A Few New Faces

It has been a very busy weekend, so this will be a brief post.  But I didn't want to miss Garden Bloggers Foliage Day with Christina!  And this seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce some new plants.

One of my recent tasks has been setting out the new arrivals from High Country Gardens.  Five plants were on order, and all are now duly in the ground and settling in.  By the way, the packing from HCG was superb, and all arrived well-hydrated and ready to plant.

There were two varieties of Agastache.  First, "Ava", a tall grower with flowers of brilliant purple-pink.  Just now it is a wee little thing, but the leaves already give off their signature fragrance...

...as does the foliage of hybrid "Apricot Sprite", whose leaves are a shade greyer, at least for the present, and whose flowers should be a bright apricot-yellow .  I look to these two additions to supply some late summer bloom, which should be fragrant and attractive to hummingbirds as well.

One plant actually arrived with flowers on it: this was Phlox grayi "Shades of Pink", a small groundcover phlox native to northern Arizona.  I have no pictures of this one as it is a bit spindly.  I think the flowers took their toll; I have clipped them off and hope to coax this intriguing little perennial into enjoying my garden since most forms of Phlox will be impossible here.

Then there is Aquilegia desertorum, which photos show to have bright red and yellow spurred flowers with an arrowhead form.  Despite its Arizona provenance, this plant is not native to the low desert and is not expected to be particularly xeric,  but how could I resist a columbine with such a species name...?  It appears to be very vigourous, as it perked up immediately on being planted.  (This is also the subject of the opening photo.)

Lastly, there is a native sage: Salvia reptans, the West Texas grass sage, with its slender leaves, later (we hope!) to be adorned with true blue flowers.

Not so new - though this is the first time I have featured them - are a couple of David Austin roses planted into the central bed some weeks ago.  They are thriving, healthily clad in new foliage; but the light was failing as I took pictures so I include only this one of "Wollerton Old Hall", just by the patio.  Full of promise!