Penstemons’ throaty flowers have a lustre that comes from their blend of highlights and lowlights. P. ‘Alice Hindley’ is a popular purple variety that tends to grow taller and bushier than most. Continue reading “Penstemon ‘Alice Hindley’”
Penstemon ‘Stapleford Gem’
Spires of tubular flowers of blue, stained purple, help Penstemon ‘Stapleford Gem’ stand out in the garden. The flowers share a pout with the thicker petals of foxgloves, but have more of a luminescent quality. Purple beelines draw our eyes down the pale throat into the flower. Continue reading “Penstemon ‘Stapleford Gem’”
Plants with Impressive LinkedIn Profiles
The Award of Garden Merit is one of the highest accolades a plant can officially acquire under the jurisdiction of the Royal Horticultural Society. I always smile at the British understatement in the official explanation:
AGM plants are:
- Excellent for ordinary use in appropriate conditions
- Available
- Of good constitution
- Essentially stable in form & colour
- Reasonably resistant to pests & diseases
Though the wording is restrained (I often wonder how ‘excellent’ crept in there), it’s probably fair to say that AGM is the plant world’s equivalent of an impressive LinkedIn profile. It shows that influential people are willing to vouch for the variety. Continue reading “Plants with Impressive LinkedIn Profiles”
Susan Rushton 