Mallow, Marshmallow, Althaea

The rose dinner plate size perennial draws attention to the garden. The plant is a hybrid from the common mallow or Althaea. The species is indigenous to Africa, which is used as an ornamental plant as well for its use as a medicinal plant. The stems are tall at 3 to 4 feet high putting out onaly a few lateral branches. The stamens are united into a tube, the anthers, kidney-shaped and one-celled. The flowers bloom in late July, August and September. A smaller cultivar, Malva moschata Rosea, has purple pink flowers.

Liatris Blazing-star

Liatris has several common names: Blazing-star, Gay-feather or Button snakeroot. This perennial plant is native to North America, Mexico and the Bahamas. They have linear leaves and stout stems that are 3-6 feet tall growing in clumps. The small fluffy florets are set along tall spikes, flowering from the top down which is unusual for flowering plants. They grow best in good, well drained soil in full sun. Butterflies are attractive to them. The larvae of some butterflies use the plant as food.

Leucanthemum Shasta Daisy

The Shasta daisy originated as a hybrid produced by Luther Burbank, American horticulturist. The plan is a herbaceous perennial plant with daisy appearance of white petal around a yellow disc, similar to the Oxeye daisy but larger. Shasta daisies are characterized by a distinct ordor which some find unpleasant, which makes then unusual.

Campanula Bellflower

Native Campanula

Campanula  (little bell in Latin) or the common name bellflower, takes its name from the bell-shaped flowers.The species include annual, biennial and perennial plants, and very in habit from dwarf artic and alpine species to large temperate grassland and woodland species growing to 6 ft tall. The leaves are alternate and often vary in shape on a single plant, with larger, broader leaves at the base of the stem and smaller narrower leaves higher up. The flowers are produced in panicles and have a five-lobed corolla, mostly blue to purple, sometimes white or pink. The genus includes over 500 species and several subspecies.

 Campanula cespitosa

Cleome or Spider Plant

Because of the spidery-like flowers with long, waving stamen which are held on tall, strong leafy stems, Cleome perennial plant received the name of spider plant. The plants reach a height of 6 feet in good season. They reseed themselves every summer and may reseed in areas where you do not wish them to be such as garden paths.

Gaillardia or Blanket flower or goblin daisy

Gaillardia is a perennial with the common name of blanket flower. The common name was given since the flower looks like the colors of a blanket. The hybrids are popular plants with daisey-like flowers in various combinations of orange, red, and yellow that bloom from summer to frost. The plants grow to 2'-3' and do best in average, well-drained soil in full sun to part sun. They look best in a cottage garden with shasta daisies, Coreopsis, yarrows, coneflower, Liatris, Salvia, hardy Geranium and other drought tolerant perennial plants.

Platycodon grandiflorus or Chinese bellflower

This perennial is in the family Campanulaceae and only member of the genus Platycodon meaning a broad bell in Greek. It is native to East Asia and has big blue flowers with some varieties of white and pink. According to research the root of this species is used as an anti-inflammatory in the treatment of coughs and colds. The plant is hardy to USDA plant hardiness zone 3 and requires little care.

Phlox paniculata

The Phlox  is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants found mostly in North America in diverse habiatats from open woodland, prairie and alpine tundra. Some flower in the spring, other in the summer and fall.  There is a variety of color from pale blue, violet, pink, bright red, or white. Also, many of the flowers are fragrant. Some species as the garden phlox grow upright, while others grow short and matlike.

Hostas, A Lily Like Plant

Hostas are one of my favorite shade plants. There are about 23-45 specieces in the family of Asparafgaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. They are native to northeast Asia. Hosta are perennial plants growing from stolons, with broad leaves varying widely in size. There are numerous cultivars that can range from light green to dark green, yellow green and a few have a blue hue. There are variegated plants of whte and green. The white flowers grow on long stalks. Hostas are easy to transplant and I have transplanted hostas to many of the shady areas in my garden. At my last count of hostas, I have over 50 plants.

Althaea, Hibiscus or Rose of Sharon

This flowering shrub that I call Althaea or Rose of Sharon, is beginning to bloom in early July. I have several shrubs in the garden. The photo above is a single light blue flower. Another Althaea or Rose of Sharon shrub in the garden has a double flower although not in bloom as yet. Rose of Sharon is not a precise name for the shurb and is mentioned in the Bible as Chavatzelet HaSharon, a Hebrew name which is translated in English language as Rose of Sharon.. The name may be applied to two different plants, Hypericum calycinum or Hibiscus syriacus. The flowering shrub in my garden looks more like Hibiscus syriacus. The Hibiscus syriacus, a deciduous flowering shrub is native to east Asia, and is generally referred in American English as "Rose of Sharon." In South Korea it is the national flower. The first record of the Rose of Sharon grown in Korea is mentioned in an article produced 1,4000 years ago.

                                                              Double pink Althea

                                                              Double rose Althea

Red Monarda or Bee Balm

Monarda or its common name of bee balm or bergamot is now in full bloom. I prefer the red flowers although I have pink Monarda blooming as well. I planted the red flowering plant to attract hummingbirds. In doing some research on the plant I found that there are roughly 16 species of Monarda perennial. It is found in North America ranging in height from 1 to 3 feet. The genus was named for Nicolas Monardes who wrote a book in 1574 describing plants found in the New World.

Native Americans have used the plant for medicinal purposes. A tea made from the plant was used to treat mouth and throat infections caused by dental caries and gingivitis. It is also recognized as a strong antiseptic and used as a poultice for skin infections and minor wounds.

Lamb's Ear, Stachys lanate, Rattlesnake Master, and Ferns Are FavoritePlants for a Sensory Garden

Lamb's Ear has a downy softness of the leaves. The plant can grow to two feet with a bloom as seen in the photo above. The flower is lavender and the leaves are silver to light green. It has been called wound wort because the leaves have been used to staunch wounds. It has also been used as a wash cloth. The plant likes full sun and likes to spread. In sensory gardens Lamb's Ear is often planted because of its downy softness illustrating touch.

One year my garden was on a city-wide garden walk. A blind woman was on the walk. When I saw her I immediately took her to the Lamb's Ear and asked her to touch it. She was surprised to feel the softness of the leaves. When I told her the name, Lamb's Ear, she thought it was aptly named.

At the opposite end of downy soft is the bristly or spiny margins of the Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium. This perennial is native to tall grass prairie. The leaves resemble yucca plants. The Native Americans used the root as an antidote for rattlesnake venom.

In between the downy softness of the Lamb's Ear and the bristly flower of the Rattlesnake Master is the fern. Ferns have fonds that are lace like soft to the touch. Maiden Hair fern is a favorite plant to have for the fine soft touch.

Blue Delphinium, A Flower For June and July Weddings

The Delphinium is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, with flowers varing in color from purple and blue to red, yellow or white. The flower has five petal-like sepals which grow together to form a hollow pocket with a spur at the end, which gives the plant its name. The scientific name comes from the Latin for dolphin, alluding to the shape of the opening flower. Other names are larkspur, lark's claw, knight's spur and lark's heel from Shakespeare's writings.

Blue is my favorite flower. When I was choosing my bridal bouquet, I asked the florist for blue flowers. Since I was married in early July, I chose blue delphiniums that were blooming at that time.

Queen-of-the-Prairie, Flipendula rubra

Queen of the Prairie is a native perennial plant that prefers wet to moist conditions and full sun or partial shade. I have the plant in two gardens, Illinois native plants garden and Rain Garden. The plan is 3-6 feet tall and towers above the other plants. The flowers are light pink. In Illinois the plant is on the endangered species list.

View of Queen of the Prairie towering above the other plants in the rain garden.

Strange Name for a Perennial, Beardtongue Penstemon

Penstemon or the common name, Beardtongue has a name that I could not understand the relationship to the flower. In my research I found that the "staminode, an infertile stamen takes a variety of forms in the different species; while typically a long straight filament extending to the mouth of the corolla, some are longer and extremely hairy, giving the general appearance of an open mouth with a fuzzy tongue protruding and inspiring the common name of beardtongue."

Next time you are in your garden or at a garden retail shop, take a close look at the beardtongue, can you see it?

Penstemon plants usually bloom during the first few weeks of June. Most of them have completed blooming in my yard as of now, June 22, except for the ones in the semi-shade.