Northern Shade Gardening

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' 3 plants

Here are three splendid Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss) that make the garden a prettier place. Their charming spring flowers and decorative foliage make them a choice garden plant. These Brunnera, ‘Jack Frost’, ‘Looking Glass’, and ‘Mr. Morse’ handle a a northern climate and a shady garden very well.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' silver leaves

Delightful Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ combines silver and green etched leaves with sky blue flowers. These charming flowers will bloom for about six weeks in spring.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' flower closeup

The lovely flowers are held in sprays above the foliage, making an airy cloud of blue floating above the plants. Jack Frost is the first of the Brunnera to flower in my garden, shortly after the leaves emerge.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' leaf closeup

In this spring photo, the  ‘Jack Frost’ leaves are still small. By summer, they can be two or three times as big. Their silver leaves are great in the shade, making the most of a shadowy area. Since the green follows the lines of the veins, it makes patterns like stained glass, not random blotches.  The green edging set off the silver nicely. The intricate patterns make each leaf a work of art.

These leaves of Brunnera grow large, and overlap, so they are very good at suppressing the growth of unwanted plants. The maple keys don’t grow through them, which saves a little work.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Mr. Morse' plant

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Mr. Morse’ has exquisite green and silver leaves that are very similar to ‘Jack Frost’, but the flowers are white. the leaves appear slightly more green, and a little less silver.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Mr. Morse' flower closeup

If blue flowers don’t fit in with your colour scheme, or you want even more lightness, then ‘Mr. Morse’ would be a good choice. Although I have trouble thinking of anything that blue clashes with, since I think it coordinates nicely with everything else in the garden.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Mr. Morse' and fern

Here Mr. Morse is in front of an Athyrium filix-femina ‘Lady in Red’ (lady fern). I particularly like the combination of silver hearts and feathery fronds.

Brunnera macrophylla Mr morse and Athyrium 'Lady in Red'

The fern and Brunnera were both still small at the beginning of June, but now they’ve grown to just touch at the edges, and it makes a very effective display.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass' leaf closeup

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Looking Glass’ has a more overall silver cast to the leaves, combined with the same striking blue flowers as  ‘Jack Frost’. In early spring, the leaves appear very similar to ‘Jack Frost’, with the same strong green patterns running along the veins. However by summer, they develop a much stronger overall silver colour, with very little green. If you are looking for a very light coloured perennial to reflect the maximum amount of light in the shade, then ‘Looking Glass’ is a great choice. In the above photo, you can see the last of the white Chionodoxa bubs flowering too.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass' flower closeup

All three of these perennials tolerate a fair amount of shade and root competition. Many of my Brunnera are planted right next to trees, some only 30 cm (1 foot) from a trunk, yet thrive just fine. Some other plants seem to have trouble competing with the willow roots, but the Brunnera grow satisfactorily. The plants in denser shade under the willow grow a little smaller than the ones in semi-shade.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' little one

This little Jack Frost got one of the worst sites, but still grows and blooms four years later. When I was planting this group under the willow, I had to plant between the roots. There was one small space between two roots, that was too small for the Brunnera root ball to fit. I shook off most of the soil from the root ball to make it fit, and stuck it in the tiny pocket anyways. Then I covered it with a thin layer of mulch. It looked fine from the top, but I knew that there was no real soil or space underneath. Although it is much smaller than all of the other Brunnera, it still grows those perfect leaves and little blue flowers every year.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass' (Sibrian bugloss) beautiful blue flowers

Brunnera macrophylla take the cold winter of zone 3 with no problem. For all of their hardiness, they do not bother other plants, and don’t try to take over the garden. They don’t send out runners, or self seed to take over your garden. Brunnera hits the sweet spot that gardeners are always searching for – wonderfully hardy and easy care, but never annoying or trying to take over. Here is a post I wrote last year on Brunnera Jack Frost, and Here is an article about how these Brunnera look in fall.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' blue flowers

These three Brunnera macrophylla are wonderful additions to the garden, with their superb foliage and flowers, exceptional hardiness, and shade tolerance. Did I mention those beautiful blue flowers?

Pulmonaria samourai (lungwort) blue flowers

I’m enjoying all the blue flowers in the garden this week. These Pulmonaria x  ‘Samourai’ (Samourai lungwort) have wonderful silver foliage all season, and the pretty blue flowers in spring. This perennial thrives in the shade, with no problems. The Pulmonaria survive a cold climate very well, while the leaves persist past the first frosts, giving long seasonal interest.

Pulmonaria x 'samourai' (lungwort) closeup of leaves

The long silver gray leaves are covered in hairs, leaving a thin edge of green. Since they are a cross of  ‘Majeste’, they have the silver colour, but the leaves are longer and more slender. These will elongate even more in summer. The light colour displays very well in the shade, catching the eye in the shadows. This perennial shows up well next to dark foliage. I particularly like them next to the round, shiny leaves of Asarum europaeum (European ginger).

Pulmonaria x 'samourai' (lungwort) closeup of buds

The maroon coloured buds of the lungwort are in tight clusters. You can see how hairy they are, just like the leaves. As they first open, they are pink coloured, but they quickly turn a true blue colour.

Pulmonaria x 'samourai' (lungwort) closeup of flowers

In this closeup of the bright blue flowers, the simple five petaled blooms of the plant are noticeable. With the back lighting, the hairiness of the flower stalk, leaves and buds stands out. The smaller leaves on the flowers stalks are more green than gray, and often have the dots that are found on other types of Pulmonaria .

Pulmonaria x 'samourai' (lungwort) plant

That early growth of foliage is a great benefit in a short growing season. The above photo shows the new leaves, which will continue extending. These are one of the plants, along with Campanula, Helleborus and Brunnera that start greening up the garden bed while other perennials are waiting for better weather. After the new leaves grew in spring, I removed the old foliage, which started to fade. The older leaves tend to be prickly at the base, so I had to use my gloves when removing them.

This group gets an hour or two of light in the evening, when the sun is low, and thrives there. I have another group on the north side of a fence which does equally well.

Pulmonaria samourai lungwort plant may 29

With their long silver leaves, these Pulmonaria ‘Samourai’ look great next to lacy ferns, or plants with rounded leaves. This grouping has some lady ferns to one side, little heart shaped Asarum in front, and some blue flowered Campanula on the other side. In the shade of a mock orange shrub, they make a nice grouping. Most of the the neighbouring plants haven’t grown as fast as the Pulmonaria yet this spring.

Pulmonaria samourai lungwort flowers may 29

The flowers are a beautiful true blue, except when they’re pink. : )

Pulmonaria ‘Samourai’ is a great perennial for the shade. They are very hardy in zone 3. The lungworts  are much sweeter than their unfortunate common name suggests. The silver foliage is attractive from earliest spring, until after the first frost, while their lovely blue flowers brighten the spring garden.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) shiny leaves

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) is a wonderful foliage plant for the shade. The rounded, cordate (heart shaped) leaves are thick and extra glossy. When they bloom, these perennials will have small, inconspicuous flowers, like tiny cups under the leaves. The polished foliage is the main attraction. I especially like the way they reflect the smallest amount of light in the shadows. The leaves spread out flat above the soil surface, making a great groundcover.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) closeup foliage folded

You can see the newly emerging perennial  leaves are folded tightly in half and are a fresh green colour. The large, flat leaf in front is from last year. About half of the leaves remain on the plant from last season, some in good shape, and some not.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) new little leaves

Here the symmetrical leaves of Asarum Europaeum are partly open, and starting to separate. They are luminous in the dappled light. I noticed that the plants which lost their old leaves over the winter were the first to pop up gleaming new leaves in the spring. I like the way the new leaves of this low-growing perennial appear to be coming directly up from the soil. There are horizontal stems at the soil surface.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) foliage unfolding

The little hearts are opening along their line of symmetry, flattening out. The lighter patterns along the veins are noticeable on the inside of the European ginger leaves.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) old and new foliage

In this photo you can see the old dark green foliage from last year close to the ground, as well as the fresh light green leaves rising up in the centre. My one group of seven Asarum plants on the east side of my yard all came back, but I only see seven out of nine plants from this group so far. It is still early in the season, so they might be waiting for a better forecast before they come out.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) new foliage folded

Here is another picture of the shiny new Asarum leaves appearing, like arrows from the ground. They are gleaming on the top surface, even when they are only half open.

Asarum europaeum May 18 with snow (You'll never defeat us, Mr. Freeze!)

The European ginger does not mind a late spring snow. The leaves looked perfectly fine afterwards, which is a great trait for a foliage plant.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) flower closeup

It is difficult to get a good picture of the flower, since they are very small, and hidden under the leaves, sideways on the ground. The purplish brown structure in the middle of the above photo is the flower. Having your flowers laying on the ground makes it easy for insects that hang out at the soil surface to pollinate your flowers. If you click to enlarge the picture, you can see how tomentose (hairy) the flowers are, like the stems.

Asarum europaeum (European ginger) shiny foliage

This group of Asarum have some Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern) planted behind them on one side, but it is much slower to come up in the spring. On their other side, there is a group of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ (Siberian bugloss). The fern is very lacy, and makes a nice contrast, while the Brunnera have a similar cordate leaf, with a silver pattern. On the other side of the yard, I have another group of Asarum europaeum in front of some Athyrium filix-femina ‘Lady in Red’ (lady fern with red stems), and next to some Brunnera macrophylla ‘Mr. Morse’.  Again they make a nice combination of lacy fern, red stems, silver foliage and lustrous little rounded hearts.

These shiny leaves will enlarge, and make a lovely perennial groundcover under the trees. They make a good contrast to other shade foliage. The hardy plants keep their foliage after frost, looking good until they are covered up. I recommend Asarum europaeum to make a pleasing green carpet in the shade, in the dappled light under deciduous trees.