Digitalis (foxglove) gallery

In the photo above you are looking at a number of wonderful perennials and woody shrubs that clearly work together sensationally. In the background you have the bluish foliage of the Rosa glauca on one side and the rounded Berberis thunbergii on the other with those fun purple lollipops of ornamental Allium bulbs which get planted in fall for this great spring show. Then the variegated (fancy botanical terms meaning 2-tone, most often referring to leaves that are green and white) Miscanthus and the Hydrangea macrophylla, the rest of the backdrop for the Iris sibirica and those rocketing blossoms, Digitalis purpurea.

Foxglove as they are commonly known, Digitalis purpurea is a biennial, which is a plant that goes through it's entire life cycle in two years. In the first year the plant produces it's roots and a basal rosette of foliage. It is then in the plants second year that it will produce this tall spike of gorgeous bell shaped flowers. After that the flowers will go to seed and the plant will die away, hoping the dropped seed will take and lead to their next reincarnation in the garden. Every year in the Conservatory Garden Curator Diane Schaub likes to incorporate a few dozen foxglove into the perennial beds to give them that extra spring punch.

Here are a few "hort porn" macro shots I shot the other day.
You can see the intricate markings on the flower which guide in their specific pollinators, which I assume to be bees.
This mix, ranging from white to peach to pink to this stronger rosy shade, is sold in the trade under the name 'Excelsior'.

Weed ID: Alliaria petiolata

Alliaria petiolata is better known as garlic mustard, a terrible invasive biennial. It is a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, and is edible. Some of my cute conservation friends like to make garlic mustard pesto. I find the greens to be a bit too bitter by the time I finally get them out of the garden.
The basal rosette of foliage wth pronouned venation and toothed foliage is what you are looking for. They will flower spring and summer, and set seed very quickly, so you want to get them out now before they have a chance.
You will find them to have fibrous roots and a big tap root so be sure to use a weeding knife that is at least 6" long and try and get every part of the plant out of the ground.
Black bag these weeds and garbage them, do not add them to your compost pile!

By the way these might also look a tiny bit like the Viola weed that is out right now, actually the Viola could almost look like a cross of the garlic mustard and lesser celandine (if that was possible), with its little heart-shaped leaves and serrated leaf margins, and little solitary viola flowers white and purple. Go ahead and get rid of them while you are at it. Sorry I don't have a pic of the Viola specifically but if you look at the first three pics above there is a little viola in the lower left-hand corner.