The names that plants acquire often refer to the physical traits that the plants exhibit, and that's certainly the case with lamb's ears. The soft, felted foliage of Stachys byzantina remarkably resemble the furry coat of a newborn lamb.

Ed Bowen of Opus, a nursery specializing in unique connoisseur plants in Little Compton, Rhode Island, is fully conversant with stachys of all descriptions (and the stachys genus is 300 species strong), among other steadfast garden performers.

Adapted to tough growing conditions due to the tomentose leaves that diffract the sun's rays, the furry foliage of Stachys byzantina also reduces transpiration. Lamb's ears are grown primarily for their foliage, but many other stachys boast ornamental flowers as part of their perks. Stunning and low-maintenance ground covers, stachys are used for edging as well as in the front of the perennial border. Impressively hardy, they return year after year, preventing erosion and performing reliably.

Some other stachys worth herding into your garden include:

Stachys byzantina ‘Helen von Stein' alias ‘Big Ears'
Stachys byzantina ‘Striped Phantom'
Stachys byzantina ‘Cotton Boll'
Stachys byzantina ‘Primrose Heron'
Stachys officinalis
Stachys cretica
Stachys coccinea
Stachys macrantha ‘Superba'
Stachys albotomentosa
Stachys densiflora ‘Hummelo'

Special thanks:
Ed Bowen
Opus
P. O. Box 273
Little Compton, RI 02837
401-635-2074
www.opustopiarium.com