-central United States, from North Carolina southward to Florida and westward to Texas, where it is found in grasslands and open woodlands with sandy or rocky soils. It is a self-seeding annual or biennial, depending on environment. The stem is green and unbranching. It bears leaves first as a basal rosette; then as the stem bolts, no new leaves are produced, but the internodal distance between leaves grows. Its green leaves are soft with hairs and deeply pinnately lobed with smooth margins, resembling dill leaves. The shoot terminus and upper leaf axils produce large, showy, solitary trumpet-shaped to salverform flowers. Each flower has five fused, lanceolate sepals; five red, fused petals with orange and yellow spots on the interior; five orange stamens fused to the inside of the petals; and three fused pistils. The genus name comes from the Greek words ipo meaning “to strike” and opsis meaning “appearance” due to the showy appearance of the flowers. The specific epithet is from Latin meaning “red.”
Prospero autumnale
Autumn Squill
This plant is native to western, southern, and southeastern Europe, Mediterranean Africa, and the Middle East from Jordan to the Caucasus Mountains. It is found in grasslands covering rocky slopes, hills, and coastal areas. This plant is a bulbous herbaceous perennial. In summer, the subterranean bulb produces a rosette of long, linear, straplike leaves that are bright green with a waxy, glaucescent bloom. In late summer to early autumn, the bulb produces a floral scape that grows as tall as the tallest leaves before terminating in a raceme, dense with small purple flowers. Each flower has six distinct purple, awl-shaped tepals; six stamens with purple filaments and yellow or purple anthers; and three purple-pink pistils fused together. The genus name is the Latin word for “favorable” or “according to hope” and might be a reference to the Shakespearean character. The specific epithet is Latin meaning “relating to autumn.”
Symphoricarpos × doorenbosii ‘Mother of Pearl’
Water Senna
Symphoricarpos × doorenbosii is a complex hybrid cross of S. albus var. laevigatus, S. orbiculatus, and another hybrid, S. × chenaultii. The genus of Symphoricarpos is native to North and Central America with species found in woodlands, thickets, and along rivers and stream banks. Plants of the genus Symphoricarpos typically are deciduous, multistemmed shrubs with an arching or rounded habit. The stems are erect, hairy, hollow, and branching, bearing leaves in opposite pairs. The leaves are dull green and elliptical with serrate margins. The leaf axils produce clusters of small, showy, bell-shaped flowers that are white, blushed with pink. The flowers give way to clusters of round white berries that persist well into winter. This cultivar is noted for its soft pink and white flowers and translucent white berries that have a pink blush. The genus name is derived from the Greek words syn- meaning “together,”; phorein meaning “to carry or bear”; and karpos meaning “fruit,” in reference to the way the fruits are bunched together. The hybrid epithet honors G.A. Doorenbos, a Dutch horticulturist and Director of Parks at The Hague who developed this hybrid in the 1940s.
Thalictrum rochebruneanum
Japanese Meadowrue
This plant is native to central Korea and central Japan where it is found in open woodlands and mountain meadows as well as shaded, grassy slopes. It is an herbaceous perennial with a clumping, mounded habit. The thin purple stems bear leaves in an alternate arrangement. The large, dull-green leaves are pinnately compound with many small leaflets. The leaflets are oblong, obovate, or ovate with smooth margins, each with either two or three lobes. The stems terminate in a floral stalk that grows high above the foliar mound. The floral stalk produces a large, airy panicle inflorescence of many, small purple flowers that hang pendulously from the arms of the panicle. Each flower has four to five purple to lavender, petaloid sepals; no true petals; numerous yellow stamens; and pistils that hang from the center of the flower. The genus name is derived from the Greek word tháliktron which was us to describe plants with lacy or deeply divided leaves; particularly described by Dioscorides. The specific epithet honors 18th-century French botanist, zoologist, and malacologist Alphonse Trémeau de Rochebrune.
Angelonia angustifolia ‘Serena® Blue’
Summer Snapdragon
This carefree, continuous bloomer is well-suited to gardens and containers, performing well under a wide range of conditions. The perfect choice for heat-loving garden spaces. Deer- and rabbit-resistant plants grow 16 to 20 inches tall and 12 to 14 inches wide.
Ageratum ‘Monarch Magic Agerboyuma’
Ageratum, Floss Flower
A one-of-a-kind spreading ageratum that monarch butterflies can’t resist. Full, spreading garden fill that’s ideal for use in landscapes and large containers. Drought-tolerant plants grow 6 to 12 inches tall and spread to 8 to 16 inches wide.
Ocimum basilicum ‘Everleaf Thai Towers’
Thai Basil
This gorgeous basil plant has masses of green leaves with soft purple stems that brighten up vegetable gardens and mixed containers. Its aromatic and vibrant licorice flavor complements any dish, especially Thai cuisine. Columnar habit growing 24 to 36 inches tall and 8 to 12 inches wide.