From the E-Newsletter: August 2006

Fabulous at Phoenix
Gary's Picks of New, Notable and Luscious Plants at the Phoenix Candy Store

Cypripedium montanum -- This rare hardy lady slipper orchid is small, delicate but beautiful. Not for the faint of heart. Unlike some of the other lady slippers we offer this one is a bit difficult to grow.

Dactylorhiza praetermissa -- Hardy Ground Orchid -- This hardy, easy to grow ground orchid loves part shade to part sun and evenly moist soils. It sports a beautiful spike of magenta orchid flowers and can have various levels of spotting on its leaves. Also available: D. maculata.

Persicaria polymorpha -- White Dragon -- This is a plant with presence! White dragon grows five to seven feet tall into an arching vase shape. It is topped with astilbe-like masses of white flowers on every stem often from summer well into fall. The flowers are followed by pinkish seed heads. A clumping, non-invasive plant, white dragon looks great at the back of the border with miscanthus, Sambucus nigra ‘Black Beauty’ and other large perennials. Loves moist soils but quite tolerant of drought once established.

Lavandula stoechas 'Pastel Dreams' -- Spanish Lavender -- This vigorous disease-resistant new Spanish lavender offers a naturally rounded, compact form with grey-green fragrant foliage. However, its most appealing feature is that the bracts of the long-stemmed flower spikes are at first creamy white with green accents and only later change to a pale mauve. In lower light areas the bracts will remain creamy white with a bluish tint. The effect is one of white butterflies dancing above a mass of lavender. I expect it to be simply lovely and intriguing in combination with the standard spanish lavender with pink and lavender bracts.

Echeverias -- Mexican Hens and Chicks -- Our selection is expanding! If you’re a fan you’ll want to keep in touch. We have many of the fabulous, large, ruffled cultivars coming down the pipes like ‘Mauna Loa’ and ‘Blue Curls’. Grown primarily for their colourful succulent rosettes in shades of blue, green, grey, white, and pink, Echeveria beg to be combined and contrasted in pots or along pathways. They make a no nonsense houseplant for a bright window sill in winter -- in fact don’t water them more than sparingly once a month.

Primula 'Green Lace' aka 'Francisca' -- Primrose -- The bizarre ruffly frilled flowers are green with a yellow eye and last for months. An intriguing addition to the shade garden, to your primula collection or as a conversation piece in a pot! This primula came to us as 'Green Lace'. I have more recently found at that its original name is 'Francisca', named after Francisca Dart of Whiterock's Darts Hill Garden. Some time ago Francisca found this primula in the compost heap of a nursery in Tacoma and brought it back to Vancouver where she shared it with her friends. Much more recently it was "discovered" by Terranova Nurseries who renamed it 'Green Lace' and introduced it to the world.

Arisaema costatum -- Cobra Lily -- The bold spathe of A. costatum is burgundy-purple with white stripes. The tip of the spathe-limb has a long, often twisted, thread-like appendage that dangles to the ground. The trifoliate leaf has raised veins and purple wavy margins. From Nepal and Tibet.

Antirrhinum braun-blanquetii -- Perennials Snapdragon -- Pale yellow and white snapdragons on bushy plants. This perennial species from Spain flowers and flowers and flowers from May to September.

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