Speedwell Zöe

Like Lavender, Hyssop is considered a low woody subshrub. It works well in similar planting schemes, with roses or even in steppe-style gravel beds. It can be used in the kitchen and as a medicinal plant. A huge attraction for bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. Sweet pink flowers.

This species of sage originates from the steppe regions of Central and Eastern Europe. It forms profusely flowering small clumps with straight, upright stems. In flower beds, it looks best in groups. It is traditionally planted as a companion to roses due to the matching flowering time. However, it looks equally good in mixed drought-tolerant steppe plantings with grasses. It is an excellent food source for bees. Lasts 7 days in a vase. Amethyst is an elegant variety with long stems and a pink flower color that is unusual for sages.

This species of Salvia originally comes from the steppe regions of Central and Eastern Europe. It forms richly flowering small clumps with straight upright stems. In beds, it looks best in groups. Traditionally, it is planted as a companion to roses due to the same flowering time. However, it will look equally good in mixed drought-loving steppe plantings with grasses. It lasts 7 days in a vase. 'Blauhügel' blooms blue.

The original species of this Veronica can be found in nature on damp meadows and on the banks of watercourses. It is perfect for cutting and, depending on conditions, works well in flower beds in combination with roses or, conversely, in naturalistic plantings. It belongs to hardy and long-lived perennials. It lasts about 7 days in a vase. Its slender spikes look particularly beautiful in combination with Daisy or Yarrow flowers. Excellent forage for bees and butterflies. The white variant of the Skyler series bred for cutting, with long flower spikes. It blooms in the very first year and repeats flowering well in subsequent seasons.

An interesting tuberous perennial with flowers that bloom from the top. This peculiarity even gave it its second Czech name – 'shorakvět' (top-flower). Most plants actually bloom the opposite way, from the bottom up. The purple flowers of a distinctive shape attract bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. Also interesting for bouquets.

An original wild perennial with a large distribution area from Europe to Siberia. Suitable for natural and wild plantings. It grows in meadows and dry grassy places. A very adaptable and undemanding plant, it grows in clumps and spreads via runners. Cutting back after the first flowering encourages a new set of flowers. We harvest for bouquets when the florets are fully open. They last 10 days in a vase.

The original species of this Veronica can be found in nature on damp meadows and on the banks of watercourses. It is perfect for cutting and, depending on conditions, works well in flower beds in combination with roses or, conversely, in naturalistic plantings. It belongs to hardy and long-lived perennials. It lasts about 7 days in a vase. Its slender spikes look particularly beautiful in combination with Daisy or Yarrow flowers. Excellent forage for bees and butterflies. The blue variant of the Skyler series bred for cutting, with long flower spikes. It blooms in the very first year and repeats flowering well in subsequent seasons.

Perovskia are sparsely branched subshrubs, originating from areas ranging from Afghanistan to Tibet. They grow in open, sunny, rocky, and stony habitats. Their white-felted shoots and grayish aromatic leaves are striking. They fit well in sunny flower beds with other drought-loving perennials, where they create interesting structures even in the winter months. Little Spire is a smaller cultivar suitable even for pots with a soil volume of 7 liters or more.

Cosmos Cherry Chocolate is a garden cultivar of the original wild species native to Mexico. Due to its striking scent, it is also called chocolate cosmos. Besides the fragrance and unusual coloring, its great advantage is the long flowering period. In our conditions, it will thrive best in a pot on the terrace; we can also sink it, pot and all, into perennial beds and remove it for winter. Cherry Chocolate has the largest flowers of all chocolate cosmos varieties – they can reach up to 7 cm in diameter.

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

Forms a delicate, airy bush. Compared to Aster ericoides, the flowers are less numerous, placed singly at the ends of branch tips, which gives the plant an airy effect. The plant has a very delicate appearance. It is beautiful in combination with other late asters and ornamental grasses. Healthy and long-blooming, the pink flower is slightly larger than that of Aster ericoides. Lasts 7 to 10 days in a vase.

Lady's mantle naturally grows on mountain pastures and meadows and in mixed forests. It is ornamental in both 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 drops of dew that appear in the pleated leaves. Valuable for florists for its multitude of tiny greenish-yellow flowers. Important in flower beds for its ground-covering character. Lasts 10 days in a vase.

Agastache rugosa comes from regions of China and Japan. Its toothed leaves resemble nettle leaves but do not sting, and when rubbed between fingers, they release a minty-anise fragrance. It is a stable, upright growing plant. Hardy and robust, it successfully handles our winters too. Interesting for cutting even after flowering. It lasts 7 days in a vase. Black Adder is a stout and, with its dark color, strikingly contrasting cultivar with a very long flowering period.

Hellebores are evergreen perennials that form slowly spreading clumps of leathery, dark green leaves. The stems usually bear four to five flowers. They bloom very early, as early as late winter and early spring. They are usable for vases only after conspicuous seed pods form in the center of the flower and the flower matures. Earlier, they tend to wilt and the stems cannot hold the flower in an upright position. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Double Ellen Red is a double-flowered hellebore with rounded petals of dark burgundy red color with a lighter undertone on the bottom row of petals.

Helenium originates from North America, where it occurs on damp meadows. It grows upright and in clumps. The inflorescences form small "suns" with a diameter of 5 cm. Hence their scientific name Helenium. A great perennial for cutting with a long durability of up to 14 days. Helena Red Shades blooms in shades from red to copper.

A lesser-known, taller species of Catmint. In our country, it occurs naturally only rarely in northwest and central Bohemia and southern and central Moravia, where it grows on shrubby slopes and pastures. It is considered a critically endangered species.

Catmints are ideal companions for roses, suitable for naturalistic gardens, and lower species also for boxes and pots. Some of them are an irresistible attraction for cats, caused by the hallucinogen nepetalactone. This should be present in the highest amount in the species Nepeta cataria. Conversely, lemon-scented catmints reportedly do not attract cats. The botanical name Nepeta likely comes from the name of the ancient Etruscan city Nepet - Nepi in the territory of today's Italian province of Viterbo, where the plant was once cultivated. Nepeta racemosa naturally grows on dry meadows and rocky, stony slopes from the Caucasus to Central Asia. It has aromatic grey-green leaves and forms a tufted semi-spherical bush. Walker’s Low got its name after an Irish estate where it was bred in 1970. It has the most intense blue-violet flower coloration.

Feather grass flowers capture attention in beds and bouquets with their lightness and delicacy. All feather grasses love full sun and dry, stony, well-drained soil. To look most natural in beds, it is good to plant them in loose groups of several pieces together with other drought-loving perennials and bulbs. Only then do their stems and inflorescences, set in motion by the slightest breath of wind, truly stand out. Stipa 'Ponny Tails' is a species native to the steppes of Mexico, Texas, and Patagonia. Airy, dense clumps of hair-like delicate leaves resemble horsehair. The leaves are green, turning up to straw-colored towards the flowers. In a suitable location, it also self-seeds.

A perennial species of Verbena native to North America. In natural habitats, it grows in wet meadows, pastures, and along water bodies. It is a great attraction for bees and butterflies. Although not very long-lived, it can maintain itself in good conditions by self-seeding. It blooms gradually over a long period with many tiny flowers. The spent inflorescences are also effective, both in beds and in bouquets. White Spires is an elegant cultivar with pure white flowers.

Anemones come from the same family as buttercups. With their elegant flowers on long slender stems, they can enliven and brighten up late summer and autumn flowerbeds. They stand out against the darker background of shrub groups and will also appreciate their partial shade. The Czech Perennial Association chose autumn anemones as the perennial of the season for 2022. They last 7 days in a vase. Andrea Atkinson is a tender cultivar of autumn anemone with white petals.

Phlox is originally a perennial native to North America. It soon achieved great popularity in European gardens and has been systematically bred since the 19th century. It is a classic perennial for cutting into bouquets, where, in addition to colorful flowers, it also delights with a gentle fragrance. We harvest as soon as roughly half the flowers in the inflorescence have bloomed; then they last up to 10 days in a vase. Despite efforts to breed the most resistant cultivars, it remains true that Phlox reacts extremely sensitively to climate and soil conditions, so we carefully pay attention to the correct choice of site. The Sweet Summer series includes cultivars bred for greater resistance to fungal diseases. Sweet Summer Ocean is a very special cultivar introduced to the market in 2012. It is characterized by the color variability of flowers during the day. In cool mornings, the flowers are blue; as temperatures rise, they fade, and by noon they transition to purple-pink.

Moor grass forms low hemispherical clumps of narrow leaves, from which strikingly tall flower stems grow at the beginning of summer. They can grow up to 180 cm and during autumn, like the leaves, they change color to gorgeous golden-yellow shades. The Karl Foerster cultivar excels with firm upright growth.

Panicle hydrangeas are beautiful shrubs originating from China and Japan, where their bark was used, among other things, to make paper. We grow them for their impressive conical inflorescences. They are undemanding and richly flowering plants suitable for planting in beds and larger containers. Pink Diamond has 30 cm large inflorescences, initially cream-colored, which later change to pink.

Meadow sage occurs here primarily in warmer regions, especially in southern Moravia and northern and central Bohemia. It grows on sunny meadows and hillsides and along paths. Fragrant leaves form a basal rosette, from which several less leafy branched stems grow. The inflorescences are composed of striking bilabiate flowers, which are a great attraction for bees and bumblebees. Rose Rhapsody has light pink flowers.

A perennial of delicate appearance with upright thin stems. It blooms repeatedly throughout the summer until autumn. The florets are purple, tiny, and delicate. The leaves are also delicate and linear. It lasts 14 days in a vase.

A short-lived perennial with silvery, softly felted stems and leaves. It blooms for a very long time; a new flower opens every day to replace the previous one. The standard species has single, purple-pink flowers.

A perennial species of Verbena native to North America. In natural habitats, it grows in wet meadows, pastures, and along water bodies. It is a great attraction for bees and butterflies. Although not very long-lived, it can maintain itself in good conditions by self-seeding. It blooms gradually over a long period with many tiny flowers. The spent inflorescences are also effective, both in beds and in bouquets. The Blue Spires cultivar blooms violet-blue.

A perennial species of Verbena native to North America. In natural habitats, it grows in wet meadows, pastures, and along water bodies. It is a great attractant for bees and butterflies. Although not very long-lived, it can maintain itself by self-seeding in good conditions. It blooms gradually over a long period with many tiny flowers. The spent flower heads are also effective, both in beds and bouquets. The cultivar Pink Spires stands out with a sturdy upright habit and flowers in a soft pink color.