Northern Shade Gardening

Hydrangea and birdbath fall leaves

Hydrangea shrubs have enough room underneath, that you can make a beautiful layered garden by underplanting them with shorter plants. In summer I have some dwarf Campanula (bellflowers) producing purplish blue star shaped flowers in a low carpet under this Hydrangea paniculata. I love the look, and wanted to extend it to spring, so I’ve planted some Chionodoxa forbesii (glory of the snow) bulbs underneath. These early spring bulbs should flower before the bellflowers bloom, with their own version of starry flowers.

Campanula porscharskyana (bellflower) in flower

Above is  a photo of  Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) from this summer. They start flowering midway through June, and continue intermittently all summer, and into fall. They look especially pretty under the Hydrangea, even before it flowers,  twinkling up through the branches. They are a gorgeous shade of purplish blue, with five narrow petals and white towards the centre. These bellflowers grows quite low to the ground, so they don’t interfere with the Hydrangea branches, and they fill the bare area underneath with beauty. Then in August and September, when the Hydrangea blooms in white, the little blue flowers of the Campanula look lovely paired with the large panicles. However, there are no flowers underneath the shrub before mid June, just the bellflower foliage.

Chionodoxa luciliae (glory of the snow) flowers spring

I  added some glory of the snow bulbs to bring some early blooms to this area. The blue stars are reminiscent of the Campanula and should have a similar effect. These have six petals, a dark line down each petal, and a white centre. The Chionodoxa luciliae start flowering during May in my zone 3 garden, so the Chionodoxa forbesii should start the colour show early too, before the bellflowers. These two Chionodoxa species seem interchangeable now. The pretty blue bulbs will bring some spring cheer, while the Hydrangea stems are still leafless. Then when the glory of the snow flowers fade, the bellflower groundcover should easily hide the slender bulb foliage as it dies back for the season. Usually the  Chionodoxa foliage disappears quickly.

planting Chionodoxa forbesii (glory of the snow)bulbs

Here is one of the bulb planting holes, in between the Campanula poscharskyana plants. I dug narrow holes among the perennials, to minimize the root damage. Then I planted 5 to 10 bulbs in each hole. Altogether I planted 50 Chionodoxa forbesii, but I could have planted more. These bulbs cover the  ground under the front half of the Hydrangea, and a bit around the sides. I could plant another 50 to really carpet the ground under the PG Hydrangea.

fall leaves under Hydrangea

The fall leaves were already covering the garden bed, as I watered in the newly planted bulbs. This will be some of my last outdoor gardening fun for the year, since the temperatures are so cool now. It is probably a little late to be planting bulbs in zone 3, but the weather warmed above freezing this week, the bulbs were on sale, and the picture of more blue flowers was running through my mind. Soon, a white quilt will be spread over top of the brown and green patchwork one. However, come spring, the flower parade will start as soon as the snow melts, and the early spring bulbs bloom.

Here is a pretty bulb combination of tulips and Muscari (grape hyacinths) that I’m planting to bloom in the spring garden. They should flower at the same time in pink and blue, both with the extra petals of doubles.

Tulipa 'Fox Trot' bulb package

The double early blooming pink Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’ are planted at the back. Aren’t those tulips pretty? They remind me of my favourite peony, ‘Sarah Bernhardt’. These have a multitude of light pink petals, like the double peony. They are short, about 30 cm tall (1 ft). I fell for these ‘Foxtrot’ tulips when I saw the picture on the label, even though I didn’t originally plan to plant any tulips. I saw the double pink photo and instantly imagined a large group of them, highlighted with a large group of smaller blue bulbs in front.

Muscari armenicaum 'Blue Spike' bulb group

The above photo of Muscari armeniacum ‘Blue Spike’ is from my garden last June. ‘Blue Spike’ became my favourite grape hyacinth last spring, when a newer group of them bloomed for an extended period. They bloomed for almost a month, which is a long time for the little blue bulbs. They also have large flowers for such a small bulb. Their extra petals, with very open flowers, creating a dense spike of intense blue. Here is a post from earlier in the year about the Muscari.

The Muscari armeniacum ‘Blue Spike’ grow about 15 cm (6 in). When planted in front of the 30 cm (12 in) pink tulips, the difference in their heights should be just right to show off each type of bloom. I’m hoping the tips of the Muscari will be just under the bottom of the tulip flowers.

Muscari 'Blue Spike' (grape hyacinth) bulbs being planted

For the grape hyacinths, I dig  hole about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) deep, and about 30 cm (1 ft) across, between some later growing perennials. Then I put the bulbs with their pointy side up, about 5 cm (2 in) apart, and cover them back up. I leave a bit of loose soil in the bottom of the hole, so I can balance the bulbs upright with a bit of support, and then they don’t get knocked over when I pour the soil back back over top. Digging a series of large holes for groups of bulbs is the most efficient way when you have a number of them to plant.

Tulipa 'Fox Trot' bulbs being planted

Here are the ‘Foxtrot’ tulips in their planting hole. It’s about13 cm (5 in) deep, and they are about 13 cm (5 in) apart. I make a number of these holes in the garden bed, between the perennials that will hide their foliage after they bloom.

Muscari 'Blue Spike and Tulipa 'Fox Trot'

Here is a composite of what the ‘Foxtrot’ and ‘Blue Spike’ should look like together. I think these two bulbs will bloom at the same time next spring with the taller pink tulips rising up behind the shorter blue Muscari. I could have planted a few first to test the bloom time, but instead I decided to jump in with planting 54 tulips and 180 more Muscari bulbs. I need a larger number of the Muscari, since they are smaller bulbs, and planted closer together. About 3 times as many grape hyacinths should balance out the tulip planting. If they don’t manage to bloom in tandem, they will still make a nice sequence, but I’m hoping for an overlap.

Here’s how the tulips and Muscari look in the spring.

Have you been planting any bulbs for spring blooms?

It’s  a lot of fun planting spring flowering bulbs in the fall.  As you bury the little brown lumps, you can imagine all of the spring colours that will appear. I’ve planted  360 crocus corms that will form a yellow and purple patch under the lilac tree. I’ve included some Crocus vernus for their large showy flowers, and some Crocus chrysanthus which will flower earlier, in charming soft colours. I placed the packages on the ground in their approximate positions, so you can see what it might look like next spring. I can’t wait to see them blooming in early spring.

crocus packages under lilac

These crocuses are being planted around some hardy geraniums under a lilac tree. The geraniums get a later start in the spring, so the crocus will flower unhindered, and when they are done, the emerging geraniums will help hide the foliage until it dies down.This garden area is in part shade, but there should be enough light for these sun lovers, since I limbed up the  maple earlier this year, removing some of the lower branches. It should be bright enough to open their flowers; I hope.

Crocus vernus (Dutch crocus) packages

The Crocus vernus (large Dutch crocus) are planted together in the back half of the garden bed. They progress from purple to purple stripes to yellow, going towards the front of the bed. At the very back are the dark purple ‘Remembrance’. There is a small group of ‘Remembrance’ here already, and I’ve added more to extend the group across. Just in front are some ‘Silver Cord’ These are white with purple marks on them. To the left are ‘Pickwick’, which are purple striped, while to the the right are ‘Striped Beauty’, also with purple stripes. The ‘Yellow Mammoth’ are in front of all of the purple crocuses.

crocus chrysanthus (snow crocus) packages

The earlier flowering Crocus chrysanthus (snow crocus) are at the front of this garden bed. These are smaller, and should flower first early next spring. I’ve planted them in a very similar colour arrangement. Across the back of the snow crocus section are some ‘Blue Pearl’, which are a very pretty lavender blue colour. To the left in front of them are ‘Fuscotinctus’, which are yellow with purple stripes. In front on the right are ‘Gypsy Girl’ (‘Gipsy Girl’?), which are also yellow with maroon stripes. The pale yellow  ‘Cream Beauty’ are across the very front of the Crocus chrysanthus group.

Crocus vernus 'Striped Beauty' bulbs being planted

Here are some Crocus vernus ‘Striped Beauty’ corms in their hole, ready to be buried. For small bulbs like this, I dig a hole about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) deep and about 30 cm (a foot) in diameter, and plant 10 to 15 bulbs in a random pattern. Then I cover the hole up, and tap it down. Afterwards I water all the bulbs to settle them in.

There are 360 crocus corms here so far. As I planted, I kept picturing what it will look like when the crocuses flower next spring. I think this purple and yellow patch will be very uplifting with its spring colours. I appreciate the earliest flowering plants the most, after the long winter desert of white. In spring, I’ve often wished that I had planted more bulbs, but I’ve never wished I planted less.