Featured plant: Garlic chives

Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) Perennial.  Zones 3-9. This is one of my favorite culinary herbs. It's mild garlic flavor goes well in salads, dressings, in mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, and I like to use it in stir fry. It grows to about 2' and bears umbels of white flowers and has flat, strap like leaves. It produces seed but I don't think I've ever had it seed in my zone 5 garden. It will produce by clump the way regular chives does. It needs full sun, somewhat fertile, well drained soil, and water when dry. 

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Featured plant: Blue Eye Grass

Blue eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium ). Perennial. Zones 3-10. I love this dainty little wild iris. It only grows to the height of 8-10" and is often hiding amongst real grass. The only time you have an opportunity to see it is when it is blossoming and the pretty blue catches your eye. It blooms from May to June and is a native of Eastern America from Canada down to the gulf coast. Blue eyed grass needs full to part sun. It prefers well drained soil but I've seen it growing in clay and the soil was quite moist. It spreads by seed. It looks fantastic in gardens because it is no longer hiding in the grass and the clumps will get quite large because there isn't any competition for light, food, or water. Will seed itself so don't dead head the spent blooms. 100 seeds
Germination is moderately easy. The seed needs a 2 month cold, moist stratification period easily gotten in the fridge or sown outdoors in the fall in the place they are to grow. Instructions will come with the seed. 

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Featured plant: Leaf Celery

Leaf celery (Apium graveolens scalinum) Annual.  This is a very pleasant culinary herb that is very useful in the kitchen. It is great for a kitchen garden out the back door so you can run out and clip leaves as you need them. This is a celery, but it doesn't grow big stalks, just leaves which are very flavorful. It can be grown on a sunny windowsill in the winter for easy clipping It likes well drained, fertile soil, and full sun. It grows to 12 " or so.  Great for soup,stew, and summer salads. 

 

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Featured plant: Husker red penstemon

Husker Red Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red') Perennial. zones 5-9. I am a sucker for reddish leaved plants. These have deep green with a maroon overlay. Spikes of white to light pink makes this a very attractive plant for the border. In my opinion, you can never have enough of them. Full to part sun, water when dry, good, well drained soil. Grows to 2 1/2'. 

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Featured flower: Anise Hyssop

Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) Perennial. Zones 5-9. This is not only an attractive plant for the border, it is also a fragrant herb that can be used for tea. As the name suggests, it smells something of licorice. It smells more like root beer to me. It grows to 2' tall, 3' in full sun, fertile soil, and water when dry. It bears packed spikes of lavender flowers. Traditionally this plant was grown near bee hives to make the bees stay at home and not swarm. I've seen goldfinches eating the seeds in the fall. It will grow in part sun, but does best in full.

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Featured flower: Soapwort, bouncing bet

Soapwort or bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis).  Perennial. Zones 3-9. This plant was introduced by early settlers to provide a source of soap to wash cloth, particularly wool. You can almost always find it growing by creeks especially those that have had woolen mills on them. When the whole plant and the roots are soaked in water and then the water agitated, a sudsy solution is made that can be used to wash skin, hair, or fine washables. Don't get it in the eyes....it burns like a fury.I've used it on my hair and followed it with  a diluted vinegar rinse. My hair shone and was very soft. It's past uses included taking it internally, but that is not recommended any longer as the saponins can cause quite the digestive upset. The plant itself grows to be about 3' tall. It prefers full sun and moist soil. I've seen it growing happily by the side of the road so it can tolerate poor soil. It spreads by root and seed. The flowers are light pink, sometimes doubled, and are evening fragrant. The scent is that of cloves. It blooms in mid-summer, around July. 

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Featured flower: Gloriosa Daisy

Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia gloriosa) Perennial. Zones 3-10. This is a domestic cultivar of the native wild black eye susan. It grows to 3', prefers full sun, fertile soil and water when dry. Good for mid or back of the border. Adds a splash of color in late June.

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Featured plant: Lungwort

This is a pre-spring order. I live in upstate NY and plants will be dug and shipped whenever the snow is off the ground and not frozen. May be April or May.

Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis). Zone 5-8. Lungwort is a lovely plant for a shady, moist area. It has large green leaves with silvery-white spots. It blossoms in the spring with the flowers opening blue and fading to pink so there is often several shades of both colors on the same plant. It grows to about a foot, part shade to shade and will grow in sun but will wilt miserably during the hot part of the day. It does like consistent moisture and I have mine planted next to the house where it gets roof run off. This plant is prone to powdery mildew but that can be controlled by spraying it with milk. Yes, milk. 

Plants:$3.00 each  Ships within the US only, no international shipping

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