Flower. Missed taking photos of flowers |
Foliage. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams. |
Form. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams. |
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Plant Name |
Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' (Artemisia douglasiana 'Valerie Finnis', "This plant was brought to England by Valerie Finnis (1924–2006), British gardener and photographer, in 1950 from the Munich Botanic Garden, where it was being grown under the incorrect name of Artemisia borealis. She gave the plant to eminent plantswoman Beth Chatto, who named it in her honor and was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1975 by the Royal Horticultural Society. The Chicago Botanic Garden concluded a 4 year study of Artemisia cultivars in 1996 and in this study they concluded that Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' was the best cultivar of the white sage group because its foliage was the most vibrant, had less floppy stems, and spread more slowly than the other cultivars." from San Marcos Growers |
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Common Name |
Western Mugwort 'Valerie Finnis', White Sage |
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Soil |
Chalk or Sand |
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Sun Aspect |
Full Sun |
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Soil Moisture |
Moist and well-drained |
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Plant Type |
Herbaceous Perennial |
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Height x Spread in inches (cms) |
24 x 24 (60 x 60) |
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Foliage |
Lance-shaped, usually coarsely toothed leaves, vividly white when young, then Grey/Silver and White |
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Flower Shape, Natural Arrangement, Number of Petals and Flower Colour in Month(s). Seed |
Dense panicles at the stem ends of Yellowish-Brown flowers in August-September |
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Comment |
Erect Form. Pruning Group 14. "Prized for its aromatic, silvery-green foliage, this sun-loving perennial forms a natural upright mound, which is topped with very small, yellowish-brown flowers in late summer. It makes an excellent addition to a Mediterranean-style planting scheme and provides a useful foil for pink and purple coloured flowers (i.e Achilleas). The scented foliage can be used in dried flower arrangements and once established the plant will become quite tolerant of drought. Cut back stems back to ground-level in autumn and apply a generous mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base of the plant." from Crocus. "Grow in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun; can die back in heavy, poorly-drained soil" from Royal Horticultural Society. "Best grown in poor to moderately fertile, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Excellent soil drainage is essential for growing this plant well. Does poorly in moist to wet soils where plants are susceptible to root rot. Plant stems tend to lodge (fall) in summer, especially if grown in fertile soils and/or part shade. General foliage decline commonly occurs in high humidity summer climates such as the St. Louis area. Consider pinching back stems in late spring to reduce mature plant height. If foliage declines or stems flop in summer, plants may be sheared to revitalize. Although rhizomatous, 'Valerie Finnis' is generally quite restrained and is not considered to be as aggressive in the garden as the species and some of the other cultivars thereunder. 'Valerie Finnis' is a compact cultivar which features stems and leaves that are silvery-white and pubescent. It is a generally upright perennial that is grown for its attractive foliage which adds contrast to gardens. The tiny, somewhat inconspicuous, yellowish-gray, discoid flower heads (rays absent) which appear in dense panicles at the stem ends in summer have little ornamental value. 'Valerie Finnis' typically forms a clump of generally erect, non-woody stems to 18-24" tall and as wide. Narrow lance-shaped leaves (to 4" long) may be lobed near the tips. Foliage is aromatic when bruised. Species is native to the western United States including Missouri and is commonly called white sage. A Royal Horticutural Society of Great Britain Award of Garden Merit plant (1993). Foliage may decline and plant stems may flop in summer. Susceptible to root rot in moist soils, particularly poorly drained ones. Silver foliage provides excellent contrast to flowering plants and green foliage in borders and herb gardens. Good selection for areas with poor dry soils." from Missouri Botanical Garden. Available from Crocus in the UK with San Marcos Growers in America - "San Marcos Growers is a wholesale plant nursery located in the Goleta Valley just north of Santa Barbara, California. Since 1979 we have been growing plants appropriate to California's mediterranean climate, including many California native plants, as well as trees, vines, shrubs, perennials, ferns, succulents, ornamental grasses and grass-like plants from other areas around the world. The information on this website shares our experiences with these great plants. As a wholesale nursery we do not sell directly to the public but do sell to many retail nurseries and landscape professionals, as noted on our Sales Policy Page. If you would like to locate a retail nursery selling our plants, please visit our Retail Nursery Locator." Also available from Gentiana Nursery in Australia. |
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Companions |
Sedum 'Matrona', |
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Summer Foliage. Photo from H. Kavanagh on 21 August 2013. |
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Winter Form in front from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 4 March 2013. |
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Spring Form of Grey/Silver foliage plants mixed in with unknown mid Green plants from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 25 April 2013. |
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Spring Form of Grey/Silver foliage plants mixed in with unknown mid Green plants from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 13 May 2013. |
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Summer Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from H. Kavanagh on 21 August 2013. |
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Winter Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. |
Spring Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 13 May 2013. |
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MIXED BORDER RHS WISLEY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS GALLERY PAGES |
FOLIAGE COLOUR |
SEED/FRUIT COLOUR FLOWER BED PICTURES |
Starting with the data in Garden Style followed by Infill Plants, then you can refine your plant list from the remaining galleries in this cell:- |
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PERENNIAL |
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HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL Gallery with 7 Flower Colours (Red, Pink and Purple on same page) per Month in Colour Wheel. Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month. |
HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL INDEX -
The variety of plants that can be used in alpine gardening is obviously very large and very bewildering at first approach. With a view to easing the task of selection here are lists The standard potting and seed-soil recipes from The Propagation of Alpines by Lawrence D. Hills are at the bottom of the page on Alpine - Sink and Trough Gardens. |
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To compare |
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with 7 Flower Colours - Blue, White, Yellow, Green for Unusual, Red, Orange and Pink per Month in Colour Wheel below. Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month. |
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The Herbaceous Perennials in this gallery are not compared with other Herbaceous Perennials in the HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL GALLERY, but they are compared with each other in the Mixed Border Garden Design Gallery using the above 7 Flower Colours per month Wheel. FLOWER COLOUR RANGE IN 71 PARTS OF RHS WISLEY MIXED BORDER DURING After reviewing the situation in the |
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Blue = |
Green = |
Red = |
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Brown = |
Blue = |
Green = |
Red = |
Black = |
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Wet Soil |
Moist Soil |
Dry Soil |
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Flowering Months range abbreviates month Click on centre of thumbnail to move from this page to the The Comments Row of that Plant Description |
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Herbaceous Perennial |
Flowering Months |
Height x Width in inches (cms) - 1 inch = 2.5 cms, 12 inches = 1 foot = 30 cms, 36 inches = 3 feet = 1 yard = 90 cms, 40 inches = 100 cms |
Flower Thumb-nail |
Herbaceous Perennial Flower Thumbnail |
Flowering Months |
Height x Width in inches (cms) - 1 inch = 2.5 cms, 12 inches = 1 foot = 30 cms, 36 inches = 3 feet = 1 yard = 90 cms, 40 inches = 100 cms |
Flower Thumb-nail |
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Alpine Herbaceous Perennial if Text Background is Blue |
Alpine Herbaceous Perennial if Text Background is Blue |
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Evergreen or Semi-Evergreen Perennial |
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A |
A |
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May, June, |
48-60 x 24 |
96 x 40 |
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June, July, August, |
36 x 24 |
48 x 24 |
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June, July, |
48 x 18 |
40-60 x 20-40 (100-150 x 50-100) |
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June, July, |
36 x 18 |
June, July, |
60 x 40 |
Creamy-White. |
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June, July, |
48 x 24 |
32-39 x 24 (80-100 x 60) |
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May, June, |
36 x 24 |
July, August, September |
64 x 16 |
Violet-Blue. |
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June, July, |
20 x 15 |
August, September |
96 x 40 |
Dark Blue. |
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June, July, August, |
28 x 18 |
July, August |
40-60 x 4-20 (100-150 x 10-50) |
Violet-Blue. |
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June, July, August, |
36 x 16 |
24-48 x 18-24 |
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June, July, August, |
36-42 x 12 |
48 x 36 |
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June, July, |
16-48 x 12 |
70 x 40 |
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July, August, |
42 x 36 |
August, September, October |
80 x 24 |
Creamy-White. |
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July, August |
40 x 80 |
60 x 24 |
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December, January, |
18 x 30 |
40 x 20 |
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July, August, |
30 x 18 |
60 x 24 |
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June, July |
20 x 18 |
18 x 12 |
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July, August, |
24 x 24 |
July, August |
36 x 20 |
White. |
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July, August, |
30 x 24 |
32 x 24 |
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June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
36 x 16 |
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June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
40 x 16 |
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June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
July, August, September, October |
48 x 24 |
White. |
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June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
24 x 16 |
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June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
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June, July |
72 x 24 |
28 x 24 |
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June, July, |
4 x 20 |
July, August, September |
72 x 60 |
Pinkish-Lavender |
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June, July, |
16 x 12 |
60-100 x 40-60 |
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July |
24 x 230 |
20-40 x 20-40 |
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June, July, |
36 x 24 |
August, September, October |
24-40 x 24-40 |
Pale Pink. |
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August, September, |
36 x 24 |
40-60 x 20-40 |
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Pink - July, August or |
24 x 16 |
60 x 24 |
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July, August |
36 x 18 |
July, August, September |
60 x 24 |
Cream. |
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July, August |
25 x 16 |
August, September |
24 x 24 |
Yellowish-Brown. |
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May, June |
16 x 18 |
July, August, September |
60 x 18-24 |
Pink. |
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May, June |
30 x 12 |
September, October |
12-36 x 12-36 |
White. |
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June, July, August, September, October |
36 x 12 |
July, August, September, October |
4-20 x 4-20 |
Red and White. |
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July, August, |
28 x 16 |
September, October |
52 x 24 |
Mauve-Pink. |
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August, September, |
12 x 12 |
September, October |
60 x 16-24 |
Lilac-Blue. |
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July |
30 x 18 |
August, September |
12-18 x 8-12 |
Purple-Pink. |
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August, September |
8-12 x 10 |
45 x 78 |
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June |
20-24 x 12 |
September, October |
48 x 36 |
Purple-Red. |
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July |
24 x 18 |
August, September, October, November |
48-60 x 24 |
Pale Violet. |
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July, August |
39 x 24 |
24 x 16 |
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August, September |
48 x 24 |
B |
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June, July |
18-24 x 18 (45-60 x 45) |
40-60 x 20-40 |
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July, August |
24 x 18 |
C |
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July, August |
8-18 x 12 |
60 x 24 |
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June, July |
24 x 18 |
48 x 20 |
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B |
24-36 x 18-30 |
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April, May |
12-18 x 24 |
24 x 12 |
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April, May |
12-18 x 18 (30-45 x 45) |
June, July |
60-100 x 40-60 |
White. |
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June, July, August, |
24 x 18 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
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C |
24 x 24 |
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April |
9 x 12 |
August, September, October |
35 x 23 |
Opening Orange fades to Pink. |
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June, July, |
2 x 12 |
36 x 18 |
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June, July, |
36-48 x 24 |
June, July, August, September |
60 x 48 |
Purple. |
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June, July, |
24 x 24 |
D |
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July, August, September, |
36 x 24 |
May, June, July, August |
80 x 40 |
Creamy-Yellow-Green. |
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D |
E |
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July, August, September |
60 x 18 |
18-24 x 14 |
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Links to the other 22 Diascia Pages are in Alpine / Herbaceous Perennial Index D Page |
June, July, August, |
6 x 20 |
40 x 18 |
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May, June |
18 x 30 |
28 x 16 |
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May, June |
24-36 x 20 |
39 x 39 |
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E |
July, August |
18-48 x 24 |
Bright Blue. |
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July, August, September |
30-48 x 18 (75-120 x 45) |
40-60 x 20-40 |
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F |
12-60 x 24 |
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June |
6 x 6 |
White |
88 x 40 |
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G |
Eupatorium maculatum (Atropur-pureum Group) 'Riesen-schirm' |
July, August, September |
80 x 80 |
Pink-Purple. |
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August, September |
24 x 18 |
August, September, October |
60-100 x 20-40 |
Purplish-Pink. |
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June, July |
32 x 18 |
24 x 20 |
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June, July |
12 x 12 |
F |
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July, August, |
4 x 12 |
60-100 x 20-40 |
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July, August |
60 x 72 |
July, August |
72 x 18 |
Sulphur-Yellow. |
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H |
60 x 20 |
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September, October, |
60 x 18 |
G |
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August |
48 x 30 |
48 x 36 |
White. |
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August |
20 x 36 |
Deep Violet |
48 x 32 |
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July |
36 x 48 |
36 x 36 |
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K |
Geranium 'Rozanne' |
24 x 16 |
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September, October |
24 x 18 |
24 x 18 |
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July, August |
36 x 24 |
24 x 20 |
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September, October |
30 x 18 |
H |
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L |
July, August, September |
72 x 24 |
Yellow. |
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May, June, |
24 x 12 |
June, July, August |
36 x 24 |
Brick Orange Red. |
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April, May, |
12 x 18 |
38-51 x 16 |
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August, September, |
48 x 36 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
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June, July, |
3 x 6 |
72 x 24 |
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June, July |
12 x 12 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
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June, July, August, |
36 x 12 |
September, October |
96-120 x 12-36 |
Yellow rays and dark Brown disc. If it flowered in Sep-Oct, I missed taking their photos |
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April, May, |
48 x 24 |
80 x 48 |
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May, June |
12 x 18 |
80 x 18 |
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July, August |
36 x 24 |
23 x 30 |
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M |
20 x 40 |
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May, June, |
12 x 36 |
Yellow with |
30 x 24 |
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May, June, |
12 x 24 |
32 x 40 |
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P |
18 x 12 |
Cream. |
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June, July |
36 x 36 |
26 x 20 |
Pale Pink. |
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May, June |
36 x 36 |
I |
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June, July |
30 x 30 |
72 x 36 |
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May, June |
16 x 16 |
72 x 60 |
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Paeonia |
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23 x 18 |
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May, June |
6 x 4 |
Pinkish-blue |
J, K |
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May, June |
... |
Yellow, Purple, Red, Pink |
32 x 24 |
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May, June |
6 x 5 |
Pink |
40 x 20 |
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May, June |
6 x 3.5 |
Purple |
August, September |
120 x 48 |
Orange-red fades to yellow. |
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May, June |
6 x 3 |
Red |
June, July, August, September |
48 x 32 |
Lemon-Yellow. |
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May, June |
6 x 5 |
White |
July, August, September |
40 x 30 |
Light Scarlet fades to Yellow. |
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May, June |
6 x 3 |
Yellow |
June, July, August |
36 x 24 |
Orange top with Ivory-White bottom. |
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L |
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June, July, |
12 x 6 |
August, September, October, November |
60 x 40 |
White. |
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May, June, |
36 x 24 |
36 x 36 |
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May |
4-8 x 8 |
48 x 48 |
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S |
30 x 18 |
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September |
18 x 18 |
Lychnis coronaria 'Gardener's World' |
24 x 10-12 |
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D |
40 x 24 |
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May |
24-48 x 48 |
60 x 20 |
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36 x 18 |
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M |
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100 x 60 |
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June, July |
88 x 40 |
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June, July |
80 x 48 |
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June, July, August |
55 x 55 |
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June, July, August, September |
24 x 18 |
White. |
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July, August, September |
60 x 20 |
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June, July, August |
36 x 15 |
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N |
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June, July, August, September |
36 x 24 |
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June, July, August |
48 x 36 |
Lilac-Pink. |
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June, July, August, September |
24 x 20 |
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O |
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June, July, August, September |
18 x 24 |
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July, August, September, October |
18 x 18 |
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P |
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July, August, September |
70 x 24 |
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July, August, September |
70 x 24 |
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June, July, August, September |
40 x 30 |
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July, August, September, October |
48 x 48 |
Bright Red. |
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July, August, September, October, November |
18 x 18 |
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June, July, August, September |
50 x 60 |
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Persicaria amplex-icaulis taurus |
July, August, September, October |
40 x 28 |
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July, August, September |
20 x 40 |
White. |
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June, July, August |
80 x 40 |
Pale Yellow. |
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May, June, July, August, September |
36 x 30 |
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July, August |
40 x 24 |
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July, August, September |
30 x 20 |
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July, August, September |
30 x 30 |
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July, August, September |
36 x 24 |
Lilac. |
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July, August, September |
18 x 14 |
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July, August, September |
24 x 16 |
White. |
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July, August, September |
40 x 20 |
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Dear Mr C H Garnons-Williams, Tony Dickerson Horticultural Advisor Above email sent by the RHS on 13 September 2013 - plant label in Mixed Border bed still not changed by 23 November 2013. |
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July, August, September |
30 x 16 |
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July, August, September |
30 x 30 |
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July, August, September |
40 x 32 |
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July, August, September, October |
36 x 24 |
Red. |
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July, August, September |
24 x 24 |
Blue-Purple. |
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July, August, September |
36 x 12 |
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June, July, August, September |
24 x 18 |
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June, July, August |
16 x 12 |
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June, July, August |
16 x 12 |
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Q, R |
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August, September, October |
24 x 18 |
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June, July, August, September |
80 x 36 |
Yellow. |
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S |
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June, July, August |
30 x 24 |
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May, June, July, August, September |
18 x 18 |
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July, August, September, October |
24 x 20 |
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September, October |
20 x 16 |
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August, September |
40 x 20 |
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August, September, October |
12 x 12 |
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August, September, October, November |
18 x 18 |
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August, September |
18 x 18 |
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September, October, November |
24 x 18 |
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June, July, August |
32 x 24 |
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August, September, October |
60 x 32 |
Yellow. |
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June, July, August, September |
18 x 24 |
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June, July, August, September |
20 x 28 |
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August, September, October |
48 x 24 |
Violet-Blue. |
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June, July, August, September |
32 x 18 |
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T |
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June, July, August |
94 x 23 |
Lavender. |
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June, July, August |
59 x 23 |
Purple-Pink. |
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June, July |
48 x 48 |
Sulphur-Yellow. |
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June, July, August |
72 x 36 |
Purple-Pink or Lavender. |
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U, V |
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August, September, October |
60 x 18 |
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June, July, August, September, October |
24 x 16 |
Purple or Magenta. |
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June, July, August, September |
36 x 24 |
Pale Purple/ Lavend-erish Lilac. |
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June, July, August, September |
60 x 24 |
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July, August, September |
60 x 36 |
Pink Lavender/ Lilac. |
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July, August |
40 x 20 |
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July, August, September |
60 x 18 |
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June, July |
42 x 20 |
Lilac/ Pale Blue. |
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July, August, September |
60 x 26 |
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W, XYZ |
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May, June, July |
18 x 14 |
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Site design and content of this table copyright ©July 2009. Page structure amended December 2012. Colour Wheel clarified January 2013. Feet changed to inches (cms) July 2015. Herbaceous Perennial Menu Table changed and Index Pages added June 2017. Chris Garnons-Williams. Site design and content for Mixed Border Herbaceous Gallery copyright ©March 2013. Chris Garnons-Williams. DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site. |
Ivydene Gardens Herbaceous Perennial Flower Shape Gallery: |
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HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL FLOWER SHAPE AND OTHER DETAILS- |
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Number of Flower Petals |
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Flower Shape - Simple |
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Flower Shape - Elabor-ated |
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Natural Arrange-ments |
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Herbaceous Perennial Name Index The respective flower colour and thumbnail, months of flowering, form, height and width, foliage colour and thumbnail, use and comments are in the relevant index page Evergreen Perennial Name Index |
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UK Peony Index :- |
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Perennials & Ephemerals chapter of Plants for Dry Gardens by Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993. ISBN 0-7112-0772-0 for plants that are drought tolerant. |
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Rock |
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Perennials for Ground Covering in Shade and 3 |
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Colour All The Year in My Garden by C.H. Middleton. Published by Ward, Lock & Co. for culture. Perennials The Gardener's Reference by Susan Carter, Carrie Becker and Bob Lilly. Published by Timber Press in 2007 for plants for Special Gardens. It also gives details of species and cultivars for each genus. |
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Herbaceous Perennial Form |
Prostrate or Trailing |
Cushion or Mound-forming |
Spreading or Creeping |
Stemless. Sword-shaped Leaves |
Erect or Upright |
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Herbaceous Perennial Use |
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Back of Border, Alley, and Too Tall for Words Special Garden |
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Herbaceous Perennial in Soil |
Clay + |
Peat + |
Any + |
+ Herbac-eous Perennials in Pages in Plants |
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Peony Use |
Copied from Ivydene Gardens Mixed Borders in RHS Garden at Wisley Garden Design: |
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This section details what I consider as errors in design carried out by the staff at the RHS garden in Wisley:-
Mixing all the primary colours together for the flower colours used in many of the 71 parts of these Mixed Borders This mixture provides a foliage and flower foil against which these other permanent herbaceous perennials can provide new growth from the ground each year, with the different colours of foliage from juvenile to mature to dying off in the autumn and then an easy maintenance during the months of December-March for removing most of the growth above ground and replacing the plant supports to provide a neat bed in a series of large ground areas. The bedding plants - see Bedding Annual Plant Index and Un-labelled Bedding Annual Plant Index pages - provide the icing on the cake at different flowering time periods between May and November to enhance the overall flower colour scheme. The new bedding each year can provide opportunities to vary the look of these beds. It was disapointing that I did not see the flowers during 2013 of more than 25% of these Permanent Herbaceous Perennial Plants - possible reasons shown in Lost Flowers Page with 'Walkabout' Plants and 'Stateless' Plants Page. A table for each month - May, June, July, August, September, October, November - shows the flower photos for each of the 71 parts of the Mixed Borders split into Blue, Orange, Pink, Red, Unusual Colour, White, or Yellow for all the plants. Besides that, you can see from the table below that Red and Pink with Unusual Flower Colours seem to be predominant as flower colours and that these are spread throughout the beds.
I have added the BEDding (started January 2014 - completed March 2014) and then the OTHer Permanent Plants (started March 2014 - completed May 2014) to the table below to show the flower colour planting scheme of the Bedding and the Other Permanent Plants and then its combination.
If I had produced this planting design with its mixture of flower colours in almost every part - or maintained these beds in this way - in 2013, I would be deeply ashamed. As a nation of gardeners in Britain; the Royal Horticultural Society being at its pinnacle, with the tradition of excellence by our previous head gardeners and their staff during the Victorian era, I had thought that the staff at the RHS Garden at Wisley would not need a lecture.
Another Possible Solution for lack of coordinated Flower Colour Scheme If you want the garden to be restful to the eye, then you can provide a colour scheme using the harmony of adjacent colours. If you prefer to shock the visitor, then use the contrast of opposite colours, but I am not favourable of the above partial use of the harmony of triads as shown by the Colour Wheel Page of Garden Design.
Very Poor Plant Labelling After reviewing the situation that 102 plants were missing their identity when in flower in 2013 out of 348 (29.31% of the plants) in 768 square metres of Mixed Borders garden beds:-
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