Digitalis purpurea - Common Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea, also known as purple foxglove or common foxglove, is a very charming plant, found spontaneously in cool undergrowth, and inseparable from old shady gardens. Biennial or perennial, depending on growing conditions, it easily naturalises itself through spontaneous sowing, randomly punctuating the garden with large arrows of varying shades of pink, purple, or even sometimes creamy-white. Its enchanting flowering is a delight for the eyes in flower beds, but it can also be grown in a large pot on a patio. The flower stems can also be cut to form large bouquets. Fresh and refined, foxgloves pair well with all other plants, from the simplest to the most sophisticated.

Digitalis purpurea is a botanical species from the Plantaginaceae family. It has given rise to numerous forms and varieties of various colours that easily hybridise with each other. It is a biennial to perennial herbaceous plant. In spring, it develops a large rosette with a diameter of 45cm (18in). This rosette consists of crenate-dentate pubescent leaves, which are dark green with a slightly greyish appearance. They bear a network of ridges on the lower surface. They are covered with slightly woolly, very light hairs. In May-June of their second year, up to 5 hollow but sturdy stems emerge from the rosette to bear a very dense floral spike up to 1.5m (5ft) in height, composed of a multitude of tightly packed tubular flowers, opening from bottom to top. Each bell-shaped flower is a ballet of bees and bumblebees, tirelessly coming to feed on nectar and pollen. Depending on the individual plant, their colour is generally a light purple or a muted pink, more rarely white or cream-yellow, with varying amounts of mottling and punctuations of purple in the throat.

Plant your foxgloves in dappled sunlight or partial shade, in humus-rich and moist soil, in the company of old roses or perennials with single flowers such as columbines, centaureas, astrantias, or meadow rues. These plants readily self-sow, allowing you to enjoy their presence for a long time in a naturally inspired shady garden. This magnificent plant, as wild as it is romantic, will also accompany geraniums, heucheras, and the feathery foliage of ferns in open woodland areas. Take advantage of this wonder in your home as well, by creating sumptuous bouquets.