Northern Shade Gardening

Trillium grandiflorum (look at me I'm growing)

I have to take back the disparaging remarks I made about the Trilliums in a plastic bag. I planted the perennials twelve months ago, and never saw a sign of them in the garden.  Now, those overdue Trillium grandiflorum are finally making an appearance. I was so pleasantly surprised when the characteristic three leaves suddenly appeared in the garden.

I bought them very cheaply from the shelf of a store last May. The little rhizomes were in plastic packages, carelessly arranged on a dusty shelf, with no extra signage.  How could such a special and pretty little woodland plant be laying on a shelf in a plastic bag? However, the price was so reasonable, that I had to give them a try. As I purchased them, I had misgivings, but I figured that I  didn’t have much to lose.

I planted the little brown rhizomes carefully in this garden bed under the maple, thinking that they would enjoy the shady location and fallen deciduous leaves.  I watered and tended the space all last year, but there was never a sign of any growth. When the slow-paced perennials  had still not appeared this spring, I admitted defeat and bought three new Trillium grandiflorum plants. Now the old rhizomes are coming to life.

I feel bad that I gave up on the little Trillium rhizomes in this previous post. However I feel even worse that I was stepping over this area of the shade garden a week ago, as I cleaned up, finally sure that nothing was under there.

Now the fresh leaves have appeared, and I’m elated at this unexpected bonus. Only two of the six have appeared so far, but with our current weather, I wouldn’t blame the others for staying cozily underground for a while longer. I’m definitely not giving up on the other Trillium rhizomes yet, after a twelve month delay for the first two.

Trillium grandiflorum new flower

Here’s what the three petaled blooms will look like, if they flower this year. This flower picture is of one of my newly purchased plants.

I’m thrilled to see these perennials in the garden.  My little Trillium patch is growing. I’m not sure how long it will take them to flower, perhaps not this year. However, there is a little piece of charming woodland growing under the trees now.

Have you given up on a plant, only to have it surprise you much later?

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' May 16 beautiful blooms

The Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’ (Lenten rose) are in bloom now, and their blossoms are as pretty as their foliage. The flowers are subtle shades of cream, muted pink and green. All six plants made it through a zone 3 winter, and a cold spring. I’ve been very impressed with this perennial’s hardiness and perseverance through repeated frosts. These attractive shade plants are great in the spring garden. Their name is Helleborus ‘Walhelivor’, but they are usually found under the marketing name of  ‘Ivory Prince’.  Either way, they are a very desirable plant.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' Dec 21 under snow

Here is what a Helleborus leaf looked like back in December under the snow. It resembles a sea star, floating atop a frozen ocean. The stiff leaves hold the snow without crumpling.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' April 17 red stems

The Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’ were remarkably preserved in April, retaining the leaves from last year, to give a wonderful burst of early green. This photo shows the red stems on April 17, with a few new leaves and buds emerging from the centre of the plant.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' April 18 with foliage from last year still

This picture shows what great shape the Ivory Prince leaves were in after winter. I think the fallen leaf cover and snow helped to protect the perennial, because I’ve heard that Hellebores don’t normally do well on the prairies, or in zone 3, but these have done exceedingly well so far. Perhaps the shelter of a garden, with fences and houses around, and trees overhead help protect them from the drying winds, or perhaps Ivory Prince is better adapted for this climate.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' April 23 under leaves and snow

We had a cold snap at the end of April, and the temperatures went down to -15 C (5 F) with the windchill. I had already removed the winter leaf layer, and the new Helleborus sprouts were exposed overnight. My timing was not good though, since I put some leaf cover back over the hellebore plants after the coldest night. Here they are protected by leaves, with snow over top. I wouldn’t bother covering them back up in spring again, as they seem to have done just fine anyways. I should have left the winter leaves over half of them, and uncovered the rest, to see if there would be any difference in their growth.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' May 2 red stems

Here are the pretty new Helleborus buds at the beginning of May. I love the dark red stems, contrasting with the green foliage. The buds look wonderful, with their burgundy pink outside sepals, and creamy pink tips.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' May 16 flower closeup

The lovely cream coloured blooms, with hints of green, are revealed as the sepals open on the Ivory Prince. The colour variations are delicious, and add to the charm of the flowers. Most of the flowers face outwards or even up, so they are easy to see.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' May 16 plant group

This is part of a group of six Hellebore plants. I’m pleased with how these perennials are filling in, as they just start the season. You can just see some Galanthus  elwesii (snowdrops) behind the group. They have been blooming for about  as long as the Helleborus. The other surrounding perennials have not developed yet.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' May 16 lots of beautiful blooms

Above you can see a  Helleborus covered in beautiful blooms. They are very striking, and besides the Puschkinia (striped squills), they are the most noticeable flowers in the garden right now. My other early perennials, Brunnera (Siberian bugloss) and Pulmonaria (lungwort), are just beginning to open their first blue flowers. I would recommend Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’ for a protected garden in zone 3, as they really extend the flower season, blooming before most early perennials. In a cold, late spring like this one, this is especially appreciated. The plant below is shown blooming on May 18, after a day of snow.

Here is another article I wrote with more information about Ivory Prince hellebore, and you can see how Helleborus look in late fall here.

Helleborus ‘walhelivor’ (Ivory Prince Lenten rose) blooming after the snow

Here are four pretty  shade perennials I recently bought to plant under the trees. Trillium grandiflorum (great white trillium), Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot) and Arisaema sikokianum (Japanese jack in the pulpit) are woodland perennials that emerge to bloom in the spring. The Trillium and Sanguinaria have white flowers, while the Arisaema has a white interior on the hooded spathe and a conspicuous white spadix in the middle. The Arisaema is going to be borderline hardy, but is so captivating, that I had to give it a try. The new Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern) has nicely shaped fronds. These plants are still in their pots as they pose for their photo shoot, before being planted in the garden.

Arisaema sikokianum (Japanese jack in the pulpit)

The Arisaema sikokianum (Japanese jack in the pulpit) is a striking plant that grabs your attention with its unusual flower shape and colour contrast. There is a long dark coloured spathe (hood) that rises up from behind, with distinct stripes on the interior. The inside of the cup is a pure white. Within the cup is the equally white spadix. The unique form is eye-catching, along with the bright white contrast. The light colour shows up well in the dark of the shade. There are two leaves, one with 3 lobes, and one with 5. This woodland plant will be planted under the trees, where it should be right at home. I only purchased one plant, because I’m not sure if it will be entirely hardy. It is rated for zone 5, and the garden is in zone 3, but I’ve had fairly good success with other perennials that were borderline. I’ll make sure that the jack in the pulpit is covered with leaves in the fall, and the snow cover should help too. Since they are not very common yet, it’s possible that this particular type of jack in the pulpit just haven’t been tried much in zone 3. I’ll let you know next spring if this perennial survives an Alberta winter. Update: They survived a very cold winter, with only tree leaf cover, and flowered the next season.

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot) has distinctive, deeply lobed and rounded leaves. Although I haven’t broken a stem yet, they are supposed to have a red sap. This is the origin of both their common name and Latin name. It has been a while since I took Latin, but for a dead language, it comes in handy once in a while. I haven’t decided whether to plant these perennials in the garden next to some lacy ferns, or beside some Pulmonaria (lungwort) that have long leaves. Being a woodland plant, they should enjoy the same shade as these perennials. You can see these on bloom in this followup post on Sanguinaria canadensis and their flowers..

Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)

I’ve  picked up  a new fern, Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern). Although the plant is still in its pot, it looks good in the dappled light under the tree. These ferns like it moist, so I’ll add lots of organic matter to the soil. They are found throughout eastern North America, and now in an Edmonton garden too. Sensitive ferns are hardy to zone 2, so they won’t need any coddling. This fern won’t be for fall interest, since the fronds quickly die back when the frosts come. The fertile fronds are supposed to persist, much like ostrich ferns.

Trillium grandiflorum (great white trillium)

Aren’t the three petalled  Trillium grandiflorum flowers pretty? I remember these plants from the woods of Ontario. They are perfect for a shady garden.

I’ve decided to plant some real Trilliums this year. A year ago I bought some ill fated trillium rhizomes in a plastic package from the store. I knew they were not a good idea, even as I was buying them, but they were so inexpensive (another bad sign), that I thought I’d give them a try, with nothing much lost. Well, I carefully prepared the soil and planted the rhizomes underneath the maple tree, where they’d be sure to get lots of leaf litter in the shade. I watered them, and waited, but  no hint of green appeared. Since trilliums often die back for the summer, I thought perhaps they might appear later. All summer I tended the area, and even when I brought home new plants, I reserved the spot for my phantom trilliums. In the fall, when I needed space for some new perennials, I refrained from planting anything too close to the spot with the nonexistent trilliums. Well now, a year later, nothing has emerged from underground, so I’ve given up the fantasy that there were ever any real trilliums there, and I’ll plant these new beauties. Their lovely white petals, and nicely shaped leaves, in groups of 3, will look much better than a carefully tended bare area.

I look forward to seeing if these new woodland perennials spread next year. I’d love to have a little colony of trilliums. Even though they are in a suburban garden, I hope the new woodland plants appreciate the shade of  the trees, surrounded by fallen leaves.

Here is a follow up post about how the woodland flowers are growing.