What's in Bloom
Bloom Highlights
Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Emerald Crest’
Emerald Crest Bluebeard
Caryopteris x clandonensis is a hybrid of Caryopteris incana and Caryopteris mongholica. C. incana is native from southeast China though South Korea to Japan while C. mongholica is native to southern Siberia to northern China. Both are subshrubs that grow in dry hillsides of their respective regions. The stems are densely covered in small hairs (tomentose) and produce leaves oppositely. The leaves are narrowly ovate with widely serrate margins and have a fragrance reminiscent of lavender. Both sides of the leaves are pubescent—the top more so than the underside. This plant starts to bloom in August and finishes at the first frost. Clusters of flowers called cymes are produced at axillary and terminal nodes. The flowers are blue with longer lower petals and long stamens, giving the inflorescences a cloud-like appearance. This cultivar is noted for its violet-blue flowers, dark green foliage, and a vigorous, compact, mounding habit. The genus name is from the Greek words karyon meaning “nut” and pteron meaning “wing,” referring to the winged fruits the plant produces. The hybrid epithet comes from the name of the estate where this hybrid was first made—Clandon Park House near Guildford in Surrey, England.
Dasiphora fruticosa [Lemon Meringue™] ‘Bailmeringue’
Lemon Meringue™ Potentilla
Dasiphora fruticosa is native to much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere where it can be found in a variety of habitats such as thickets, fens, grasslands, rocky ridges, and sand dunes. Typically, this shrub grows in a vigorous, highly branched mound 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. The branches bear many leaves, creating a dense mass of finely textured foliage. The medium- to blue-green leaves are pinnately compound with five to seven leaflets that are elliptic with smooth margins. The shrub is floriferous and blooms from June through September. The flowers are produced terminally as solitary flowers or in clusters and are small and saucer-shaped. This cultivar is noted for its semi-double, creamy yellow flowers and compact growth habit. The genus comes from the Greek word dasýs meaning “shaggy,” and the suffix -phoros meaning “bearing,” which refers to hairs on the floral cup (hypanthium) that contains the ovary and from which the sepals, petals, and stamens extend. The specific epithet comes from the Latin word frūtex meaning “shrub,” referring to its growth habit.
Galphimia glauca
Gold Shower Thryallis
This broad-leaved shrub is native to dry regions of Mexico south to Nicaragua, where it can be found in a range of habitats including pine-oak forests, grasslands, rocky hillsides, and brushy slopes. The young stems are covered in fine, silky hairs (sericeous), but as they mature, they lose their hairs. The medium green leaves are lanceolate or ovate and are oppositely arranged on the branches. Like the young shoots, the leaves emerge with fine, silky hairs that fall off as the leaf matures. At the terminus of the branches, a raceme inflorescence is produced with a central axis that is densely covered in short, woolly hairs. The individual flowers are star-like with five pointed, golden-yellow petals that persist and become tinged with red. The genus name Galphimia is an anagram of the genus Malpighia, both of which are in the same plant family (Malpighiaceae). The specific epithet is the Latin word meaning “blue-green; blue-grey; gleaming,” referring to the appearance the hairs have on the young shoots and leaves.
Kniphofia [Pyromania™] ‘Solar Flare’
Pyromania™ Solar Flare Torch Lily
Kniphofia are native to Africa from Sudan south to the eastern coast to South Africa including Madagascar, where it is naturally found on damp, grassy slopes and marshes. It has evergreen strap-like foliage that gracefully arches. These plants grow fast and spread, forming dense clumps of upright foliage with no visible stems. In midsummer, the plants produce mid-height erect stems that produce densely flowered, 8-inch, spike-like racemes. Each flower has six tepals that are fused into a tube that gently droops upon maturity. This cultivar is noted for its bright yellow flowers that bloom continuously from midsummer to mid-autumn, pausing only for the peak heat of summer before reblooming. The genus is named in honor of Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, a German physician and botanist who lived in the 18th century.
Liriope muscari ‘Big Blue’
Big Blue Lilyturf
Native to eastern China, Korea, and Japan, this plant is found in the understory of shady forests. This is an evergreen, grass-like herbaceous perennial. The individual plant produces a clump of glossy, arching, strap-like leaves. The plant spreads slowly by rhizomes. From late summer through mid-autumn, the plants produce spikes of densely whorled lavender flowers. The flowers give way to small, shiny, black fruits that persist through winter. This plant is deer- and rabbit resistant. This cultivar is noted for its lavender-light blue flowers. The genus honors the woodland nymph from Greek mythology who was the mother of Narcissus. The specific epithet refers to the way the flowers resemble grape hyacinth (Muscari).
Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii
Deam’s Coneflower
This plant’s native range covers much of the eastern United States from Wisconsin and New York in the north to Texas and Florida in the south, where it can be found in pastures, open woods, and meadows. The plant spreads by rhizomes, forming large clumping colonies of erect branching stems growing up to 3 feet tall. The leaves are dark green, oblong with toothed margins, leathery and pubescent. Each stem produces large daisy-like inflorescences with a button of dark brown disk florets ringed by 12 to 21 golden yellow ray florets. This plant is a host to many pollinators and beneficial insects, and it is rabbit- and deer resistant. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus to honor his patron and friend Olof Rudbeck the Younger, a fellow botanist, and his father Olof Rudbeck the Elder, a physician, naturalist, and philologist. The specific epithet means “shining, glistening” in Greek.
Theobroma cacao
Cacao Tree
An evergreen tree of the mallow family (Malvaceae), it is native to the tropical forests of Central and South America, though it has been widely distributed to other tropical regions around the world. It typically grows to a height of 20 to 30 feet and its canopy can spread equally as wide. It has large, oblong, glossy leaves that are bright green and slightly ruffled. Rather than producing flowers from new shoots, Theobroma cacao produces flowers from woody trunks, main stems, and old growth (cauliflory), which is more common in plants native to tropical regions than temperate ones. These flowers are produced in clusters and are small and slightly fragrant with white or pink sepals and petals. In the wild, the flowers are pollinated by small flies (midges). Once successfully pollinated, the small flowers produce large ovoid pods that start greenish brown and ripen to yellow or orange. Each pod contains 20 to 60 seeds that are often called “beans,” which are embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate. The genus comes from the Greek words theos meaning “god” or “divine” and broma meaning “food” making chocolate the “food of the gods.” The specific epithet is the Aztec name for the plant.
Lobularia maritima 'Balbeezink'
Easy Breezy Pink Sweet Alyssum
Mounds of frothy, fragrant flowers bloom all season long. This alyssum spreads quickly, providing a colorful ground cover in sun or partial shade. Grows 10 – 12 inches tall and 12 – 16 inches wide.
Salvia guaranitica 'Purple & Bloom'
Anise Sage Salvia
These tall-growing plants catch the wind in landscapes or containers. They bloom all summer long, while attracting bees and hummingbirds to the garden. Grows 40 – 48 inches tall and 36 inches wide.
Solanum lycopersicum
Sun Dipper Tomato
Sun Dipper is an orange “dipper” tomato with elongated fruit that are easily held between your fingers for dipping. The unique fruit shape is eye-catching and the fruit itself is delicious. These indeterminate and disease-resistant plants will provide mature fruit after 60 to 65 days.