Laden with nectar, shade tolerant, slug proof, and architectural, you can never have enough foxgloves in the garden, and the perennial forms deserve to be more widely grown.
Most cultivated foxgloves are our native Digitalis purpurea or hybrids of it: being biennial, they flower in their second year and then self-seed. However, of the 27 species of Digitalis, most are perennials, meaning they will flower annually for several years; despite this boon, they are a rare sight in gardens. Possessing great structure and blooming in stylish colours (from soft yellow to bronze), they are superb in a border scheme, and, even better, they offer the enchantment that our beloved wild foxglove injects the garden with.
One of our most well-known native wildflowers, the biennial D. purpurea adorns the fringes of British woodland in June and July. Laced with poison and growing in distinctive upright spikes like witches’ wands, the flowers hum with bees. Long-tongued bumblebees crawl into the pink-purple hoods, momentarily disappearing while they gather nectar. Associated with faeries and witchcraft, foxgloves are steeped in folklore: in the north of England, it was considered unlucky to bring them into the home, and, in Wales, foxglove dye was used to mark the house, in order to protect it. The flower’s many common names include witches’ thimbles, faery’s cap, and dead man’s bells. The latter of course denotes the toxicity of all foxgloves – including the perennial forms – so if you have young children or a puppy, plant them safely at the back of the border, out of reach.
Both biennial and perennial foxgloves fare best in semi-shade, but they will grow happily in sun or shade, as long as the soil is not too dry or too wet. Humus-rich earth is ideal, providing drainage and moisture retention. If you want to grow perennial foxgloves in sunny gravel beds, there are a few that will play ball, including Digitalis lanata. Most of the perennials are relatively short-lived plants (lasting for 3 to 5 years), but, in the right conditions, they can flower for longer, and, since most will readily self-seed themselves around the garden, this short-lived habit is nothing to lament.
Like the biennial forms, they can be used to provide vertical accents, and are often better at it, with some (such as D. ferruginea) growing in slick, statuesque spires. Dotted through the front or middle of the border, they allow the plants behind to be seen, whilst creating visual full stops and a sense of depth. Growing upwards from small clumps, they will slot into even the tiniest garden and can be grown in containers. Plant perennial foxgloves amongst roses, other perennials, and grasses in sun, or with ferns, columbines, and cranesbills in shade. Reminiscent of the wildflower, they fit effortlessly into the current trend for naturalistic planting, bringing the look and feel of the wild into our gardens and filling the air with the contented hum of bees.
1. Digitalis grandiflora AGM
For a classic foxglove shape
Position: Sun or light shade
Height: 60-90cm
A gorgeous foxglove that looks like a primrose-yellow version of the common foxglove but will flower year after year in June and July. Bumblebees visit the large flowers, using the hairs inside the veined hoods to clamber up to the nectar. In the right position, this perennial can live for a long time and will self-seed.
2. Digitalis ferruginea AGM
For vertical accents
Position: Sun or light shade
Height: 90-120cm
A tall, stylish foxglove for the contemporary garden, the rusty foxglove has rounded copper and lemon flowers with chocolate veining throughout summer. Producing slender spires of tightly packed blooms that dry into attractive seedheads, it is great for vertical punctuation marks in the border. The variety ‘Gigantea’ can reach 1.5m. This short-lived evergreen perennial is easy to grow from seed and self-sows. It can cope with dry soil, even in shade.
3. Digitalis x mertonensis AGM
For a cottage garden
Position: Sun or part shade
Height: 60-90cm
Generous dusky-pink bells on stout stems adorn the charming strawberry foxglove in early summer. Being a cross between the common biennial foxglove and the perennial Digitalis grandiflora, it can be divided each year (in spring or after flowering) to ensure flowers each year. It can also be grown from seed.
4. Digitalis obscura
For a gravel border
Position: Sun
Height: 50-70cm
A shrubby perennial foxglove from Spain, this likes sun and will even thrive in poor, dry soil, making it ideal for a gravel garden. During early summer, the bell flowers open in the warm hues of a sunset: butterscotch, ginger, and dark pink. Also known as the willow-leaved foxglove, it has slender leaves that make the plant resemble a penstemon. Easy to raise from seed and happiest in the milder southern half of the UK.
5. Digitalis lutea AGM
For lighting up a shady corner
Position: Sun or part shade
Height: 60-100cm
A wonderful skinny foxglove that works in naturalistic and modern planting schemes. Elegant, slim candles of palest cream above slender green leaves, during summer, with bees visiting the small trumpet flowers. It is reliably perennial, flowering for several years, and self-sows in the right conditions.
6. Digitalis lanata ‘Café Crème’
For structure
Position: Sun or light shade
Height: 60 to 90cm
Unbranched slim columns of densely packed rounded blooms give this evergreen perennial much architectural presence in the summer border. The flowers are gold, white, and cappuccino with distinctive veining and offset by woolly grey evergreen leaves. Enjoys open sun and can cope with drier soils, such as a gravel bed. The species produces the heart medicine digoxin.
7. Digitalis x valinii ‘Firebird’
For colour
Position: Sun or part shade
Height: 80-90cm
This recent introduction has honey, peach, and raspberry flowers on dark stems, above lance-shaped evergreen leaves. Runner up in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2019, it is ideal for a colourful border or a jungle-style area and will bring bees into the garden. Hardy down to -5°C.
8. Digitalis parviflora Jacq. AGM
For wildlife
Position: Sun or part shade
Height: 60-70cm
Columnar spires of small cinnamon-brown bells on downy stems, above large green leaves, during summer. Another fashionable foxglove, grown for its caramel colouring and its nectar content, which lures bumblebees. Enhance the terracotta hue by growing it with grasses, such as Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’.
9. Digitalis canariensis Bella
For evergreen leaves
Position: Sun or part shade
Height: 75-120cm
A few foxgloves are shrubs or subshrubs. This unusual evergreen is one of them. Being tender, the Canary Island foxglove is only suitable for the mildest regions of the UK or a conservatory. Sending up generous torches of apricot flowers above large rosettes of glossy leaves, it is perfect for an exotic-style border. The species (syn. Isoplexis canariensis) can grow to 1.5m.
10. Digitalis purpurea subsp. heywoodii ‘Silver Fox’
For glowing-white flowers
Position: Sun or part shade
Height: 50-75cm
Enchanting white bells above felty pale-grey foliage in late spring and early summer. A cross between the biennial common foxglove and a perennial form, this sometimes behaves like a short-lived perennial, flowering for a few years. Growing on granite rocks in the wild, it responds well to good drainage and thrives in sun. Can be grown from seed.
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