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Showing 145–152 of 200 results

  • Primula vulgaris syn. Primula acaulis English primrose Z 4-8

    Primrose yellow blossoms in earliest of spring.

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    Primrose yellow blossoms cheer on the earliest of spring.

    Size: 6" x 6"
    Care: shade in moist to moist well-drained soil. Immune to Walnut toxicity
    Native: Europe
    Awards: Received England’s Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.

    Primula is from Italian “primavera” meaning first spring. Vulgaris means common. Grown in the Eichstätt Garden, the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria, c. 1600.  Grown by Jefferson. Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811. Old medicinal uses to cure gout and headaches.

  • Pulsatilla patens syn. Anemone patens Eastern pasque flower Z 3-7

    Up-facing blue-violet bells in early spring emerge from foliage decorated with silky hairs.

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    Up-facing blue-violet bells in early spring emerge from foliage decorated with silky hairs.

    Size: 8-12” x 4-6" slow to grow, so be patient
    Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: northern Great Plains including WI, Siberia, Alaska

    The name Pasque is Old French for Easter referring to the spring bloom time. Patens means “spreading.”  South Dakota honors this as its state flower.
    Collected for gardens prior to 1753.  The Blackfoot made a decoction of this plant to speed a baby’s delivery and applied crushed leaves to skin to remedy irritation.  Omaha applied fresh, crushed leaves as a poltice for rheumatism.

  • Pulsatilla vulgaris var. ‘Alba’ Z 4-8

    Pure white petals of open bell-shape with yellow centers flowers in early spring. Fun, furry foliage and Medusa-like seed heads.

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    Pure white petals of open bell-shape with yellow centers flowers in early spring. Fun, furry foliage and Medusa-like seed heads.

    Size: 8-12” x 8-12”
    Care: sun to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Europe
    Wildlife Value: Deer resistant, early pollen source for bees
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

    “There is a variety of (Pulsatilla vulgaris) with white flowers…” Gardeners Dictionary, 1768.

  • Punica granatum var. nana Dwarf pomegranate Z 7-11

    Adorable dwarf shrub bearing orange-red blooms in July and August then tiny, edible pomegranates. Where not hardy makes good container plant and bonsai.

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    Adorable dwarf shrub bearing orange-red blooms in July and August then tiny, edible pomegranates.  Where not hardy makes good container plant and bonsai.

    Size: 2-4’ x 2-4’
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: Europe to Himalayas

    “The plants will bear miniature fruit if grown in areas with year-round temperatures that rarely fall below 40° F. To grow indoors, moderate night-time temperatures should be given (50° to 60° F). Keep at 40° to 45° F in winter until new growth appears. In the growing period, keep moderately moist. Water sparingly from August on. This plant requires good drainage. Plants will bear fruit indoors if grown in a sunny exposure.”  Issour Botanic Garden.  It is deciduous and may lose its leaves.
    This dwarf described in 1803.

  • Ranunculus acris ‘Flora-pleno’ Meadow buttercup  Z 4-8 POISON

    Scads of cheerful yellow balls made from many petals, bloom in early spring. Excellent cut flower

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    Scads of cheerful yellow balls made from many petals, bloom in early spring. Excellent cut flower

    Size: 18-24” x 12” slowly spreading
    Care: Sun to part sun in moist soil
    Native: Europe
    Wildlife Value: deer resistant, attract butterflies
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

    Ranunculus is Latin for little frog, so named by Roman Pliny  referring to the wet conditions required by some ranunculus.  William Robinson considered this “pretty.” The English Flower Garden 1899.

  • Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’ Rudbeckia nitida ‘Herbstsonne’ syn. Rudbeckia ‘Autumn Sun’ Z 5-10

    Exceptionally large & drooping petals, with a tall, central cone of green, blooms July to September.

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    Exceptionally large & drooping petals, with a tall, central cone of green, blooms July to September.

    Size: 4-7’ x 2-3’
    Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
    Wildlife Value: provides butterfly nectar and seeds food for birds
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

    It’s “an old selection.”

  • Rumex sanguineus ssp. sanguineus Bloody dock Z 5-8

    ornamental green foliage embroidered with red veins

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    Grown for its ornamental green foliage embroidered with red veins.

    Size: 12" x 12"
    Care: sun to shade in moist well-drained soil
    Native: uncommon sport of species from Europe, SW Asia & N. Africa
    Size: Containers, borders for bold effect. Young leaves of this Sorrel edible – taste like Chard. Adds color to salads & makes fine soup.

    Sanguineus means “blood-red”, from Latin sanguis, meaning “blood.”  In gardens by 1760’s.

  • Salix discolor Pussy willow Z 4-8

    Grown for its fuzzy catkins appearing in late winter before the leaves emerge

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    Grown for its fuzzy catkins appearing in late winter before the leaves emerge

    Size: 15-20’ x 12-15’
    Care: full sun, prefers moist soil but tolerates well-drained soil
    Native: E. No. America incl. WI
    Wildlife Value: Important food source for many pollinator bees incl. honey bees. Pussy willows attract queens looking for a location for a new colony. Host to caterpillars of cecropia moth, red-spotted purple, tiger swallowtail, & viceroy butterflies. Hummingbirds make nests from the pussy fluff.

    The name Salix is from “salio” meaning “to leap or dance, because of its quick growth.” Gardeners Dictionary, 1768.  This species introduced to cultivation by German plant hunter Gotthilf Henry Ernest Muhlenberg in late 1700’s-early 1800’s. Willows contain salicin, the pain-killer in aspirin, and used since ancient Greece to relieve pain.