Plant of the Month: Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’
Posted:9 June 2014
Much of the talk at Chelsea Flower Show centered on the purple, plum and maroon colour trend that featured in several of the gardens this year. One variety in particular stood out for us – the Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’ (commonly known as Gooseneck Loosestrife). Above image: Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’ www.crocus.co.uk
In their review of the 2014 Chelsea show garden trends, The English Garden magazine’s writing team wrote: “The dark burgundy spikes of Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’ appeared on Hugo Bugg’s gold-medal winning rain garden and the Brewin Dolphin garden by Matthew Childs, among others. Well-performing dark plants will always be in demand for garden borders with a bit of extra oomph, and this loosestrife is a really special addition, which flower continuously from May to September. Silvery foliage offers a wonderful contrast to the flowers. The plant reaches about half a metre in height and width, and will spread slowly if given a moist soil in sun or part shade. Butterflies and bees love it, and so did we, whether planted with pale blue irises or alongside an astrantia of a similar purple-red tone.”
Lysimachia atropurpurea is a biennial or short-lived perennial of the family Primulaceae and should not be confused with the noxious weed Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Its flowers are a rich burgundy-purple shade with contrasting crinkled grey-green leaves marked with pale veins.
- Easy to grow and fully hardy
- Mid-to late summer flowering (it makes an excellent cut flower)
- Full sun or part shade
- Height: 24-36 in. (60-90 cm), spacing: 15-18 in. (38-45 cm)
- Will tolerate pretty much any spoil type from sandy to clay, though it prefers average moisture levels to reasonably moist (incorporate lots of organic matter when planting)
- Great for border or container planting; looks particularly wonderful if massed together in a swathe through a deeper border
- It is very attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds
There are many other plants within this dark hued palette that we like to use, either within the border, to accent and show off other colours, or individually in containers. Some of our favourites are Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’, Sedum ‘Matrona’, Rosa x gallica Charles de Mills, Cosmos atrosanguineus (chocolate cosmos), Aquilegia vulgaris Black Barlow, the statuesque Angelica gigas – and there are many more from Dahlias to Heucheras, Phormiums to Sambucus nigra, Ipomoea to Ajuga.
Check them out, we hope you’ll become fans if you’re not already!
PHOTO CREDITS: Lysimachia atropurpurea ‘Beaujolais’ www.crocus.co.uk; Angelica gigas – www.secretsdejardins.e-monsite.com