Northern Shade Gardening

When Perennials Bloom by Tomasz Anisko Front Cover

When Perennials Bloom: An Almanac For Planning and Planting by Tomasz Anisko is a very useful reference book for the sequence of perennial flowering times.  As well as the length and dates of the bloom intervals in a number of zones, it contains  a great deal of information about plant culture. I bought this book last summer, and I appreciate it as a handy reference, a delightful bedside read, and a great picture book for winter dreaming.

Knowing the relative flowering dates for perennials is extremely useful when planning your garden. This book will help you coordinate those times, to spread them over the year, fill in the gaps, or go for a massive display in one season.

The bloom dates are especially detailed for zone 6 of Pennsylvania, the location of Longwood Gardens, where the author is  the curator of plants. However, the flowering times of other regions are also included. I found the Moscow ones more practical for my specific zone. Even if you are not in an explicitly mentioned  gardening zone, it is still helpful to know the relative sequence and length of the flowering period for the perennials.

The middle picture shows a sample of a quarter of a page, showing the detailed information about the flowering times for Brunnera. It is even broken down into differences between the species and a cultivar.

When Perennials Bloom book Brunnera chart

Besides the individual bloom charts for each perennial, at the back of the book is a particularly useful composite chart. This includes horizontal bars of the flowering months for hundreds of perennials, arranged in order from earliest to latest. The length of the shaded bars on the chart is an easy visual to find long lasting flowers that will carry the garden along, as the shorter flowering perennials come and go. These seven pages are great for a comprehensive understanding of the timing of each perennial’s flowering season.

Although the perennials in my zone 3 garden have different months for flowering than the chart, it is still applicable. My garden season is compressed, but the sequence is still the same. By looking at perennials I currently grow, and when they bloom, it is easy to compare. Because bloom duration can vary from year to year, the data is colour-coded to show the most common dates, as well as the range of early and late intervals for each plant.

By looking down any column of the charts, you can quickly discover plants that will be likely to bloom at the same time. This is valuable for creating or redoing a garden bed, when you are trying to coordinate the flowers to bloom together.

You can also plan a bed to flower across the gardening  seasons as you look from the beginning to end of the list. My beds are heavy on the spring flowering plants, since I look forward to their blooms, after a long winter. However, sometimes a garden seems bare in certain months, and you are looking for flowers to perk it up then.

I’ve been keeping a simplified version of a flowering chart for my garden. Here is a previous post, showing how you can keep track of the bloom time of your perennials. It includes a sample of the beginning of one of my charts.

When Perennials Bloom by Tomasz Anisko Back Cover

As well as the detailed lists of flowering dates, the book also includes lots of beautifully coloured photos, showcasing the plants and their flowers. There are thorough descriptions of the perennial flowers and foliage to accompany the pictures, including information about cultivars and varieties.

It is also a detailed reference of other background information for each perennial, such as the origin and natural habitat of the plants, which I find helpful for figuring out where they might do well in the garden. The tips on plant culture for each entry are comprehensive and practical, including water, light and soil requirements, cutting back, and siting. Most entries include zone hardiness as well. Of course, an entry like, “hardy to zone 5, possibly zone 3,” is just too tempting for me. :)

At 510 pages, When Perennials Bloom, from Timber Press, is packed with valuable information, so you can use it as a reference to research specific plants and their care, to help coordinate the flowering times in your garden, or as an enjoyable read.

Dwarf Campanulas by Graham Nicholls

Dwarf Campanulas, by Graham Nicholls, is an excellent reference book if you are a Bellflower fan, or would like to know more about them. The book is focussed on the smaller Campanula, which are discussed in comprehensive detail. At 272 pages, there is a wealth of information about the petite bellflowers which are suitable for the front of the border, rock garden or trough.

There are coloured photos of many of the species to help you choose your favourite Campanula, or aid in identification. The familiar bell shaped blossoms are gorgeous. Every variation on the bell shape, from overlapping doubles to open starry petals is evident. Some of the pictures show the bellflowers in gardens or pots, while others show them in their native habitat. Both are helpful for seeing the type of conditions suitable for growing each species.

At the beginning of the book, there is an overview of the world regions where many of the bellflowers originate, which  includes maps. The photos of mountain ranges, with bellflowers emerging from the crevices in rocks, or growing in scree, illustrate why many are suitable for the rock garden or trough. Many other Campanula species adapt well to the average border.

The detailed look at the propagation of Campanula is very helpful. In this section, the specifics of increasing your bellflowers by seed, cuttings, or division are discussed, along with recommendations for appropriate planting mixtures.

Dwarf Campanulas by Graham Nicholls back

Each species of Campanula then gets its own section, many with photos. There are excellent descriptions of the plants. Cultivars and hybrids are discussed too.  Some other genus, that are closely related to Campanula are covered also. Many specific tips are given for the culture of each type of bellflower, as well as the best propagating methods for each one.

The author gives the location from where each species originates, and often who introduced it. I enjoy knowing a plant’s origins, and picturing it in its native habitat. It is fascinating to read the history of the hybrids, or learn in which garden they were first noticed. I appreciate the historical connection to previous gardeners and plant explorers.

It is always a pleasure to read a book written by an expert on a topic who communicates their enthusiasm. I highly recommend this book as an enjoyable read, and useful reference. It is also satisfying to flip through a book full of lovely pictures of blue, purple and occasionally white or pink bellflowers. Although many of these plants are not yet widely available, you are sure to find more perennials to add to your plant wish list.

Here are some of my previous posts on Campanula that I grow in the garden. This is one on Campanula haylodgensis, a double flowering bellflower. This post has a variety of Campanula. Here are some photos of Campanula glomerata, clustered bellflowers. These are Campanula portenschlagiana, the Dalmatian bellflower. The photogenic bellflowers manage to peek their flowers into many of my other posts and photos as well.

Do you grow any Campanula? Which are your favourites, or which have you been wanting to add to your garden?

These 2 books about trees and shrubs are great for anyone gardening in a cold climate. Since they are a larger investment in money and time, I’m reluctant to push the zones like I might for perennials. If you are going to wait for a tree to mature, you want one that is going to survive the winter in a healthy state and not languish.

The first book is called Lois Hole’s Favorite Trees and Shrubs, by Lois Hole. The plants in this book are all hardy and rated for zones 3 and colder. The book has useful lists of tree and shrub suggestions, not only for various specialty conditions of light, soil or moisture, but also for bloom, leaf and fruit colour, winter interest, attracting wildlife and more. There are also general tips for their care including planting, pruning, and trouble shooting. This book is most useful for detailed information on specific species. Each tree and shrub gets 2 to 4 pages of description with recommended species or varieties, tips and facts. 2 particularly useful sections for each plant are their growth rate and lifespan. These are often missing from many books, yet are important factors when choosing a tree. Many coloured photos accompany each plant description. With each plant detailed separately, it is very easy to access the information you need.

The next book is called Best Trees and Shrubs for the Prairies, and is written by Hugh Skinner and Sara Williams. This book gives good specific, reliable information for tree and shrub maintenance. The hardiness, drawbacks and benefits of individual cultivars of trees and shrubs is included for each entry. The only point that would improve this book is if the pictures were included with each entry, rather than in a separate section. For solid advise about tree and shrub culture and selection on the prairie or plains, this is a great choice.

If you love the wonderful woodland atmosphere trees give and you garden in a northern climate, these are two good reliable sources of information.