Online Nurseries 2001 - Avant Gardens

a sucker for foliage with any kind of reddish hue, I am highly attracted to Rumex sanguineus atrosanguineus, or more commonly, Rumex sanguineus ssp. sanguineus, although its common names, bloody dock, red-veined dock and beet leaf sorrel do give me pause.

Any member of the Polygonaceae family bears watching, in my book. Many are incredibly lovely, and some, like this one are actually edible, but a goodly number of them harbor plans for world conquest in one way or another. This one is tap-rooted and will seed around, I read, so I'd think it's best to remove the insignificant flowers when they form in summer.

The foliage, however, is well worth it - what a magnificent foil it would make for other burgundy leaves - I can just picture it surrounding my Eupatorium 'Chocolate'

Rated hardy from USDA zones 5 or 6 to 9, it will grow in most soils in sun or partial shade. Ultimate size varies with resource, and I expect, the location and conditions where it's grown. The rosette of leaves can vary from six to fifteen inches (15.2 - 38.1 cm) tall, flower stalks add an additional twelve inches and the spread is about twelve inches (30 x 30 cm).

A shady garden is not complete without toad lilies. I have a handful and am trying to expand my collection. The ivory white flowers of Tricyrtis 'Shirahototgisu' are a change from the mostly purple spotted flowers on the species I've got.

Native to shaded eastern Asian and Himalayan woodlands, toad lilies were previously classed as part of the huge lily family, Liliaceae, and now belong to Uvulariaceae, along with Uvularia (merrybells or bellwort), Clintonia (yellow bead lily) and Disporum.

Especially in my hot-summer climate, Tricyrtus must be grown in soils that never dry out or the leaves turn brown and crisp at the edges - not attractive. Avant Gardens says that this one is a bit more tolerant of drier soils - a plus in my root infested garden.

Rated hardy to USDA zone 5, it prefers a shady spot in all but the northernmost limits of its hardiness, where it will like some morning sun. Flowering from August to October, the stems will reach about two feet (0.6 m).

Well, that's all the plants I have space for, unfortunately, since the list of delectable items is a long one at Avant Gardens...go see for yourself!

More online nurseries

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic