Erysimum

We grow the majority of our perennial shrubby wallflowers in our dry garden. Full sun and a free draining soil is preferred. Most have tidy, narrow, small leaves, forming a low to  medium, shrubby framework of stems. Flower colour stretches across the whole range, with some forms having 2 or 3 differing coloured flowers on the same spike! Don't be afraid to trim lightly after flowering, or even once peak flowering is over. This will help maintain the shape of the plant and maybe produce a later second flush of flowers. These wallflowers are part of the Brassicaceae family, including the familiar edibles of mustard, cabbage, broccoli etc and all produce flowers with four petals, arranged in a cross shape, hence the old family name of Cruciferae.

All Erysimum species are very attractive to insects, from bees and hoverflies to butterflies and pollen-beetles; those that flower for most of the summer (eg E. 'Bowles's Mauve' and E. mutabile) cater for a huge diversity of much loved, and often highly beneficial, insects. The leaves are eaten by a range of moth larvae, while the seeds are the food of several weevils. One species, the true wild wallflower of southern Europe E. cheiri has been grown in British gardens for centuries and has gone beyond the garden fence, now well-naturalized on old buildings (see Colchester Roman Wall), brownfield sites and natural rock faces.