5.2 Perennials

PERENNIALS 49
Gypsophila paniculata L.
baby's breath, gysophile panicul6e
per. -50° to -29° C Jul-Aug , 90 cm N 36
Notes: white flowers borne on clusters; up to 1000 flowers per multi-branched panicle;
shearing back after blooming may encourage a second flowering in Sep-Oct; rock
garden or ground-cover plant; cultivated and locally spread to sandy or rocky roadsides
and waste places from N.E. to Man. and S. beyond Can. limits 23 .
Gypsophila repens L.
creeping gysophila, gysophile rampante
per. -37° to -29° C Jun-Jul 15 cm
Notes: profuse white bloom; makes an excellent ground cover, full sun and limestone
soi1 95 .
Hedera helix L.
English ivy, lierre commun, lierre grimpant, lierre d'Angleterre
per. zone 6 Oct-Nov(?) clinging vine to 30 m NP
Value for honey: HP5 16 ; last important N and P source where this is naturalized 35 ; N
is extremely concentrated so H is very unlikely to ferment in over-wintering stores 35 ; if
not all the N is gathered from flowers, a sugary crust may remain on the faded
blooms 35
Honey: is greenish in colour; fine grain; pleasant aromatic odour 72 .
Notes: flowers only on the older (mature) shoots, and not on the commonly grown
juvenile vine.
Hedysarum coronarium L.
French honeysuckle, Spanish esparcet, sweet vetch, sulla, sainfoin d'Espagne
per. -37° to -29° C Jun-Jul 1-2 m N(P?)
Value for honey: freely visited for N 25 .
Honey: is very light in colour, classed as water-white to light amber, finely grained and
when granulated becomes white in colour, but not hard; flavour is mild, delicate, but
may be slightly acerbic (like raw green beans) in drought areas; aroma very slight 17 .
Notes: ornamentally cultivated as a ground cover or as a crop for green manure or
fodder; a soil improver in waste areas; full sun; drought resistant; fragrant flowers.
Helenium autumnale L.
common sneezeweed, helenie commun
per. -37° to -29° C Aug-Sep 180 cm NP
Value for honey: H yield 14 kg/colony/season 72; a useful source for winter stores, but
said to be bitter to unpalatable as table H; H should not be mixed with the main crop 72 ;
see Section 8.
Honey: light yellow in colour; heavy body; rapid granulation; markedly bitter flavour 72 ;
small amount of sneezeweed H could spoil a main crop 72 ; apparently less bitter in
some countries (e.g. England) 35 ; see Section 8.
Notes: best in a "wild" garden or at the back of the border, generally considered a
weed; found growing wild from Que. to B.C. 49 ; rich thickets, meadows and shores23.
N 36