Wednesday, July 10, 2013

A Dark Cousin

Many gardeners know about Rose Campion, with its screaming-bright magenta flowers that are dotted atop beautiful silver colored foliage.

Rose Campion
 Rose Campion, meet your cousin - Arkwright's Campion.

Arkwright's Campion 'Vesuvius'
Also a short-lived perennial, this Campion makes an equally impressive, if different, statement in the garden.


The flowers are a molten-orange color, only made brighter by the dark foliage that acts as the perfect foil.

There's a reason that the cultivar 'Vesuvius' was named after a volcano!
Like Rose Campion, Arkwright's Campion likes sun or partial shade. It first flowers in late spring or early summer, with deadheading encouraging more flowers.  This hybrid perennial is supposed to be quite short lived, but it should self-seed with plants that are similar to the parent flower.


According to some sources, Arkwright's Campion is more temperamental and not as hardy as some of its other relatives (which might actually be a good thing, since others in this family can become invasive due to their prolific self-seeding).  This is the first year my mother-in-law has had it in her garden, so we shall see!  


So far, we're loving it.

22 comments:

  1. What a beauty! A classy orange plant if ever I saw one. I hope it seeds itself freely enough for your mother-in-law to enjoy more of this gorgeous Lychnis in her garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's saved some seed already, and shared some with me! Hopefully the seeds will grow well!

      Delete
  2. Oh my oh my, the orange and the chocolate colored leaves are awesome. Rose campion just doesn't do it for me but Arkwright does!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love bright colors, so I enjoy both. Rose campion is a hard one to match with other companion plants in the garden, though. Those flowers are so bright!

      Delete
  3. Hi Indie, it's been far too long since I've visited! Now, reading back on your posts I've missed, I see you've moved! What a transition this must be, and I can only imagine how hard it was to give up your beautiful garden. I loved seeing all the before and after pictures, and I wait to see what new adventures you'll be having in your new garden. I have never grown rose campion, I don't know why, it's stunning. And the new one is really a beauty too. I love those pink lady slippers at your mother in law's house, they are a treasure. We have yellow ones here from Carl's grandfather and I'm always happy to see them each spring.

    So good to visit with you again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've both been pretty busy this summer! I haven't been able to be on the blogosphere nearly as much as I've wanted to this year, either, with all the transition. I'd love to see yellow lady slippers - I'll bet they are gorgeous!

      Delete
  4. Thank you for introducing me to this plant. It is stunning with its bright orange against dark foliage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The foliage really sets it off. Orange is Mr. Red House's favorite color, so I love finding new orange flowers!

      Delete
  5. gorgeous! I'll have to remember this one

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't heard of it until my mother-in-law got it. Very pretty!

      Delete
  6. Hard to say "no" to that color.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a beautiful orange, isn't it? I know some gardeners don't like orange, but I love it!

      Delete
  7. I have never heard about this one and I love plants with dark leaves, I wish I had room for it in my Dahlia corner, it would look gorgeous together with my bright yellow and orange dahlias...but alas, that area is tightly packed already!
    I hope it does well in your mother-in-law's garden and maybe it will end up in your new garden too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's given me some seeds, so I will hopefully have some very similar looking ones next year. Since it's a hybrid, there's no way of knowing what the babies are going to look like, but I hope I get flowers that are as beautiful orange as those!

      Delete
  8. I love it too and will note it for future reference.....stunning flower to foliage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely a little different, with such a color contrast! The shade of orange is so vibrant!

      Delete
  9. Wow! I have never seen these since I'm not sure campion can grow here. Sometimes these types of flowers are offered in winter here in Texas. That second one is a knockout! I can see why you love it. It's on my 'search' list as of today.
    David/:0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm..I've found it listed to zone 9 or 10, but I feel like I've read somewhere that some campions do better in northern climates. Maybe if you grew it in the shade there? Hope it will grow there for you!

      Delete
  10. This is one gorgeous plant. Kind of like a dahlia only not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it reminds me a little of those dark leaved dahlias. They are definitely attention getters!

      Delete
  11. Absolutely love that dark foliage! And the red flower on top is quite beautiful - so bright and colorful. I love flowers that refuse to be ignored!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I too like the dark leaves, a nice contrast with the bright flowers.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...