What's in Bloom
Bloom Highlights
Chelonopsis moschata
Japanese Turtlehead
This plant is native to the temperate forests of Japan. This herbaceous subshrub produces tall, square, branching stems that gracefully arch over each other as they grow. The deeply veined leaves are medium to dark green, elliptic to lanceolate with serrate margins, and oppositely arranged on the stem. The flowers are produced in pairs on each side of the stems terminally and at axillary nodes. Flowers are tubular but flare out at the opening with an extended lower lip. Petals are purply pink to puce. The genus name is a compound of the Greek words chelóne and ópsis meaning “tortoise” and “lookalike” respectively. The specific epithet is the Latin word for “musky,” referring to the flower’s scent. Note: the genus Chelone is not related to Chelonopsis—they are in different families.
Dichorisandra thyrsiflora
Blue Ginger
Native to southeastern Brazil, it is found in the shadier portions of tropical woodlands. It has also been introduced to tropical woodlands of Peru, Australia, and the Caribbean. Though it is a tuberous geophyte, in ideal growing conditions it will grow as a subshrub. The stalks are unbranched, upright, and spotted. The dark green, glossy, lanceolate leaves are sessile—almost clasping the stalks—and are alternately arranged. Each stalk will produce a raceme inflorescence of large, showy blue flowers. The sepals are blue on the outside and white on the inside, while the petals are mainly ultramarine with white bases. The anthers are a bright, creamy yellow supported by white filaments and surround a purple pistil. The genus name comes from the Greek words di- meaning “two,” chórismos meaning “divide,” and andros meaning “anther,” referring to the two stamens that spread out away from each other and apart from the remaining four stamens. The specific epithet comes for the Greek word thyrsus, which was a staff topped with an ornament like a pinecone and carried by the ancient Greek god Dionysus (Bacchus) and his followers, and the Latin word for flower, referring to the shape of the inflorescence. It is a member of the spiderwort family (Commelinaceae) not the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).
Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Glow’
Blue Glow Small Globe Thistle
Native to much of the Balkans, Echinops bannaticus can be found in temperate woodlands and shrublands. The foliage is clumping with a mounding habit. The leaves are deeply, pinnately incised with spines at the tips of each lobe. The tops of each leaf are dark green and rough, while the undersides are white and tomentose. The flower stalks sometimes branch. The ends of these stalks produce a globular capitulum inflorescence of hermaphroditic, tubular disc florets. The floret petals are pointed and not entirely fused. As the florets fade, their scaley calyx persists. This cultivar is noted for steely blue flower heads. The genus name comes from the Greek words echinos and ópsis meaning “hedgehog” and “appearance” respectively, referring to the spikey flower heads during and after blooming. The specific epithet comes for a region in Romania, the Banat, where this plant is native.
Helianthus salicifolius ‘Autumn Gold’
Autumn Gold Willow-Leaved Sunflower
It is mainly native to the southern Great Plains states through the Ozark Plateau but also has native populations that extend into the Northeast, where it is found in prairies and unglaciated grasslands. Slender, medium-green branching stems emerge in midsummer, producing many narrow pale green leaves that droop much like the leaves of a weeping willow. At the tips of the branches, solitary or clustered flower heads develop late in the summer. A flower head is comprised of narrow, bright yellow ray florets ringing a button of many dark brown disc florets. The flowers last until the first hard frost. This cultivar is noted for its dwarf stature and compact, mounding habit. This cultivar also does not reliably self-seed and does not spread very far by rhizomes. The genus name is a compound of the Greek words helios and anthos meaning “sun” and “flower” respectively. The specific epithet means leaves like Salix (willow).
Scaevola aemula ‘KLESC13594’
Fairy™ Blue Fanflower
This plant is native to Australian dry shrubland where it grows as a branching, evergreen, subshrub. The wiry, green stems trail and can sprawl up to 2 feet. The older parts of the stems produce many sessile (attached directly to the stem), lanceolate leaves with serrate margins. As the stems grow, branch, and start producing flowers, the leaves become smaller and the internodal distance between leaves grows. Flowers are produced from axillary nodes and from the stems’ terminal nodes. The flowers are distinctive with their fan-like shape. The claws of the five ray-like petals are yellow and fused. As the blade of the petals fan out and become distinct from each other, the petals take on a purple or blue coloring. These plants are prolific bloomers and will do so from summer until the first hard frost. This cultivar is noted for its excellent branching habit and blue petals. The genus name comes from a Greek word meaning “left-handed” and the specific epithet comes from the Latin word aemulus meaning “rival” or “imitate,” referring to how the flowers resemble hands.
Tricyrtis ‘Sinonome’
Sinonome Toad Lily
This cultivar is a hybrid of T. hirta, native to Japan, and T. formosana, native to Taiwan. Both are found in the temperate forests of their respective countries. Often planted in groups, this plant will slowly spread to form a colony. The upright stems arch slightly toward the top, giving a grouping of plants an attractive vase-shaped clump. The stems are covered in transparent hairs. The leaves are green, hairy, and oblong to ovate in shape and they clasp the stem at their base. At the tips of the stems, cyme inflorescences are produced. The flowers are star-shaped with six highly showy sepals. There are dark, nectary sacs at the base of the outer tepals. The tepals are primarily white with irregular burgundy spotting, but all tepals have two yellow spots that form a ring on the internal cup of the flower. The stamens and stigma are fused into a post in the center of the flowers and are, like the tepals, white and irregularly spotted with burgundy. This cultivar is noted for its bold coloring and long bloom time. The genus name comes from the Greek words tri- meaning “three” and kyrtós meaning “humped,” referring to the sac-like protrusions at base of the outer tepals.
Viola × wittrockiana ‘Frizzle Sizzle Raspberry’
Frizzle Sizzle Raspberry Pansy
Viola × wittrockiana is an artificial hybrid of V. altaica, V. lutea subsp. sudetica, and V. tricolor. All the parents are native to alpine and subalpine forests and grasslands in regions including much of Europe to central Russia and Central Asia. Popular as a bedding annual, in milder climates pansies can be grown as biennials or perennials. The stems are simple with little branching. The foliage is dense due to the leaf nodes being so close together on the stems, which makes leaf arrangement hard to determine. The lanceolate leaves are medium-green with cremate to dentate margins. The flowers are large and solitary with sepals that recurve behind the rest of the flower. The petals are large, overlapping, and showy. The flowers often have a bright yellow eye-spot in the center and various other markings that sometimes give the appearance of a face. This cultivar is noted for its highly ruffled petals that are mainly burgundy but are variably highlighted with creamy white, soft yellow, or berry blue. The genus name is the Latin word used for various sweet-scented flowers. The hybrid epithet is named for Veit Brecher Wittrock, a Swedish botanist who did extensive research on the genus Viola.
Capsicum annuum
Midnight Fire Ornamental Pepper
These ornamental peppers can be used outside in the garden or indoors as colorful houseplants in a sunny window. Perfect for fall combination planters. Distinctive dark foliage is accented with purple fruit, which matures to bright red. Grows 9"-12" tall; 14"-16" wide.
Chrysanthemum morifolium 'Zanmubutter’
Butter n’ Cream White Hardy Garden Mum
This new garden mum from 2023 provides clean white and ivory flowers. Solid performance for the fall season, it naturally blooms at the end of September. Grows 14"-24" tall with well-rounded habit. Tolerates light frosts in the late fall.
Viola × wittrockiana
Matrix Coastal Sunrise Mixture Pansy
Low-maintenance and big, showy flowers provide fall color for your garden beds, containers, and baskets. The colors are reminiscent of a coastal sunrise in blue and rose. Matrix provides more flowers per plant than other pansies to create high impact in your garden. Grows 8" tall; 8"-10" wide.