Aconitum lamarckii

Aconitum lamarckii, also known as Lamarck's Aconite, is a rather unique montane species with pale yellow helmet-shaped flowers, unlike most Aconites which are blue or white. It is a highly ornamental perennial plant, both for its aerial flowering and its beautifully cut foliage, forming a dense tuft. This plant thrives in cool and rich soils, making it a reliable and floriferous shade-loving plant, perfect for filling the back of perennial borders.

Found near small streams and in damp Pyrenean and Alpine meadows, Lamarck's Aconite, also known as Aconitum lycoctonum subsp. neapolitanum, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the buttercup family, just like its cousin the Delphinium. This plant develops in spring from a fleshy tuberous stump, from which emerges in spring a 50cm (20in) wide upright tuft, with sparsely hairy stems and coriaceous nearly spherical leaves divided into 7 to 8 elongated lobes. The leaves have deep veins and are a very dark green colour, with a shiny surface. In July-August, at the top of the floral stems reaching a height of 90cm (35in) to 1m (3ft), spikes adorned with downward-facing helmet-shaped flowers in a pale greenish-yellow colour, bloom.

Aconites suffer from a bad reputation due to their legendary toxicity, which is unfortunate because they deserve a place in every garden, in cool soils. They are robust and very hardy, and their foliage is among the most beautiful among perennial plants. They are perfect in the back of borders, alongside foxgloves and baneberries, for enchanting shaded summer scenes. They can be planted among bushes, sheltered from the wind that sometimes bends their stems, alongside Japanese anemones that will take over after their flowering. They also look beautiful in front of the purple foliage of Physocarpus or Cotinus 'Royal Purple'. They are good perennials, like foxgloves, for light and cool woodland areas. Finally, their flowers are magnificent in bouquets.