Digitalis parviflora – small-flowered foxglove
A poisonous plant in good Company at the Loki-Schmidt Garten in Hamburg
The Botanic Garden of Hamburg, Loki-Schmidt-Garten, planted the small-flowered foxglove in an extraordinary display this year. Before, I only remember seeing it in the poisonous plant section, where it didn’t make a big impression and looked rather underwhelming, as an example of poisonous plants among others, planted without any aesthetic intention.
But now the small-flowered foxglove, digitalis parviflora, is planted as one of the key plants of a beautiful display in full sun in an area close to the garden entrance.
The foxglove gives the arrangement a wonderful structure with its upright inflorescences. Colourwise the whole display is held in brown/dark reddish and white, which I personally found surprisingly sophisticated. Maybe I was surprised as I normally don´t react very emotional to brown shades, except in the autumn.
Here you see the architectural structure of the foxglove in stunning combination with the white-flowered Berkheya cirsiifolia (Mohata-o-Mashoeu / Südafrikanische Distel) and the tall grass in the background Stipa gigantea (Needle Grass).
The same spot from a higher distance shows the dark/violet Sedum telephium ›Xenox‹ and the red tips of the Imperata cylindrica ›Red Baron‹ (form of Alang-Alang Grass).
Again the red-tipped grass Imperata cylindrica ›Red Baron‹ runs through the whole design. The high grass Stipa gigantea is the centrepiece of this patch.
In the front and around the stipa gigantea lives the white-flowered Salvia nemorosa ›Schneehügel‹ (Wild or Woodland Sage /German: Zierform der Steppen-Salbei), which also appears through the whole arrangement.
Different kind of fennels like the Seseli hippomaratarum (Horse Moon Carrot / Pferde Bergfenchel) can be found. As well as differnet kind of thistles. Here in the front: Ptilostemon afer (German: Elfenbeindistel).
In this picture you can even spot a Sea Kale in the front.
Another impressive fennel: Peucedanum officinale (Hog’s Fennel)
In the front is a Helleboros.
Unfortunally this picture does not capture the beauty of the flowers of Seseli hippomaratarum (Horse Moon Carrot / German: Pferde Bergfenchel) in the front…
Other plants scattered through the arrangment are: Morina longifolia (Whorl Flower / Germn: Nepal-Kardendistel), Serratula tinctoria (Alpine Saw Wort / German: Färber-Scharte), as well as others of which I didn´t catch the name…
Digitalis parviflora
Growing Region: zones 4-8
Height: ca 60 cm
Sun exposure: Dappled shade, full sun, partial shade
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Clay / heavy / moist / well drained / light / sandy
Digitalis parviflora on Plants of the World Online (POWO) by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew