MALVA alcea 'Fastigata'

Macleaya cordata (Plume Poppy)     Showy plumes of coppery pink flowers atop 7-8' stems, July-Aug. Rounded, lobed leaves are gray-green above and gray-white below, with a dusting of cinnamon. An impressive and towering plant, somewhat aggressive but unwanted stems are easily pulled out. Useful for screening and for providing height at the back of the border. Sun to light shade with reasonably moist soil. Zone 3.

MALVA alcea 'Fastigata'     3-4ft. tall with an upright form and oodles of 2in., saucer-shaped, pink flowers from early summer to frost. Plant are so reliable and problem free that they're easy to taken for granted, but it's a mistake to do so. Their large, welcoming, bowl-shaped flowers are a pleasing shade of pink and are borne in great profusion, virtually for the entire season. Full sun and average moisture are their only requirements, and, they're appealing to butterflies and good for cutting. Zone 3.

Monarda (Bee Balm)    Easy to have a love/hate relationship with these plants. They spread too fast and some varieties are just too mildew prone, yet their brilliant colors electrify the summer border, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths love them, and their fast spread can easily be managed so long as one is diligent and digs out half the plant every year,- sounds drastic but really is quite easy and soon becomes just another routine garden chore. We try to carry only mildew resistant varieties and these, of course, are the ones you should look for.   

Monarda ‘Coral Reef’     Almost fluorescent coral to salmon pink blooms, 2-3', disease resistant foliage.

Monarda ‘Fireball'    A compact beebalm with deep scarlet red flowers blooming July-Aug. on stiff stems with dark green foliage. Grows 15-20” high with an excellent branching habit and good mildew resistance.

Monarda ‘Grand Marshall’ New      Profuse brilliant fuchsia-purple flowers for many weeks in mid to late summer over low mounds of attractive deep green, mildew resistant foliage, only 13-16" tall. One of the new lower growing beebalms whose low profile add greatly to its versatility in the border and even in containers. Zone 4.    

Monarda ‘Jacob Cline'    4', vigorous with large red blooms, June-July. Extremely mildew resistant, zone 4.

Monarda ‘Marshall's Delight'     Smooth, rose-pink flowers carried on 3-4ft. strong stems with mildew resistant foliage. Free flowering and long blooming. This is an older variety that has stood the test of time and won favor with many gardeners for all the fine qualities mentioned above.

Monarda 'Petite Wonder'    Even smaller than 'Petite Delight', just 9-10", with clear pink flowers and foliage with excellent mildew resistance.

Monarda ‘Pink Lace’     Petite plants with light pink flowers, darker purple at the centers, only 16ins. high. Blooms from July till frost over thick, clean foliage. Zone 4.

Monarda ‘Raspberry Wine’    Clear, wine red flowers bloomin mid-summer over very mildew resistent foliage.

MUEHLENBECKIA nana (Wire Vine)    A delightful little perennial with tiny, dark green leaves on dark black, twisting stems, dense and mat forming. Great for adding interest and texture to niche locations. Also great for spicing up mixed containers. Zone 3

MUKDENIA rossii ‘Karasuba’    A unique perennial for part shade with green, fan-shaped leaves topped by delicate panicles of starry white flowers in spring. As the leaves age, deep red tones creep inward from the edges until, by fall, the entire leaf is brilliant red. 8-12ins. tall. Zone 4.

Myosotis sylvatica     It wouldn’t be spring at Bay State without the dainty, heartbreakingly-blue flowers of forget-me-not carpeting large swaths of the shade garden. Low growing and reliably self-seeding. For me, the more the merrier when it comes to this joyful little nugget of a flower. Part to quite heavy shade and reasonably moist sun. Zone 4.

Myosotis sylvatica compacta ‘Victoria Indigo Blue’     Evokes all of springs charm with masses of indigo blue blooms creating swaths of perfect blue in the partially shaded or moist sunny garden. 6-8" tall. Self-sows freely.

Napeta (Catmint)    This is an invaluable group of plants, long blooming with aromatic gray-green foliage and a clumping habit, in a variety of heights. Deadhead by cutting back hard after flowering has diminished for another, though more modest, flush of bloom.    

Napeta faassenii     An indispensable plant for the sunny border. We offer the following:

'‘Blue Wonder'     A compact selection with heavier bloom than the hybrid, 12-15".

 ‘Six Hills Giant'    30", larger and hardier than the hybrid, foliage is more green

 'Walker's Low'    18" mounds of gray-green foliage with lavender-blue blossoms late May through fall. Very prolific.

Napeta yunnanensis ‘Blue Dragon’ New      Sturdy upright, compact plants that do not flop over in the garden. Flowers are large, deep blue, salvia-like, much larger than other Nepeta. The long bloom period extends from spring till fall. 30" tall. Prefers full sun and rich, evenly moist but drained soil. Zone 5.

Nipponanthemum nipponicum (Montauk Daisy)     We hadn't been carrying this pretty daisy because we felt its end-of-season, Sept.- Oct. bloom rendered flowering an impossibility in our zone. But, having been "set straight" by a number of customer who reported excellent bloom year after year, we've gladly added this fine plant to our collection. Plants develop strong, stout, much branched sterms to 3-4ft. and become almost shrub-like in appearance. Foliage is dark green and lustrous and in Sept.-Oct. profusely adorned with large, single, white daisies.

Oenothera berlanderi (speciosa) 'Siskiyou'       2" fragrant pink flowers all summer, much like O. speciosa, but more compact, more flowers.

Oenothera fruiticosa ‘Fireworks’     18in. red stems bear large, 2-3in., bright, sunny yellow flowers. Almost every gardener knows this plant, and many grow it not by choice but because a well-meaning gardening friend or relative “gifted” them, (that is to say, forced upon them), a couple of divisions. Once in the garden, they’re not leaving, and this is perhaps all for the better as, without any effort from the gardener, they spread themselves around and, in June-July, flood the garden with cheerful yellow goblets. There is almost no soil type or light level that they don’t like with the exception that heavy shade results in week stems, fewer flowers and the eventual demise of the plants. Zone 4.