Incarvillea delavayi is a native of central China and one of the showiest herbaceous perennials available to temperate gardeners. Its species name honors Pere Jean Marie Delavay, the tireless French missionary and botanical explorer whose collected specimens introduced dozens of extraordinary Chinese plants to Western horticulture. The plant reaches one and a half to two feet in height and blooms in summer with large, flared trumpets of deep rosy pink held above ferny foliage, earning it the common name Flowering Fern as much as Hardy Gloxinia. Bees visit the flowers reliably, and deer tend to leave it alone, two qualities that make it a practical as well as beautiful garden choice.

Its fleshy taproot demands excellent drainage above all else, making a raised bed or a well-prepared container an ideal home, with the crown positioned at or just above the soil surface. Full sun suits it well in cooler gardens, but where summers turn hot and humid, afternoon shade prolongs the display and reduces stress on the plant. Deadheading spent blooms extends the flowering period, and a light winter mulch gives the crown extra insurance in the colder end of its range. Slugs are the most reliable pest; crown rot and root rot follow if drainage is poor, but in the right conditions this is a long-lived and deeply rewarding perennial.