Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

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Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Recently, we were in Williamsburg to attend a graduation at the College of William and Mary.  We made a weekend of this and took the opportunity to revisit Colonial Williamsburg, which we had not been to in quite a number of years.  The colonial gardens are always one of the more interesting stops on your self-guided tour, and this year was no different with the beautiful foxgloves in their full glory.  These images are all of the Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) – none of the hybrids that are common today were around in the 18th century so have no place in the colonial gardens of Williamsburg.

Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

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The common foxglove is a quite short lived but frost hardy perennial. In the first year, this plant forms a tight rosette of simple, coarse leaves with prominent veins for a nearly quilted look in its first year.  The clump remains low and close to the ground. It is in the early summer of its second year that the plant comes into its full glory.  At this time the main attraction of its colorful spike of blooms which can grow to a height of 3- to 5-feet tall appear. The flowers come in purple, pink, rosy magenta, white or pale yellow, all with contrasting speckled throats.  All of the colors on display in the gardens during our visit.  I managed to capture images of all the colors excepting the yellow, for which I was not quite enough of a contortionist to enable me to get into position for a shot.

Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

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I will have some more images from Colonial Williamsburg and some of the other historic towns we stopped at on the way there later this summer.

Summary

Article Name

Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Description

Common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a short lived but frost hardy perennial growing to 3- to 5-feet tall with a colorful spike of blooms

Author

Mark Summerfield

Publisher Name

Mark Summerfield

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