Northern Shade Gardening

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ is not what you would call a demure shrub. This Hydrangea is not a shy and retiring woodland plant. It is an exuberant cheerleader in the garden, with large pompoms.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' flower closeup

This flower cluster is 20 cm (8 inches) across.  For such small shrubs, they usually  produce a large number of these jumbo sized blooms. Typically, an Annabelle hydrangea is covered in these large white flowers.

My shrub is in a very shady area of the garden, so it doesn’t get as many blooms. It is on the northern side of my house, and gets about an hour or less of direct sunlight a day. This seems to be enough to produce about five large pompoms at this point. Although Annabelle can take shade, this might be too shady of a location. I’ve only had this one for two years, so it might get more flowers as it matures, or it could be that this Annabelle is just blooming the best it can with the small amount of sunlight I give it.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' flowers

As the green buds open, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ produces these showy, white flower heads. The flowers last for over a month in summer, and then gradually fade to tan in fall.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' shrub

Here are the five blooms on my 60 cm by 60 cm (2 ft by 2 ft) Annabelle shrub. :) You can see that some of the blooms are still green, and the buds have just started opening.   I could move the shrub to a brighter part shade location, but I think I’ll leave Annabelle here for now, and see how it blooms as it matures. After all, it would only take another five of those giant bloom clusters, fully open, to cover this shrub.

This Annabelle hydrangea is planted in the garden next to my front steps. Every time I come home in August, it waves its pompoms and cheers:  “Give me an ‘N’  —  ‘ N’. Give me an ‘O’  —  ‘ O’. Give me an ‘R’  —  ‘R’. … Yeaaaaaah, Northern.” You have to admire such an enthusiastic shrub, even if it doesn’t have its full compliment of pompoms.

Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) and carpatica

Campanula rotundifolia (harebells or bluebells of Scotland) are a beautiful bellflower, with a delicate look, but a hardy nature. These hardy perennials return reliably after a cold winter, and show some of the earliest foliage in my spring garden. The flowers are some of the last ones blooming in fall.

Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) flower closeup

The multitude of little purple blue bells hanging from the stalks of Campanula rotundifolia are especially pretty. These bellflowers start blooming at the beginning of summer in my garden, and continue well after the first frosts. The harebell flower stalks are very thin, and in the shade they will lean a bit. In a sunnier garden area they are upright. They produce more flowers in a sunny location, but do well in part shade, and I even have some flowering in medium shade.

Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) in shade

Here are some Campanula rotundifolia in one of the shadier locations. This photo reminds me of how harebells often looks in the wild. They have a looser structure in this lower light, and the flowers are leaning a bit on the yew. The plants have a central cluster of low leaves (basal leaves) that are somewhat rounded with a scalloped edge, while the slender flower stalks have small, long, thin leaves. My plants are about 45 cm (18 in) tall, to the tips of the tallest flowers.

Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) and Heuchera

Harebells pair up well with many other garden perennials. They look great with other blue and white bellflowers. I have some with a group of white C. carpatica and a group of  blue C. carpatica. I also have some next to some Brunnera, and they weave between the Brunnera and yew. Because the basal foliage is so short, and the flower stalks are so thin, they seem  to fit into whatever space you give them in the garden.

This bellflower is like a taller version of Campanula cochlearifoliaa. Campanula rotundifolia is one of my favourites in the garden, for its hardiness, long bloom time, sweet little bells, and simple beauty.

Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (cranesbill) have beautiful blue iridescent flowers. My hardy geraniums are flowering in a part shade bed, where their colour brightens the garden. I appreciate the long sequence of blooms in summer and into fall.

The flowers of these geraniums are often described as blue, but compared to the blue of the lobelia across the path, the petals are leaning towards purplish blue. It’s a lovely colour in the garden, with a shimmery sheen when it catches the light.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' petals closeup

Geranium Johnson’s Blue has many of these five lobed blooms with shimmery threads running through the petals. These give the flowers a slight iridescent appearance. The petals are a little more blue than Rozanne, which leans more towards purplish blue. The flower of my Johnson’s Blue  started blooming 9 days before Rozanne, but Rozanne was new last year, so that might still be affecting the natural bloom time.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' pretty flowers

The plants of  Johnson’s Blue sprawl a bit more than Rozanne. Mine are about 45 cm (1.5 ft) tall and a little wider. They have a loose structure, and suit a cottage garden style, or being placed next to plants that they can mingle with at the edges. I have mine under a lilac, and they share the space beautifully. There is a tall Aruncus (goatsbeard) perennial to one side, that doesn’t mind the odd blue flower resting on it.

Geranium 'Rozanne' petals closeup

Geranium Rozanne has  a gorgeous purplish blue colour. Like Johnson’s Blue, each flower has a white centre, but the white centre is larger on these flowers. The blooms themselves are a little  larger too, and the individual petals of Rozanne are wider, overlapping more than Johnson’s Blue.

Geranium 'Rozanne' leaves looking fresh

The foliage of  Rozanne is a lighter green colour than Johnson’s Blue. There is  a faint marbling effect to the leaves on this perennial. Mine are a little shorter than than Johnson’s Blue, with the foliage closer to 30 cm (12 in) tall.

The hybrid name for Rozanne is  actually Geranium ‘Gerwat’, but I haven’t seen it sold under that name around here, not even as fine print on a label. I’ve seen Rozanne generally rated for a warmer area than zone 3, but all eight of my plants overwintered fine, and last year had typical temperatures. They just had a bit of leaf mulch that blew over for protection, but seem perfectly hardy. Mine are in a somewhat protected suburban garden, so the wide open zone 3 prairie might be different.

left 'Rozanne' right 'Johnson's Blue' flowers

Here’s a Rozanne flower on the left, and a Johnson’s Blue on the right for comparison. If you are looking for an informal perennial for the part shade, both of these hardy geraniums are lovely additions to the garden. Give them some neighbours that don’t mind mingling at the edges. They also look great next to a path, especially if you are looking for a plant to soften the edges as they spill over.

Here is a post showing pictures of the pretty blue  Geranium ‘Rozanne’ planted with the lavender blue flowers of Campanula lactiflora (milky bellflower) in my garden.