Seed Season

You’ve been told to “leave the leaves”, but this is your sign to Save The Seeds! Spent seedheads of native (and even non-native) flowering perennials are vital to the success of many overwintering insect and bird populations. Not only do birds ravage the remaining nutritious seeds, but some bees and wasps have been found to burrow into spent stems and plant cavities for protection from winter conditions. Sure, perennial genera like Echinacea and Rudbeckia are known beneficials as seedy, textural components in the winter landscape, but what about plants with some real pizazz? After all, if we’re gonna leave the seeds, we may as well enjoy what we’re looking at.

Armeria maritima ‘Splendens’ | sea thrift A demure, mounding groundcover with raspberry-magenta spring flowers from April-May that experience a sporadic rebloom in late summer & fall. Charming inflorescences transform into silvery-blue, spherical seedheads above soft blue-green foliage. Dianthus carthusianorum | Carthusian pink Truly an underappreciated & underutilized garden workhorse, this historically significant magenta-flowering alpine perennial has been an ornamental favorite from as early on as the 11th century, where it was planted in the monastic gardens of Carthusian monks. Flowers and seedheads often appear in tandem late into the season Salvia lyrata ‘Purple Knockout’ | lyre-leaf sage Texturally consistent from early summer to frost, this native groundcover produces slender maroon racemes with whorled florettes that persist as brown schizocarps well into winter.

Penstemon digitalis ‘Onyx and Pearls’ | beardtongue

The overt, chestnut-brown seed capsules of this dark-leaved native beardtongue are a wonderful addition to sensory gardens, sunny perennial borders, or children’s gardens.