Tender perennials from seed...

fully grown and ready for their close-ups.

Part One – Somniferum poppy, Cerinthe major, Echium

PHOTOGRAPHS BY STACY BASS

Remember those perennial seeds I had sown and written about in March? That photo of pots on the propagation table? If not, you may need to refer back to the post of March 2 to freshen your memory.

These half-hardy perennials and biennials started from seed make up about forty percent of our garden. In a typical Spring, I will grow roughly 400 tender perennials, including echium, honeywort, a range of somniferum poppies and several varieties of campanula. Then in mid-summer, another 400 biennials, usually seven to ten varieties of foxglove and two varieties of lupin.

Forty percent of the perennials in the garden began life as seeds at this table.

While most of these tender perennials and biennials are not available as plants in this country, they are easy enough to grow from seed, first in 36-cell trays, then in three-inch pots. If you attended my seed starting classes in the Spring of ‘09, you saw how easy it is.

What’s more, growing from seed yields plants that are larger in size, have stronger roots, more vigorous and lasting blooms and more likely live longer than plants you buy at the nursery. Seeds are inexpensive and obtaining seed is just a mouse click away.

Plants started from seed add more than just color to our gardens. They provide unusual textures, richness and depth. Most are border perennials I saw up close on tours in France, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Belgium and Germany. These are tender perennials, and in our climate (Connecticut Zone 6A), most are treated as annuals, which require propagating every year.

Tender perennials that do not make it into the borders of our garden (usually due to space restrictions) get underplanted in the rose garden or banished to the cutting garden for use as cut flowers in the house or the cottage.

I wanted to have a permanent record of these beauties, a family album, so I asked photographer Stacy Bass to come over and shoot them as portraits.

Let me introduce you to a few of them.

My pride and joy is the somniferum or lettuce-leaf poppy. I grow several varieties, including ‘Giganteum’, the largest and most distinctive of the clan. Most somniferum poppies are 2-3 feet tall and will self-seed. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

‘Giganteum’, the largest and most distinctive poppy in the garden.

I first saw ‘Giganteum’ at Monet’s Garden in Giverny in May of 1993. A highly ornamental flower with the largest seedpod in a striking shade of lavender, it stands tall, commanding attention in the border and works well with artemisias and silver leaved plants as well as with blues. I recall this poppy re-appearing in estate gardens, villas, country houses and castle gardens in Ireland, Scotland, France, the Netherlands and Bavaria. It’s a classic. If I could grow only one poppy, this would be the one. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

Another treasure is the ‘Black Peony’ poppy (P. somniferum var. paeoniflorum, not shown). I first noticed it in 1999, near Ruinen Holland, in the impressionist garden of Dutch artist Ton Ter Linden. Ton had planted this poppy in a dark border consisting of black, dark purple, magenta and aubergine annuals, perennials and silvery foliage plants. Striking. A large, fully double poppy, its flowers are similar to double peonies. They provide a depth of color and contrast, d-r-a-m-a, in any border. Sources: Chiltern Seeds; Thompson & Morgan.

‘Heirloom’ poppy

The ‘Heirloom’ poppy comes in a mix of hues and shapes. Some are deeply fringed, while others look like open tulips. Seeds are a mixture of lavender, black raspberry, cherry and deepest claret, all with a darker blotch at the petal base. Since ‘Heirloom’ is very similar to ‘Giganteum’, I do not think it is necessary to grow both. Source: Select Seeds.

Before I leave our discussion of poppies, I should mention a few additional varieties easily grown from seed that I would encourage anyone to grow. Unfortunately I do not have portraits of them. They include:

P. somniferum, ‘Crimson Feathers’, with its fringed edges and dark shaggy looks. Source: Secret Seeds, UK

P. somniferum ‘Danish Flag’, features scarlet petals fringed at the tips with a cross of white. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

P. commutatum, ‘Ladybird’ worth growing for its scalloped leaves alone, this compact grower has fire engine red and black central blotches on wiry stems. Developed using a species by William Thompson (founder of Thompson & Morgan seeds) in Russia in 1876. Source: Thompson & Morgan.

P. somniferum var. paeoniflorum, ‘Imperial Pink’, combines pure pink petals with pale lavender marks near the crowned center. Some are fringed, some tulip shaped. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

P. somniferum var. paeoniflorum, ‘Yellow Peony’, more of a cream color you don’t often find in poppies, good in any mixed border. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

Originating in the Mediterranean, Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’, is often described as aristocratic, subtle and refined.

Another favorite that elicits a double-take from visitors to the garden is Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’, also known as Honeywort ‘Purple Belle’ or Cerinthe ‘Pride of Gibraltar’. Native to the Mediterranean, where it had been an important bee plant, its waxy gray-green foliage was thought to be a source of beeswax.

I initially saw this stunner in Helen Dillon’s Dublin garden in 1996. It was very popular in the British Isles and Europe in the late ‘90s. It graced the cover of Horticulture magazine in February 2000. It’s been called aristocratic, subtle and refined. The fleshy celadon green leaves are breathtaking and as the blue/green travels up the stem, you see tubular ultramarine down-hanging blue flowers tinged with purple. Its color is best in cool weather. Once planted, I add gravel to its feet so it self-sows. Compact at 2 ft. tall. Sources: Chiltern Seeds; Thompson & Morgan.

Echium vulgare ‘Blue Bedder’ (bottom) and Echium fastuosum ‘Pride of Madeira’ (top) are striking in the border but can become invasive. Beware!

I first saw Echium vulgare, ‘Blue Bedder’, at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh in 1997. Then again at Piet Oudolf’s nursery in Hummelo, the Netherlands in the summer of 1999. I have grown it for several years since. Sporting hairy green leaves, it bears dense spikes of purple blue flowers during the summer months. But be warned, it can become invasive after a few years. I would grow it for only one or two seasons. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

Echium fastuosum, ‘Pride of Madeira’

I began growing Echium fastuosum, ‘Pride of Madeira’ in the Spring of 2007. It offers soft hairy leaves and large dense panicles of deep bluish purple bell-shaped flowers, every one of them a gem. But, like it’s cousin, ‘Blue Bedder’, it can become invasive. Source: Chiltern Seeds.

Next week, I’ll continue this discussion with descriptions of the remaining perennials (Campanula, African daisy, Eryngium) and biennials (Foxglove and Lupin) grown from seed.

Tip: Use 3-inch peat pots for propagating Cerinthe Major ‘Purpurascens’ and the echiums, which like it dry. Use plastic pots for all other tender perennials.

Timely tip:

Garden Study Weekend in Washington, Connecticut. August 27-29.

The second annual Garden Study weekend in Washington Connecticut will take place on August 27-29. Those of us who attended last year know how worthwhile this program is.On Saturday morning, featured speaker Peter Wirtz of the renowned Belgian landscape architecture firm Wirtz International, known for its bold, geometric lines and sweeping hedges, will present the keynote address on classical garden design. I met Peter at his father’s nursery in Schoten and found him to be not only personable but knowledgeable. http://www.wirtznv.be/

Other speakers include journalist and überblogger Margaret Roach whose blog, A Way To Garden, continues to inspire all. Also on hand, Page Dickey, whose tireless efforts have brought about the Open Days program of The Garden Conservancy. Her new book Embroidered Ground, will be published this fall.

A plant sale will take place on Saturday afternoon. The grand finale will be The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day on Sunday featuring Hollister House and five other exquisite private gardens in the area.

Pre-registration is required. For information and ticket combinations and to register, go to www.hollisterhousegarden.org or call 860-868-2200.

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