Echinops ritro - 2019

Thats beautiful :o)

And a real bee magnet :-)

another prairie plant. beautiful! nice combo with liatris.

Way ahead of ours!!

Lori - for some reason, liatris never do very well here in Bracknell. Perhaps our slightly acid soil disagrees with them?

that's interesting, Andrew... I've had the same problem. it just dies after strugging all season. It should be really well suited but it isn't. the echinops, monarda, and liatris are common companions in Ontario gardens. I cannot grow liatris and have the same luck with digitalis.

Digitalis purpurea is a British native so I have no trouble with that, but the others are more of a challenge

you have the Greek digitalis, right? I do wish I could grow that. I have to pick my challenges these days... trying to wind down when I haven't really had a chance to get up to speed. getting old is no day at the beach!

Lori - digitalis lanata? I've only succeeded with this the last couple of years, also D. ferruginea. An expression to strike fear and foreboding into any gardener's heart is "short lived perennial"