Amateur Gardening – 10 July 2019

6 JULY 2019AmAteur GArDeNING 23

the Award of Garden merit is a mark of quality

awarded since 1922 to garden plants (including trees, vegetables and

decorative plants) by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

Dalmatian Series

Medium-height plants feature outward-

facing spotted flowers all around the

stems – carried more elegantly and less

tightly packed than those in the Camelot

Series. ‘Dalmatian White’ (above) is

especially pretty. Biennial. H: 3ft (90cm).

D. grandiflora ‘Carillon’

This dwarf perennial foxglove retains the

natural elegance of taller types. Yellow

flowers, faintly speckled within, open all

summer. Easy to propagate, but short-

lived. The taller original species (28in/

70cm) also has an AGM. H: 14in (35cm).

‘Glory of roundway’

A long-flowering (and long-lived) three-

species hybrid. The slightly greyish

foliage is the perfect foil for the sterile

apricot pink flowers, which are almost

primrose yellow inside, with pretty

speckles. Perennial. H: 4ft (1.2m).

Digitalis x mertonensis

Flattened, slightly pendulous flowers in

a rich shade of crushed strawberry pink,

with faint spots in the throat, sit above

broad, glossy foliage. The first widely

grown hybrid, it’s easy to raise from

seed. Perennial. H: 32in (80cm).

D. ferruginea ‘Gigantea’

Structurally impressive; boldly upright

stems are covered in narrow, dark green

leaves and slender spikes of slightly

mustardy yellow flowers with reddish-

copper veins inside. Short-lived, but easy

to raise from seed. Perennial. H: 39in (1m).

they are exciting us once more – the
latest, ‘Firebird’, was runner-up in the
2109 Plant of the Year contest at Chelsea.
So we have old foxgloves for familiar
situations, plus new varieties that will
extend their use and value in the garden.
Whichever you favour, it’s well worth
making space for some.

Elegant spires of flowers

Uniform growth habit, flower colour

and flowering time

Attractive flower colour

What makes a good foxglove?

Camelot Series
Medium-sized plants carry outward-
facing flowers in long spikes all around
the stem, with a flush of flowering side
shoots later. All four colours have the
AGM; look for crimson-spotted ‘Camelot
Cream’ (above). Biennial. H: 3ft (90cm).

Garndephotos.com

Good winter hardiness

Good availability

Long succession of flowers

Compact foliage