Thursday, July 11, 2019

Digitalis some something, takes me by surprise...

Our summer—thus far—has not been continuous days of blazing hot sunshine. I'm not going to complain, there's still the rest of July and August for that, hopefully. One overcast morning last week I realized I need to get over to McMenamins Kennedy School and take some photos for that book I'm working on. Walking towards the dry—spiky—garden just off the parking lot, a tall flowering perennial called out to me. That one, on the right, next to the stunning Dasylirion wheeleri...

The thing is, I am horribly ignorant of most flowering perennials, they just aren't my thing, so I devote very few brain cells to them. I knew enough to know this was a foxglove, digitalis. But which digitalis? D. ferruginea aka rusty floxglove? D. lanata aka woolly foxglove or Grecian foxglove?

I have no idea, but I was rather enchanted. Wishing I had a few of them in my own garden...

Weather Diary, July 10: Hi 77, Low 63/ Precip .07"

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

11 comments:

  1. Looking at photos online, it looks more like D. ferruginea than D. lanata. It is quite a stately beauty. I started some D. ferruginea from seed this spring, they weren't hard.

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  2. I'm pretty sure I saw this at Joy Creek last Tuesday but I didn't look at the tag.

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    1. I haven't been out to Joy Creek for ever...

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  3. I'd also guess that it's Digitalis ferruginea. I grew it in my former garden but it's hard to find here. I'd agree that, if there's a foxglove in your wheelhouse, it'd be that one. I'm happy to hear that work on the book is proceeding.

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    1. It is! Of course the deadline is getting closer and closer too...

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  4. Looking at how and where this is growing, explains why I haven't tried it yet. It is such a beauty.

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    1. Ah, good point. Maybe I do have a chance with it!

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  5. I've grown this species, it's unusual and not as showy as D. purpurea, a plus. Easy to grow, it is recommended to plant it in a bed close enough to really study it closeup. Its details are lovely.

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  6. If you want one....just say the word :)

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