An AAS winner in 1936, this Cosmos carries huge flowers that bloom in rose, crimson, pink and white, all summer. Grows 4-5'; tolerates humidity.
A Mexican native, this Cosmos has been gaining popularity recently due to its beautiful colour, ease of growing and drought-tolerance. Growing to 4’, it produces bright yellow flowers in summer to fall.
A native of southwest China, this delightful little annual should not be confused with regular Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis), although it does have similar-looking flowers. Growing to 12-18”, its clusters of delightful little bright blue flowers bloom continuously until frost. It’s very hardy & will do well in heat & drought. Has been grown since at least the late 1800’s, when it was considered a “handsome plant” for the garden.
This stunning form of dahlia is a descendent of an old English heirloom called 'Bishop of Landaff', which was itself introduced in 1927. The flowers are highly variable, coming in all colours and combinations of shades of red, orange, yellow, pink and purple and either single or double forms. The stems and leaves, however, are all dark - from green speckled with black to dark plum! The juxtaposition of bright flowrs against dark foliage is spectacular!
The first time I saw this plant I was literally stopped in my tracks. Growing quickly to 10-15’, it grows up arbours, trellises or any spot you want covered. The stems, leaf veins and large pods are a rich, dark purple and the flowers are pink/white. It is breathtaking. Some sources say you can eat it, but don’t. It has to be prepared very carefully or it’s toxic. Just sit back and enjoy it.
This annual species of Dragonshead bears lovely blue flowers all summer on stalks to 2’ tall. The foliage is very aromatic, and this plant was recommended by Louise Beebe Wilder for the fragrant garden.
1820. “Discovered” by a Russian naturalist whose ship landed in San Francisco, the California Poppy is native to the west coast of the U.S. and is California’s state flower. This double-flowered variety’s brilliant golden-orange flowers seem to glow atop finely dissected foliage. Growing to 18”, it is tolerant of drought and poor soils and will self-seed. Sun.
A short-lived perennial that is grown here as an annual, it self-sows so as to appear reliably in your garden each year. Rare today, this plant was a cottage-garden favourite for hundreds of years. All parts of it are magnificent – the mound of deeply dissected, silver-blue foliage, the bright yellow blossoms, and the resulting seed pods from which it gets its common name – up to 12” long! Grows to 2 – 3’; sun. Rare.
Globe Amaranth was first introduced to Europe from India in 1714. An "everlasting" flower, it produces clover-like flowers in a variety of bright colours - from white through shades of pink and rose to bronze. Growing to 2', the plants make a wonderful garden edge or can be interspersed among your other flowers. The flowers bloom from summer until frost and were a real Victorian favourite. They tolerate poor soils, heat and drought. harvest often to increase production.
SORRY, SOLD OUT FOR 2010. Originally collected from the Arikara First Nations in North Dakota, this ancient sunflower comes in a range of flower sizes and types and a diverse genetic base. Flowers come in shades of yellow in single and multiple-heads, and some of the single heads can grow to over 1’ across. The stalks grow to 12’ and the flowers produce very tasty seeds. A good variety to introduce children to the pleasure of gardening. Rare.
Recommended in Clive Lane's "Cottage Garden Annuals", this beauty grows to 5' and its multiple branches produce flowers in shades of red, brown and yellow.
This beauty, diminutive for a sunflower, is perfect for city lots. Growing just to 5’, it has multi-branching stems that are festooned with pale yellow to creamy white flowers. This makes it also a wonderful cut flower. It is thought that this heirloom was brought to the U.S. by European immigrants.
First introduced in the 1880’s, this giant of a plant towers above other sunflowers – growing to 9 – 12’! Huge (15”) heads form on unbranched stems and provide an abundance of highly-nutritional, large seeds. Certified Organic.
If you only have room to grow one packet of sunflower seeds, then consider this mix of our heirloom sunflowers - it includes Arikara, Autumn Beauty, Russian Mammoth and Taiyo. You'll enjoy the range of sizes and colours of flowerheads and the birds will enjoy the buffet of seeds!
This is an old Japanese heirloom variety. An interesting plant, it produces just one extremely large flower per 5-6’ stalk. The seedheads take up most of the flower, with short yellow petals rimming them, and the whole seedhead is covered in a chocolate-brown fuzz.
The Strawflower is an Australian native, as are many dried flowers, that was brought to Europe in 1799. Growing to 3', it sports large, open, paper-textured flowers in an array of colours that can easily be harvested and dried. This mix has 8-10 different colours of flowers in it, including white, yellow, pink, crimson and bronze. The Victorians loved "everlastings", as they called them, and used them to create beautiful winter bouquets. You can do the same thing! Cut often for maximum yield.
(Aka ‘Lady Slipper’, ‘Touch Me Not’) 1820 Much loved by cottage gardeners, this plant thrives in part-shade or sun, and sports double rose-like flowers in white, pink, red, salmon or violet all up the stem, at the leaf axils. Grows to 2.5’; self-seeds conservatively; Sun/pt shade.
A popular, fast-growing annual vine, it has been popular since the 1800’s. An easy-grow plant, it produces hundreds of bright red blooms all summer to frost. As with many red-coloured flowers, it is adored by hummingbirds. It has finely dissected foliage and grows to 10-15’, making it perfect for trellises and arbours.
Introduced in the late 1800’s, this unusual cousin of the morning glory comes into its own “glory” in the evening. Huge, white flowers unfurl towards the end of the day, their incredible fragrance wafting through the evening air and attracting night pollinators. The attractive blue-green foliage on the 8-12’vines makes them appealing in the daytime as well.
