Recipient of Europe's highest seed award, Twizzle is a breeding breakthrough extraordinaire! If you try only one new flower from seed this year . . . we know, it's a cliche, but in this case it's true! Please give Twizzle a go! Here's why:

First, this Beard-lip (the species is P. barbatus) flowers the first year from seed. This in itself would be enough reason to put Twizzle at the top of your list: no more waiting around a whole vernalization period for blooms! The little scarlet flowers are crammed so tightly along lengthy stems, the bees and butterflies can't even empty out all the nectar!

Second, it has a new habit: half the foliage of older varieties and twice the length of flowering stem! This means you get longer, more elegant wands for the vase without sacrificing an inch of plant size! And still, it's compact enough to put in containers.

Third, it's open pollinated. This means the plant will come true from seed. Let it self-sow in your garden or collect the seeds in fall and plant them wherever you want an injection of summer-long color!

Fourth, it's versatile. Sow seeds in fall for earlier spring blooms, or start indoors in late winter for first-year summer blooms. Twizzle doesn't mind!

Quite drought-tolerant once established in the garden, Twizzle sets masses of 1- to 1½-inch tubular blooms that serve as sirens to every pollinator in the neighborhood. It loves dry soil and doesn't mind poor fertility, heat, or other stresses. Twizzle is a fine choice for containers as well as the sunny border. Zones 4-9.