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Lilium 'Red Velvet'

I got back from a most enjoyable week in the United States this morning - there are many interesting things to post about over the next few days - but here are a few plants looking good in the garden today.

Asclepias purpurascens - a milkweed from the eastern United States. Unlike some, it doesn't spread by stolons, and is slowly bulking up to make a tight clump.

Clematis 'Prince Charles'

This magnificent mullein is a hybrid between V. thapsus and V. nigrum, and appeared spontaneously in my parents' garden. It has inherited the purple anthers and branching habit of V. nigrum, but its height comes from V. thapsus. We are hoping that it will prove to be perennial like V. nigrum and that it can therefore be propagated vegetatively (most hybrid mulleins are sterile).