Northern Shade Gardening

Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’ (foamflower) has long lasting flower spikes of pretty pink and white. This perennial flourishes in the shade, flowering well without much direct light. The leaves have dark patterns on them for added drama.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' (foam flower) spikes

The eye-catching flowers are the most attractive trait of these plants. The picture above shows how they got their name, ‘Pink Skyrocket’. They range from white to pink along the flower stems, darkening at the tips, mainly because the unopened buds at the top are a bright pink. Although these foamflower plants were added this summer, they’ve had a long blooming time already. I’ll know the natural flowering period next year, but so far they have been in flowers for over 10 weeks. The photo above is from earlier in the month, but even after the first frosts, and into the beginning of October, the flowers continue to decorate the garden.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' (foam flower) leaves

The leaves of Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’ are a good size and deeply cut between lobes, giving a lacy appearance. Though you can see in the picture above that this foamflower forms a thick cover.  There are dark marks along the centres of each lobe, giving extra interest to the foliage. I have some of these perennials next to some silver leafed Pulmonaria, and they show up well against the light coloured background. The silver grey colour of the Pulmonaria contrasts with the darker leaf colour of this Tiarella. They also make a good background to show off the pink flower spikes.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' (foam flower) and Pulmonaria

On the other side of the Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’, there are some Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) with blue bell shaped flowers that coordinate wonderfully with the pink blooms of the Tiarella. Then along past the Pulmonaria are some Campanula cochlearifolia with small blue bells. I love the pink and white exclamation points mixed between the delicate blue bells of the Campanula in this border.

The foliage on ‘Pink Skyrocket’ is about 15 cm (6 inches) tall, and the flowers about 40 cm (15 inches) tall. This Tiarella is supposed to form clumps, rather than running like some do. The dense foliage on the plants makes a good groundcover, and allows them to suppress weeds.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' (foam flower) blooms

I’ve been planting more Tiarella and Heucherella this summer, since I really appreciate their terrific combination of pretty, long blooming flowers, decorative leaves and shade tolerance. Here is an article from earlier this summer about a garden border with pink flowered Heucherella ‘Tapestry’ (foamybells), a cross between Heuchera and Tiarella. I’ve been very pleased with any of the garden beds that I’ve added them to. Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’ has some of the nicest flowers of the ones I’ve tried. The closeup picture below shows the starry effect of the flower wands. You can read and see more Tiarella photos in  this article. Also, you can read about other Tiarella, their shade tolerance, and hardiness.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' (foam flower) in front of Pulmonaria