What’s In Bloom?

16, Jul, 2010 Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy

by Matthew Lobdell

Color Wheel Stokes’ Aster (Stokesia laevis ‘Color Wheel’)

A perennial native to the Southeastern United States, Stokes’ Aster is named for Dr. Jonathan Stokes, an English physician and botanist. The cultivar ‘Color Wheel’ is known for having flowers varying from lavender to purple, with sometimes as many as five shades on a single plant. Stokes’ Aster can be seen flowering in the Fort Point Channel and Dewey Square Parks.

Stokesia Laevis Color Wheel

Neon Showy Stonecrop (Hylotelephium spectabile ‘Neon’)

Neon Showy Stonecrop is beginning to flower in the Fort Point Channel Parks. Though the flowers are a pale pink now, the plant will produce rose-pink blooms as it continues to flower. Native to Japan, the name stonecrop refers to the plants ability to survive on rock edges. A New England Native relative is Wild Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) which flowered in the Wharf District early this spring.

Hylotelephium Spectabile 'Neon'

Mardi Gras Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)

Originally native to the Southern and Eastern United states, Mardi Gras Sneezeweed is often planted as a garden perennial due to its yellow and orange flowers which bloom for upwards of six to eight weeks. Mardi Gras Sneezeweed is currently flowering in the Fort Point Channel Parks.

Helenium Mardi Gras

Also in Bloom:

  • North End Parks: Daylilies (Hemerocallis), Magnus Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia)
  • Wharf District Parks: Marsh Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), Pink Tickseed (Coreopsis rosea), Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa)
  • Urban Arboretum: Karl Foerster Feather Reedgrass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)
  • Fort Point Channel Parks: Tri-color Butterfly Bush (Buddleia discolor ‘Tri-color’), Shortwood Summer Phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘Shortwood’), Big Sky™ Summer Sky Coneflower (Echinacea ‘Katie Saul’)
  • Dewey Square Park: Goldsturm Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’), English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Purple Hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum ‘Atropurpureum’)