Bluebeard Heavenly Blue

Hyssop, similar to lavender, is classified as a low woody subshrub. It can be used in similar types of plantings, with roses or in gravel beds of a steppe character. It also has culinary and medicinal uses. A great attraction for bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. Sweet pink flower color.

This South American Verbena species is often grown as an annual here, but in mild winters, it can survive and self-seed. Its sturdy, airy stems beautifully soften perennial beds and add a special touch with their purple color. It perfectly complements steppe plantings with grasses and rose beds.

Gaura is a clump-forming perennial native to Texas and Louisiana. In our climate, it behaves more like a short-lived perennial. It combines beautifully with grasses and adds lightness and airiness to flowerbeds. It is an excellent food source for insects. Tiny, butterfly-like flowers bloom tirelessly from June until the first frosts. For bouquets, we harvest as soon as the first two to three flowers open on the stem. Siskiyou Pink is a beautiful variety with rose-red flowers on slightly arched stems. Less hardy than white-flowering varieties. The red-spotted leaves are also interesting.

A valuable garden and medicinal perennial, native to North America. It blooms in late summer and captivates with long, hanging petals. Its spiky flower heads are an irresistible magnet for butterflies. Lasts 7–10 days in a vase. After the petals are picked, the stems with the central cones can be dried or used as an interesting element in fresh bouquets.

This species of sage originally comes from the steppe regions of Central and Eastern Europe. It forms richly flowering small clumps with straight, upright stems. In flower beds, it looks best in groups. Traditionally, it is planted as an accompaniment to roses for its coincident flowering time. However, it will also look great in mixed xerophilous steppe plantings with grasses. It is an excellent food source for bees. It lasts 7 days in a vase. Amethyst is an elegant variety with long stems and an unusual pink flower color for sage.

A valuable garden and medicinal perennial, native to North America. The spiky flower cones are an irresistible magnet for butterflies. They last 7–10 days in a vase. After the petals are picked, the stems with the central cones can be dried or used in fresh bouquets as an interesting element. White Swan blooms with milky white flowers with brown-orange centers. The petals are not spread out completely horizontally; they bend slightly downwards.

Stipa flowers captivate in beds and bouquets with their lightness and delicacy. All stipas love full sun and dry, stony, well-drained soil. To make them look as natural as possible in beds, it is good to plant them in several pieces in loose groups along with other drought-tolerant perennials and bulbs. Only then will their stems and inflorescences come alive with the slightest breath of wind. 'Ponny Tails' is a species native to the steppes of Mexico, Texas, and Patagonia. Airy, dense tufts of hair-like, delicate leaves resemble horsehair. The leaves are green, turning straw-colored towards the flowers. It even self-seeds in a suitable location.

Malé keříky s voňavými šedostříbrnými výhonky a listy. Nápadně zbarvené kvítky jsou nahloučené v hustých latách. V zahradě dokáže navodit letní atmosféru ještě dlouho do podzimu. Velmi dobře snáší sucho a miluje teplo. Perfektně zapadne do středomořsky laděných výsadeb. Je oblíbený u včel, čmeláků a motýlů. Okrasný i po odkvětu díky dekorativním plodenstvím. 

A valuable garden and medicinal perennial, native to North America. It blooms in summer with dark purplish-pink flowers. The spiky flower heads are an irresistible magnet for butterflies. Lasts 7–10 days in a vase. After the petals are picked, the stems with the central heads can be dried or used in fresh bouquets as an interesting element. Rubinstern is very similar to the Magnus cultivar; the petals are darker and firmer. As they fade, they gradually lighten and bend downwards.

A perennial that finds its use in naturalistic steppe and gravel beds. It attracts bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. It's floristically valuable for its flowers with striking bracts, which are also perfect for drying. The roots of some species were once candied as sweets in England and France and added to pastries and jellies. In herbal medicine, it was used, among other things, as an aphrodisiac, hence its folk name 'male fidelity'.

Hyssop, similar to lavender, is classified as a low woody subshrub. It can be used in similar types of plantings, with roses or in steppe-like gravel beds. It also has culinary and medicinal uses. A great attraction for bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. Beautiful blue flower color.

Small shrubs with fragrant grey-silver shoots and leaves. The strikingly colored flowers are clustered in dense panicles. In the garden, they can evoke a summer atmosphere long into autumn. They tolerate drought very well and love warmth. They fit perfectly into Mediterranean-inspired plantings. Popular with bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. Pagoda Dark pink is an interspecific hybrid valued by florists for its perfectly long and straight stems, with a striking rich pink flower color.

Catananche is a medium-tall, short-lived perennial. It originates from the Mediterranean and is therefore suitable for areas with milder winters. Attractive blue flowers that resemble chicory. The undeveloped flower buds are also beautiful, as are the silvery faded inflorescences. Also suitable for drying. Fresh, they last 7 days in a vase.

Gaura is a clump-forming perennial native to Texas and Louisiana. Here, it behaves more like a short-lived perennial. It combines beautifully with grasses, adding lightness and airiness to flowerbeds. It is an excellent food source for insects. Tiny flowers, resembling small butterflies, bloom tirelessly from June until the first frosts. For bouquets, harvest as soon as the first two to three flowers open on the stem. Whirling Butterflies blooms with pure white flowers that gradually acquire a pink tint. The buds also tend to be pinkish. It is characterized by compact growth and abundant flowering.

Coneflowers (Rudbeckia) originate from North America and are robust and profusely flowering perennials of late summer and autumn. They are suitable for prairie plantings with tall grasses and for country gardens by cottages. The central cones, after the seeds ripen, look very effective and adorn perennial beds even through winter. For vases, harvest them as soon as they bloom. Vase life is 7 to 10 days. Dry central cones can also be used. Goldsturm is its most famous cultivar. It has bright golden-yellow flowers with dark centers.

Meadow Sage (Salvia pratensis) occurs predominantly in warmer regions in our country, especially in southern Moravia and northern and central Bohemia. It grows on sunny meadows and hillsides and along roadsides. Fragrant leaves form a basal rosette, from which several less leafy, branched stems emerge. The inflorescences are composed of prominent lipped flowers, which are a great attraction for bees and bumblebees. 'Sweet Esmeralda' has intensely pink flowers.

Phlomis is a valuable structural perennial originating from the Greek islands and Turkey. It's also known as Jerusalem sage. In plantings, it's used as a groundcover and can even be successfully grown under trees. Both the flowers and the stems with their impressive fruits are suitable for cutting. If left untrimmed in autumn, they will adorn beds throughout winter, as will the dense carpet of leaves. Phlomis is also attractive to pollinators.

Gaura is a clump-forming perennial native to Texas and Louisiana. Here, it tends to behave more like a short-lived perennial. It combines beautifully with grasses, adding lightness and airiness to flower beds. It's an excellent food source for insects. Tiny, butterfly-like flowers bloom tirelessly from June until the first frosts. For bouquets, harvest as soon as the first two or three flowers open on the stem. Summer Breeze has an abundant display of white and pink flowers. It is robust and resilient.

An impressive solitary perennial with a robust, sparsely branched growth habit. It produces light yellowish-green, scabious-like flowers on long stems. The contrast between the relatively massive foliage and the airy, wiry stems with small flower heads is very striking. It lasts about 5 days in a vase. The spent inflorescences are also interesting in beds and bouquets.

The original species of this Speedwell (rozrazil) can be found in nature in moist meadows and along riverbanks. It is perfectly suited for cutting and, depending on conditions, can be used in beds in combination with roses or in naturalistic plantings. It belongs to the resilient and long-lived perennials. In a vase, it lasts about 7 days. Its slender spikes look especially beautiful combined with the flowers of daisies or yarrow. An excellent pasture for bees and butterflies. This is the blue variant of the Skyler series, bred for cutting, with long flower spikes. It blooms in the first year and repeats flowering well in subsequent seasons.

Catmints are ideal companions for roses, suitable for natural-style gardens and, the smaller varieties, for window boxes and pots. Some of them are an irresistible attraction for cats, due to the hallucinogen nepetalactone. This should be present in the highest degree in the species Nepeta cataria. Conversely, lemon-scented catmints reportedly do not attract cats. The botanical name Nepeta probably comes from the ancient Etruscan city of Nepet - Nepi in today's Italian province of Viterbo, where the plant was once cultivated. The faassenii group is characterized by vigorous upright growth, delicate foliage, and long stems suitable for cutting. 'Walker's Low' got its name from the Irish estate where it was bred in 1970. It has the most intense blue-purple flower coloration.

A valuable garden and medicinal perennial, native to North America. It blooms in late summer and captivates with long, hanging petals. Its spiky flower heads are an irresistible magnet for butterflies. Lasts 7–10 days in a vase. After the petals are picked, the stems with the central cones can be dried or used as an interesting element in fresh bouquets. Hulla Dancer has white petals with a pink tint.

This Phlomis grows wild in Central and Southeast Europe, and in our country, it is a critically endangered species. The stems are purple and bear rough, heart-shaped leaves. The flowers are pinkish-purple, and the dry seed capsules are also ornamental. It creates a striking decorative element even in winter. The combination with soft, loose plantings of grasses and perennials, into which Phlomis brings a strict graphic accent, is particularly impressive.

Nenáročná a skromná trvalka, která vykvétá velkým množstvím drobných kvítků. Kvete rekordně dlouhou dobu po celé pozdní léto a podzim. Tvoří menší kompaktní vzdušné keříky, které vydávají mátově kořenitou vůní. Květy podobné tymiánu lákají včely, čmeláky a motýly. Dobře bude vypadat mezi růžemi i v přírodně pojatých stepních záhonech třeba s nižšími trávami. 

Poblekla (Cupidone) is a medium-height, short-lived perennial. It originates from the Mediterranean and is therefore suitable for areas with milder winters. Its flowers are white and similar in shape to chicory. The unopened flower buds are also attractive, as are the silvery spent inflorescences. It is also suitable for drying. Fresh in a vase, it lasts 7 days. Alba has white flowers.

In nature, it is found in steppes on dry pastures and rocky slopes of Central and Southern Europe. It is a well-known floristically utilized plant. Excellent for use fresh or dried. For drying, select only stems with fully bloomed flowers. Hang flowers upside down in a dry, airy, and dark place.

They grow naturally in the region from Southern Europe to Turkey and Central Asia. These are decorative and undemanding plants suitable for natural perennial gardens. Spherical flowers attract bees and butterflies. They last a very long time in a vase and look gorgeous in summer bouquets; they are also suitable for drying. Star Frost is a pure white form of Banat globe thistle, growing relatively compactly, with flowers about the size of a golf ball. The leaves are deep green on top, grayish-green on the underside.

Perovskia are sparsely branched subshrubs, native to areas from Afghanistan to Tibet. They grow in open, sunny, rocky, and stony habitats. Their striking features are their white, felted shoots and grayish, aromatic leaves. They are suitable for sunny beds alongside other drought-tolerant perennials, where they create interesting structures even in winter months. Blue Spire is an aromatic cultivar with delicate grey-green foliage and striking, airy, medium-blue flowers.

Lady's mantle naturally grows in mountain pastures and meadows, and in mixed forests. It is ornamental both in leaf and flower. The leaves have fine hairs, giving the plant a velvety character. It is a perennial sought after by ancient alchemists for the dew drops that appear in the leaf fans. Valuable for florists for its abundance of tiny greenish-yellow flowers. Important in beds for its ground-covering nature. It lasts 10 days in a vase.