Foxglove

These beautiful biennials are on my short list of most-favorite-flowers-ever. Why I don’t fill an entire garden with them I don’t know, but I hope to find room for at least a few more in our little “grove” by the shed. When Madison was just a wee little thing, she made up her own names for the flowers in our garden and she called foxgloves “Bee Houses.” It delighted us both to watch the bees climb all the way up inside each flower. A bee house, indeed. Then, when they set seed, she would take each tiny pod and scatter the dust-fine seeds around the garden for the next generation of plants (which usually flowered in shades of white.) I’ve learned that in our garden, foxglove like a humus-rich soil, consistent (but not wet) moisture, and dappled sunlight. Give them those three things and they’ll put on quite a show–especially if you snip the center stalk after it’s gone to seed, it will continue to send up new flowers for the rest of the season. There are around 20 species of Digitalis, and some exciting new varieties with flowers held more horizontally as to better see the pretty spots inside. These are on my wish list for spring.