Northern Shade Gardening

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ (PG hydrangea) and Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lamb’ are reliable flowering shrubs for a cold climate. They have lavish, showy flowers with an extended blooming time compared to many shrubs. Their tolerance of part shade is an additional bonus.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ (PG hydrangea) is a lovely shrub that is very eye catching when in bloom. It has a fairly nice shape and good foliage. However, the large panicles of white flowers are the main attraction. The abundant white blooms cover most of the foliage when they are fully open. They bloom for over a month, and then gradually turn brown. Their flowers last throughout August and into September in my garden. The flowers are still attractive as they fade, so I leave them on over the winter, and remove them in the spring. Only a few of the blooms are open in this picture. There are many more with green buds still to open. This one is in a medium shade location, so I’m pleased with the numerous buds that it has.

Campanula poscharskyana ‘Blue Waterfall’ (blue waterfall Serbian bellflower) is planted under this hydrangea. It’s quite shadowy underneath, but you can see them better when you click and enlarge the photo. I like the look of the blue stars twinkling around the lower branches of the hydrangea. The heaviest flush of  these bellflower blooms was at the end of June and through July, but they will still flower through the fall.

This is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lamb’. It is new to my garden, just planted a few months ago. It is very similar to ‘Grandiflora’, but the flowers stalks are stiffer and the blooms are held more upright. When it rains, they don’t arch over as much as the PG hydrangea. In the photo, you can see the green buds of the panicles that haven’t fully opened. There are ample blooms for a shrub that is still only 75 cm by 75 cm (2 feet).

The marketing campaign for this shrub describes the flowers as little lambs dancing over the shrub. I think they’re stretching it with the description, as they look very much like other H. paniculata panicles to me, even when I squint and use my imagination. However, it is a good looking hydrangea.

I have a Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ (annabelle hydrangea) too, but it only has 4 blooms. It looks very stingy compared to the other hydrangeas, probably because it’s planted in heavier shade. If it doesn’t bloom more next year, I might move it to a part shade location. I was probably stretching its shade tolerance to plant it in a location that only gets about a half hour of direct sun a day.

The leaves on annabelle are larger than the H. paniculata leaves. When it’s not in bloom, it’s not quite as attractive as H. paniculata.

Here’s a view of the PG hydrangea that the birds see as they’re coming in for a landing on the birdbath.

What are your favourite shrubs for shade?

Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ (blizzard mockorange) is a great shrub for the northern shade garden. It has attractive foliage, and a nice overall shape, not awkward like other mockoranges can be. It grows about 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall, making it easy to fit into a small backyard. It is extra hardy and can tolerate shade.

The white blossoms of Blizzard are beautiful with a light scent. They are lovely with their noticeable yellow stamens. This variety blooms for about 3 weeks in June and July in my garden.

The stems are red with medium green leaves. Blizzard mockorange keeps looking good over the winter, because of these decorative stems.

Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’ was originally selected from one growing in Alberta, and was introduced in Canada. I have found this shrub to be very hardy, surviving over the winter and blooming in the summer, while other mockoranges can be borderline hardy in zone 3. My Philadelphus virginalis has never bloomed  in a semi-shade exposure. I’m not sure if this is because of the light exposure, the cold, or an individual quirk.

The P. lewisii ‘Blizzard’ only gets an hour or two of direct sun, and then some dappled or indirect sun the rest of the day. It would probably have more blooms in the sun, but I’m pleased to find a great shrub that flowers in this exposure.

I would recommend the Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’, if you are looking for a small to medium shrub that tolerates a cold climate, blooms in medium shade, has decorative winter stems, and exquisite white flowers.

Here is another post with more photos and information of my Philadelphus lewisii ‘Blizzard’, and this post has more about ‘Blizzard’, too.

You can read about my hardy Hydrangea shrubs, which do well in the shade.

There might be hope that the pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) will not spread farther into Alberta just yet, laying waste to our pines the way it has in British Columbia.

I love this pine in my backyard and so does the wildlife. I’m fortunate that a previous owner thought of the future and planted a number of trees. Now I get to enjoy their cool shade, wonderful shadow patterns, long branches that create privacy, and watch the birds that they entice to the yard. My pine is the tallest tree and often a robin likes to perch at the top and proclaim its territory. There is a birdbath next to the pine, and many birds perch on the lower branches before and after their baths. Sometimes a woodpecker will visit systematically up and down the trunk; it’s hard to begrudge it the food it finds. The nuthatches like to hop down the pine trunk, in their typical head down position, as they too search for a meal. The trunk is covered in an assortment of interesting life forms, including moss. Isn’t the bark fascinating? Altogether it is a valuable part of the yard.

However, this pine and all the others in Alberta have been on the brink of potential endangerment as the voracious pine beetles have made their initial forays east over the Rocky Mountains into our province. In British Columbia they have caused terrible devastation to the forests. The amount of damage done to the ecosystem and economy has been incredible. There are vast stands of dead trees.

However, there was a ray of hope in an article by Bill Mah in the Edmonton Journal newspaper this morning.

‘We’re cautiously optimistic that the winter did give us a helping hand,’ said Erica Lee, a provincial mountain pine beetle prevention specialist. At 299 other sites across the province researchers are also taking stock to test the prediction that temperature were low enough for long enough,12 consecutive hours of -40° C (-40°F) ambient air temperature, in January and February to kill enough of the beetles to make a difference.

The article goes on to explain more of the problems associated with the pine beetle invasion, such as damage to the watershed leading to flooding, the loss of $23 billion worth of timber, and of course the impact on the wildlife. For example, without the lichen which grows there, the woodland caribou will be in trouble.

The original invasion was caused by freak gusts of wind, which carried the pine beetles 400 kilometres over the Rockies to Alberta. It would be sweet revenge if our freakishly cold temperatures managed to kill off enough of them.

I hope for the sake of the vast stands of the pine trees in Alberta, the wildlife, the watershed, the economy, and my beloved backyard pine tree, that the pine beetle invasion will be halted.