Dalmatian Peach Foxglove

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'Dalmatian Peach' Common Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea  

(dig-ee-TAH-liss) (pur-PUR-ee-uh)

This Foxglove is part of the ‘Dalmation' series. They are colorful and tall but still a biennial. I used to worry all the time about my Foxglove plantings but have lately taken to letting them find their own balance. All the careful deadheading, staking, pinching never really produced better results then just letting the plants bloom and go to seed. The mother plants will die and even if they live to a second or third year they are not very vigorous by then. If the patch starts to look at little dilapidated adding a few plants to the gene pool can be helpful.

I don’t think that these flowers were quite living up to their color potential on the nursery bench. They should gain better color after being planted.

Chocolate Cosmos

Cosmos atrosanguineus 'Chocamocha'

(KOS-mus) (at-ro-san-GWIN-ee-us)

This is an interesting species of Cosmos that certainly bucks the popular trend of pastels, washed out colors and yellows that seem to be dominating the color space right now. In this climate Cosmos is treated as annual but is a very reliable self seeder. The flowers of this particular species are sterile and the plant is extinct in the wild. All plants are from a single vegetative clone. It has been hanging on that way since 1902.

The slightly fragrant flowers appear in summer and keeps blooming until the frost. Like most Cosmos this species is a native of Mexico.

Foxglove

Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea

(dig-ee-TAH-liss)

Wordless Wednesday

White Foxglove

White Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea 'Camelot White'

(dig-ee-TAH-liss) (pur-PUR-ee-uh)

A slightly different twist on a garden classic. The white flowers on this cultivar are nice and I have found they mix well with the standard pink/purple types. Although it is recovered from a separate species of Digitalis I would like to thank them for helping to keep healthy as my daily dose of Digoxin helps control my heart rate.

Currently we are building up a big patch of Foxglove at work. It isn’t the white flowered type but has been steadily (with our help) seeding into a larger area. Transplanting the seedlings has proved tricky but we haven’t given up on it yet.

Since it is Sunday here is another plant that has been steadily increasing its space in the garden but not in an annoying way. It has taken over what I call "hard luck ground” and is happy despite the conditions. I am not sure what species of Allium this is but it is really a nice plant.

Allium

(AL-ee-um)

White Flowered Foxglove

White Flowered Common Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora
(dig-ee-TAH-liss)

We are into archive shots here until spring or until we get away somewhere warm. This foxglove is a little unusual but not rare. It is an interesting twist on the normal pink foxglove and looks excellent in the woodland garden or in borders. They provide a nice vertical accent and can be used as cut flowers (cut when half open for best results).

Today's Flower - Swan River Daisy

Swan River Daisy
Brachyscome 'Happy Face Pink'
(brak-kys-koh-mee)
Synonyms: ‘Jumbo Mauve’

This is an annual that we have enjoyed growing in containers for the last several years. It always seems to fill its spot and blooms continuously. You don’t see it that often for sale but luckily one grower near us always has a small crop. This is the first year for growing the ‘jumbo’ type and the flowers are much larger but the habit seems about the same.

Brachyscome is a genus of about 75 species mostly from Australia. Generally it is an adaptable and easy to grow flower that can grow under a wide range of conditions and garden situations (containers, rock garden, seashore). This particular species is named after the Swan River in Western Australia .. Some of the other species have interesting common names like Swamp Daisy (B. basaltica), Grass Daisy (B. graminea), Tufted Daisy (B. scapigera) and Snow Daisy (B. nivalis). I haven’t seen any of those for sale but would try them if I did.

See more flowers from all over the world at Today’s Flowers .
Since it is Sunday and that means Flowers from Today here is a bonus flower picture. It is another homegrown one.


Yellow Foxglove
Digitalis grandiflora
(dig-ee-TAH-liss)
Synonyms: Digitalis orientalis, Digitalis ambigua

This plant is a biennial for the most part. I have been encouraging its seeding around the garden especially in the shady areas. It seems to be able to take both dry and moist soil although it prefers the latter. The seeding program is easy, just crushing the seed pods and sprinkling the seed around the plant and occasionally moving it to new areas. When the seed finds an area it likes it flourishes. This one is a little close to my heart, literally, since I take a dose of Digoxin everyday for my heart condition.

Foxglove

Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
(dig-ee-TAH-liss)