Northern Shade Gardening

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) plant and flowers

Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’ (lilac fairy barrenwort or bishop’s hat)  is a fabulous shade perennial. The leaves are especially nicely shaped, some like asymmetrical hearts, while the purple blooms start appearing shortly after the leaves.

This barrenwort goes by the marketing name ‘Lilac Fairy’, a fairly close metaphor for the flowers. I’m not sure how many more plants it sells than the ‘Lilafee’ designation, but I suppose a picturesque name can’t hurt.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) flower closeup

The purple flower on this Epimedium has a unique shape, with long white spurs. The clusters of flowers are held above the foliage, with the blooms overlapping. They bloom for about 4 weeks.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) flower bunch closeup

Here is a closeup of the purple flower bunch of Lilafee. You can see the long, narrow petal tips. It’s nice to see the flowers held up high, and visible from a distance, since many spring shade perennials arrange their flowers demurely under the leaves.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) new dark leaves

The new leaves of this Epimedium are a dark red color in early spring. Then as the plants first grow, they keep a red border around the leaf edge.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) new leaves

The red of the new leaves fades away as the green takes over, and eventually the foliage is all green. Here you can see the little pink buds on the left. These appear very shortly after the tiny leaves. Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’ is up and blooming early, but the leaves continue to be attractive after the flowers fade. The plant is about 30 cm (1 foot) tall.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) plant and flowers 2

Here is another Lilafee flower spike up close. I planted one of these perennials last fall, and liked it so much that I went back for more, but the remainder had had an unfortunate greenhouse glass accident. I’m going to expand the group this year, since the plants look great at the front of the garden border with their fresh looking leaves, plus the whole dancing fairies effect.

In the photo below you can just see a frond of Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’ (Japanese painted fern) off the left. I have a group of these ferns next to the Epimedium, and the colourful, textured fern foliage looks great next to the softer Epimedium leaves. If you click to enlarge the picture, you can see how the light green leaves of the barrenwort have a soft glow in the shade.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) plant red leaf

This Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’ makes a great shade plant. It overwintered in zone 3 just fine, and sent up leaves early. These attractive leaves cover the ground well, while the purple flowers are pretty and display gracefully. You can see this Epimedium with its Fall colour change in this post.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' (lilac fairy barrenwort) closeup leaves

Polygonatum commutatum giganteum (giant solomon's seal) double flowers

Giant Solomon’s seal produces lovely arching stems, from which the little flowers dangle in the spring. Their tolerance of shade makes them a welcome plant under the trees.

This perennial is listed as either Polygonatum commutatum, Polygonatum giganteum or P. biflorum var. commutatum. I’m not sure which is the most up to date scientific name, but my favourite is ‘giganteum’. It conjures up images of these little flowers dangling at eye height. So far mine are only 45 cm (1  and  ½ feet) tall, so I had to squat to take these pictures. Perhaps next year I’ll be standing on tip toe to take them, or perhaps I’m just too easily swayed by a picturesque name. They will have to do some more growing to catch up to the Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern) behind them. However, they have not trouble rising above the lily of the valley. They are supposed to grow over 1.2 m (4 feet). If I straighten the arch they might be 60 cm (2 feet) tall, but that’s cheating, like standing on your tiptoes when you’re getting your height measured. We’ll see if the shade and competition with the  willow allow them to reach their full height in a few years.

Polygonatum commutatum giganteum (giant solomon's seal) single flowers

The flowers on these giant Solomon’s seal are hanging down in pairs on half of the plants, two little cream and green blooms, side by side, strung out along the stem.

However, this seems to be a capricious perennial, since some of these Polygonatum have single flowers dangling below the stem, instead of pairs. The nomenclature seems to have confused these plants.  (Am I a biflorum or not? Are you now or have you ever been a commutatum?)

The leaves of giant Solomon’s seal are similar in shape, colour and veining to the lily of the valley, but they are arranged alternately along the curved stem. Each flower comes out from the stem, just a little above each leaf axle. This causes the flowers to be very evenly spaced along the stem.

As they mature, the little flowers flare out on the bottom, with little green petal tips. The arrangement of the flowers, suspended underneath,  and the tight buds flaring out reminds me  of the Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ (white bleeding heart) that are just starting to bloom now.

Polygonatum commutatum or giganteum flared flower

The distinctive arched shape of the Solomon’s seal stems make a nice contrast to other plant forms. It makes a counterpoint to the outward curve of the ostrich fern.

Last fall I was planting these perennials past dark, by the light of the motion security light. I was behind the willow, when the light went out. I had one Polygonatum left, and it fell to the ground, losing its stem. In the dark I couldn’t tell which way was up, and made my best guess. It seems to have worked, as they are all up now, and all have multiple stems, a very accommodating plant. The recommended spacing was 1 m (3 feet) apart, and I can see now that they will be filling in the area, even though I didn’t  give each little stem its own 1 metre (1 yard) radius of garden at planting time. The willow tends to diminish the height and width of plants growing underneath it.

Polygonatum commutatum giganteum (giant Solomon's seal) flowers in pairs

Polygonatum giganteum are great plants for the shade garden. The arching branches, with little charms suspended underneath are very appealing. The curving stem arrangements look graceful over shorter plants. I like them next to ferns, so I will be planting more of these attractive perennials.

I’m always looking for tall shade plants. Now if only they would take their ‘Giganteum’ name a little more seriously. Do you have any favourite tall shade plants?

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?