A Dark Cousin

Many gardeners know about Rose Campion, with its screaming-bright magenta flowers that are dotted atop beautiful silver colored foliage.

Rose Campion

 Rose Campion, meet your cousin - Arkwright's Campion.

Arkwright's Campion 'Vesuvius'

Also a short-lived perennial, this Campion makes an equally impressive, if different, statement in the garden.

The flowers are a molten-orange color, only made brighter by the dark foliage that acts as the perfect foil.

There's a reason that the cultivar 'Vesuvius' was named after a volcano!

Like Rose Campion, Arkwright's Campion likes sun or partial shade. It first flowers in late spring or early summer, with deadheading encouraging more flowers.  This hybrid perennial is supposed to be quite short lived, but it should self-seed with plants that are similar to the parent flower.

According to some sources, Arkwright's Campion is more temperamental and not as hardy as some of its other relatives (which might actually be a good thing, since others in this family can become invasive due to their prolific self-seeding).  This is the first year my mother-in-law has had it in her garden, so we shall see!  

So far, we're loving it.