Tag: Plant Select

Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Foxglove ‘Spanish Peaks’

 (Digitalis thapsi)

digitalis-thapsi-spanish-peaks-dbg-lah-002rWith one- to two-foot spikes of raspberry-pink flowers over a tidy mat of fuzzy foliage, perennial foxglove ‘Spanish Peaks’ isn’t your typical foxglove. Instead of the cool humidity of the British Isles, this hybrid is specifically recommended for Colorado gardens, doing well in our arid and unpredictable climate. As a result, it was named a Plant Select winner in 1999. The cultivar’s name reflects both the plant’s Spanish origins, and it’s suitability to Colorado, home of the Spanish Peaks.

Although attractive to bees and hummingbirds, ‘Spanish Peaks’ is usually disliked by rabbits and deer—probably due to its poisonous foliage. (The drug digitalis comes from plants in this genus.)

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Posted on in Books, Gardening, Landscaping, Media Reviews, Plant Profiles, Xeriscape

Durable Plants for the Garden: a Review

durable-plantsIf you garden in Colorado, you should own this book. If you garden anywhere in the high, dry west, you should own this book. It’s that simple.

Gardening along the Front Range isn’t for wimps. Rainfall is sparse. Leaves scorch in the harsh sunlight. Weather is capricious. Soils are lean and hungry. And then there are the critters—deer, rabbits, pocket gophers—who come looking for a salad bar.

If you’ve dealt with our high winds, decomposed granite (mixed with studio-quality clay), Saharan humidity, and apocalyptic hail, you know that plants have to be sturdier than Everest and more determined than the IRS to survive.

This book introduces  you to the superheroes of the plant kingdom. It’s a guide to Plant SelectTM winners.

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