Northern Shade Gardening

Here are some plant combinations that are looking good in the garden. The first perennial photos are mostly in shady sections, and the last pictures are in the sunnier part shade  areas.

Matteuccia struthiopteris and Pulmonaria (ostrich fern and lungwort)

The Pulmonaria flowers have weaved their way between the ostrich fern fronds. Some fern fronds in a bouquet always look good, and here the bouquet is right in the garden. This photo is from a few weeks ago.

Heuchera 'Mint Green' and Pulmonaria (coralbells and lungwort)

The Heuchera ‘Mint Frost’ (coral bells) leaves are adjacent to the bright blue Pulmonaria flowers. The Pulmonaria flowers are just ending now, and the Heuchera will be blooming soon, so the flowering times won’t overlap but green patterned leaves set off the blue flowers in this duo.

Athyrium filix-femina 'Lady in Red' and Pulmonaria 'Samourai'

Here’s a combination of  a lady fern with red stems looking extra fresh and green in front of the silver Pulmonaria. I like this pair together.

Helleborus and Brunnera 'Looking Glass'

This is a combination from a couple of weeks ago. Helleborus is the little plant that keeps on going.  It was up so early in my garden, and the greenish flower bracts were still going as the blue Brunnera macrophylla bloomed.

Heuchera 'Mint Green' and Campanula cochlearifolia with ferns

Here the Heuchera are next to the blue flowers of the Campanula cochlearifolia (fairy thimble bellflower), in front of some tall ferns. There’s a bit more blue from Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) by the birdbath.

Campanula rotundifolia and Campanula carpatica (bellflowers)

Here’s a light and airy combination of purplish blue Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) and white Campanula carpatica This couple will last in the garden for most of the summer and into fall.

Brunnera macrophylla and Campanula carpatica

These are the last few sky blue blooms of the  Brunnera macrophylla with the new, dark blue flowers of Campanula carpatica (carpathian bellflower). They will only overlap for a brief time. Now, the carpathian bellflowers will carry on the blue until fall.

Iris and Campanula poscharskyana (bellflower) buds

This one of the last of the yellow Iris. At the end of the iris bloom time, it bent over enough to flower with the bluish purple buds of the Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower), which is much shorter.

The next perennial combinations are from a sunnier part shade area of the garden.

yellow Iris and Campanula glomerata

One of the last few yellow Iris is flowering with the purple Campanula glomerata (clustered bellflower). I’m not keen on the habits of the C. glomerata, but the purple does look nice combined with the yellow iris, and then later with the pink peony.

Paeonia 'Sarah Bernhardt' bud and 'Campanula Summertime Blues'

A small pink bud of the Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ is just starting to open next to the purple Campanula ‘Summertime Blues’. This should look pretty as more peony buds open, to bring lots more pink petals to the combination.

Aruncus dioicus (goatsbeard) and Geranium Johnson's blue

This white and blue combination has some Aruncus dioicus (goatsbeard) with some Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ that have just stared flowering.  Normally, the goatsbeard would be the much taller one of this pair, but this one is a little stunted.

Paeonia 'Sarah Bernhardt' and Campanula glomerata

The photo above shows a pleasing group of purple and pink, Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and Campanula glomerata. Both of this pair are drooping a little from the rain, but luckily they drooped together.

Do you have any particular combinations you’re enjoying in your garden now?

Campanula 'Summertime Blues'

Pretty blue or purple flowers are always a treat in the garden. I added a taller bellflower to my garden earlier this spring, Campanula ‘Summertime Blues’. It has the typical purplish blue flowers of Campanula, and is supposed to bloom for a long time. It is covered in many beautiful bells. This bellflower is planted in a more sunny/part shade area of the garden.

Campanula 'Summertime Blues' lots of flowers

Campanula ‘Summertime Blues’ is supposed to be very well behaved, not seeding or sending out runners. I haven’t had any problems with my bellflowers spreading to the point of annoyance, other than C. glomerata (which is my least favourite bellflower) self seeding, but if they do overly well in your area, this might be a good one for your garden.

Campanula 'Summertime Blues' flower with lobelia behind

The plants are about 70 cm (2.5 ft) tall. The foliage is a little coarse on this perennial, but the colouring is nice. The leaves are a dark, rich green, while the contrasting stems are reddish. When the multitude of flowers open on ‘Summertime Blues’, the foliage is the last thing you notice.

These flowers of Campanula ‘Summertime Blues’ have the classic downward facing bells. The ends of the bells flare out slightly. The flowers are larger than most bellflowers, about 5 cm (2 in) long. They look almost blue individually, but in front of the bright blue lobelia you can see that Summertime Blues are actually a lavender blue, with a slight silver tone. The buds are a reddish purple colour. There are an amazing number of flowers, from the top to the bottom of this large bellflower, so it doesn’t really need other plants in front of it. I have an annual short blue lobelia in front of them.

Campanula 'Summertime Blues' and lobelia

I have this Campanula  planted in front of some Phlox paniculata (tall garden phlox).  Since ‘Summertime Blues’ is supposed to flower all season, they should look nice later in the summer with the flowering phlox. There are some Dianthus (pink carnations) to one side, and a pink ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peony behind them. The river of sky blue lobelia flows in and around the area.

Because I only added the perennials to the garden a month and a half ago, it is hard to tell what the typical flower number will be. However, there were no blooms on these bellflowers when I bought them, and now they are laden with flowers. The plants droop a bit with such a heavy load of pretty petals, but manage to hold them all off of the ground. I might have this Campanula give some lessons to the peony.

Campanula ‘Summertime Blues’ adds many beautiful purplish blue flowers to the garden. I’ll know more about its actual bloom length by this fall, and its hardiness by next spring.

Campanula 'Summertime Blues' 8 bells

Here is a post I wrote showing this bellflower combined with pink carnations. You can also read about a wide variety of bellflowers that I grow in this previous post.

Campanula portenschlagiana ‘Hoffman’s Blue’ (dalmatian bellflower) makes a great groundcover, with a thick carpet of gorgeous purple flowers. I planted these in a narrow space between my house and a sidewalk. The area is a little dry under the eaves and shaded between the houses, but they thrive there.

Campanula portenschlagiana is hardy and easy care. I have a 12 m (39 ft) row of these, and they all survived the winter. Incredibly, a couple of these plants kept a few of their colourful flowers under the snow. There they were in April, when the snow melted. They weren’t as perky after being buried in the snow. They were  soggy and wilted,  but they were still violet. These and the C. rotundifolia are the only plants I’ve had do that.

The foliage on this plant is long lasting too. In fall, as other plants give in to the frost, Campanula portenschlagiana continues with perfectly green leaves. In earliest spring, many of these leaves are still intact, giving an early boost of green.

I’ve read that these can spread more in other zones, but I’ve had no problem with them. They haven’t seeded into the lawn, nor have they tried to send runners down the cracks of the sidewalk. I’m not sure if this is because ‘Hoffman’s Blue’ is better behaved than the species or not. Perhaps the location I have them in, or my zone keeps them well behaved.

The flowers of these dalmatian bellflowers are upward facing bells, which makes it easy to view and admire them. The petals flare out and curl back slightly, a very attractive shape. ‘Hoffman’s Blue’ are a bluish violet colour, the exact shade changing with the angle and intensity of the sun. The plants are completely covered in the blooms, even in this area that only gets a couple hours of sun.

Not only do I find these dalmatian bellflowers attractive, but the bees find them irresistible too. You can play ‘Where’s Buzzy’ with the photos, as many have them have a fuzzy little black and yellow rear end sticking out of a flower. There is always a faint hum as I walk down this sidewalk. I like to stop and watch the bees bury their heads in the flowers, as their back ends wiggle around. It always makes me smile.

The Campanula portenschlagiana ‘Hoffman’s Blue’ can grow in some less than ideal conditions, and still produce these gorgeous blooms. There are more photos and information about this Campanula on a follow up post.