Northern Shade Gardening

Here is a Hosta that adds subtle highlights to the shade garden. Hosta ‘Francee’ is new to my garden this year, and I’m already appreciating the way the white edged leaves gleam in the shadows. The pretty flowers above the variegated leaves were an unexpected bonus on this perennial.

The oval leaves of ‘Francee’ have defined ribs running along them. Each leaf has a thin white edging along the leaf margins, making a subtle variegation.

Hosta 'Francee' dappled light

The variegated leaves mimic the effects of dappled light on leaves under the trees. In the above photo of ‘Francee’, you can see how the spots of real light blend with the white edging, in a similar colour and pattern. When there is no actual direct light, the leaves of this plant still give the illusion of dappled light in the shade garden.

Hosta 'Francee' flower and buds

I wasn’t expecting the flowers of ‘Francee’ to be as pretty or as noticeable as they are. This closeup shows the bottom flower open, and a number of buds above. The lavender buds open to very pale lavender flowers that have faint purple stripes inside. These flowers are prettier and more numerous than I anticipated for a foliage plant.

Hosta 'Francee' flower lots of buds

Since it’s new this year, I don’t yet know how this perennial overwinters in zone 3, but I think it should do just fine, as most Hostas do. It should also fill in with more leaves next year, getting wider and taller. The mature plants are much more dense with the solid leaves.

Hosta 'Francee' Athyrium and Pulmonaria

I liked the way Hosta ‘Francee’ looked in the shade, a solid leafed plant with subtly variegated leaves, so I added two more to other garden areas. All three of the Hosta have lacy  ferns nearby, which emphasize the leaf texture. The picture above shows ‘Francee’ with Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern) behind and the silvery gray Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (lungwort) to the right.

Another ‘Francee’ is paired with some Athyrium ‘Ghost’ (Ghost ferns). My third one is matched with some Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss), Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern) and Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern). Ferns and Hosta are a classic shade combination.

Do you have some favourite Hosta in your garden, and what plants do you like to pair with them?

Campanula carpatica (Carpathian bellflower) lots of flowers

Campanula carpatica (Carpathian bellflower) is a long blooming perennial that pairs well with many other garden plants. I’ve found that it can take a fair amount of shade and still bloom reasonably well. These bellflowers rarely require any maintenance beyond removing the faded flowers. They have been very hardy, and returned reliably after cold winters. With their charming flowers that cover the plants, they make  great flowering perennials for part shade.

Campanula carpatica (Carpathian bellflower) with buds and flowers

Carpathian bellflowers produce a constant stream of blooms all summer. You can see the new buds are green, and the buds that are just about to open are a purple colour. The flowers open to this lovely dark blue. When all of the buds open, they will cover the whole top and sides of this plant with upward and outward facing flowers. The blooms are larger than most of my bellflowers, and make a good colour show when viewed from across the garden.

I have a mixture of ‘Blaue Clips’ (Blue Clips), ‘Dark Blue Clips’ and ‘Blue Pearl’. Unfortunately, I’ve moved them too many times, and I’ve lost track of individual plants. There are definite differences in their colour range, but I’m not sure which is which, and I’m not even sure if they were tagged correctly originally. The colour range of rich blue shades on this perennial are all attractive.

Campanula carpatica (Carpathian bellflower) with perennials

Campanula carpatica pairs up well with many other perennials in the garden. Here is one group of  Campanula carpatica in the middle of this garden section. In the upper right corner is a Brunnera. There is an Actae simplex (used to be Cimicifuga) (bugbane) in the upper left corner. On the lower right is a Heuchera (coral bells), and to the lower left is a Phlox divaricata (woodland phlox). A few fern fronds are also stretching in from the left.

The other perennials are moderate shade plants, and the bellflower has managed to fit in well and keep up the pretty blue flowers. Although the Campanula carpatica will have more flowers in a sunnier location, it still has a good number of blooms here where it gets a couple of hours of direct sun.

Campanula carpatica white (carpathian belflower) with C. rotundifolia

The carpathian bellflower pairs up well with other bellflowers too. Here some white C. carpatica are  mixed with some bluish purple Campanula rotundifolia (harebell). I’ve found the blue, violet and white bellflowers all coordinate beautifully together. I have a number of groups of different bellflowers flowering in this corner now, and it is my favourite area in the garden right now in mid July.

Campanula carpatica (bellflower) white flowers

These white Campanula carpatica are a mixture of two types, ‘White Uniform’ and ‘Weisse Clips’ (White Clips). At one time they were two separate groups, but after being moved a few times they are now mixed, so I can’t tell them apart. These have a long blooming period, and put on a good flower show. A bit of white adds some dazzle to all the blue and purples.

The Carpathian bellflower is my very favourite plant to deadhead. The faded blooms snap off so easily with your fingernail, without being sticky, and it doesn’t take long to deadhead a patch of this perennial. Whether I’m going out to putter around the garden, or do some specific gardening tasks, I usually stroll over and deadhead the carpatica for fun.

Campanula carpatica is very easy to grow, combines well with other plants to make some great combinations, takes a bit of shade, and has an extended blooming time. It makes a delightful addition to the garden.

There is more information about other types of Campanula on this previous bellflower post.

Here is an easy method for getting rid of weeds in sidewalk cracks and between patio stones. I’ve found it to be very effective, and it’s completely non-toxic. I use boiling hot water for killing weeds in the gaps, and have found it to be very successful at removing just about all of the weeds. You can see in the pictures below how well it works.

I carry the boiling water into a coffee carafe with a lid and pour spout for safety. It wouldn’t be a safe idea to be moving open pots of boiling water. I wear enclosed boots for safety. I also make sure to pour it down low and away from myself, so it doesn’t splash up, while killing the weeds.

I just pour the boiling water on the weeds in the cracks, and most look like cooked vegetables a few hours later. Most weeds are dead the next day. I’ve found a few established weeds might need a second treatment, if they haven’t died in a few days.

I usually use this method of killing weeds in early summer, but it’s a little later this summer, so some of the weeds got a little big before the boiling water treatment. Within a few days, the weeds have usually crumpled into tiny dessicated pieces that disappear. A week or so later, you hardly see anything left.

Here are some before and after shots of the weeds that were killed in my sidewalk and driveway. The old weed on the top half, and the dead weed on the bottom half. I should have set up little signs, as after a day it was much harder to recognize individual weeds.

weeds before and after boiling water

Here is a before and after photo of the weed killing in action. The bottom of the picture was taken 4 hours after the boiling water was applied. You can see how quickly this one died.

weeds before and after boiling water 3

The bottom half shows the pineapple weed the day after applying the boiling water to kill the weed. This might not be the exact same pineapple weed as I had trouble matching up the dessicated leaves. Within a day they are dried up and breaking down after the boiling water kills them.

weeds before and after boiling water 2

This shows another weed, knotweed, before and 2 days later, now dead after the boiling water application.

I usually apply the boiling water once in early summer, and that’s all that’s needed for the season. It’s highly effective at killing weeds. I don’t know if those with a longer growing season might need to do it more than once. I’ve been using the boiling water method for 3 years and have been very pleased with the results.

What I like about this method of killing weeds is that it is completely safe for the environment, your family and animals, with no toxic lingering effects. It is perfectly safe for pedestrians and pets walking down the sidewalk in front of my house. Using boiling water is the fastest, easiest and most non-toxic method for weed killing between patio stones, driveway sections and sidewalk blocks.