Northern Shade Gardening

Campanula ‘Haylodgensis’ is a pretty bellflower with double blue flowers. I’m not sure if it is fully hardy in zone 3, but I’ll know by next spring. The zone recommendations for this perennial seem variable. [Update: the Campanula 'Haylodgensis' survived the zone 3 winter and are covered in buds the next season.]

Campanula ‘Haylodgensis’ is a cross between C. cochlearifolia (fairy thimble bellflower) and C. carpatica (Carpathian bellflower). It resembles C. cochlearifolia ‘Elizabeth Oliver’, being a low growing bellflower about 10 cm (4 in.) tall. The flowers are a similar light sky blue colour. However, they are slightly larger, more open, and have more petals than ‘Elizabeth Oliver’. Here’s a photo of an Elizabeth Oliver plant for comparison. You can read more  about ‘Elizabeth Oliver’ in this previous post.

I’ve only had the Haylodge bellflower in my garden for a month now, but it’s already becoming one of my favourite bellflowers. The flowers have a true blue colour, and being a double, they are very showy. I’m not sure of the blooming length yet, but I hope it has a long flowering time, similar to its 2 parents.

Campanula ‘Haylodgensis’ is a charming, elfin flower with a beautiful colour. I hope this perennial makes it through the winter, so I might throw an extra armload of leaves over it in the fall. Since it is a cross between 2 Campanula which do survive our cold winters, I’m optimistic about its chances.

There is more information and pictures of another double flowering bellflower in this post.

Here is an updated post about how  Campanula ‘Haylodgensis’ survived the zone 3 winter and how it’s doing.

More Astilbe plumes are opening in the shade garden now.  The white feathery flowers of Astilbe arendsii ‘Diamant’ (diamond astilbe) glow in the shadows, and the pink flowers of Astilbe simplicifolia “Hennie Graafland’ look like spun cotton candy. Astilbe ‘Europa’ started the bloom show with soft pink flowers.

You could plant these astilbe in a sunnier area to get more flowers, but in the coolness of the shadows, with a little mulch around them, the foliage stays healthy without having to quench their thirst constantly. Also, their ability to reflect light is valuable in the shade.

Most of the A. arendsii ‘Diamant’ flower stalks are open now. Their pure white flowers are highly visible from a distance, even at dusk. When I take a look out the window at the garden after sundown, these plumes still reflect the last wisps of light.

Sometimes this plant is marketed as  Astilbe ‘Diamond’. It is my tallest astilbe, about 30 cm (1 foot) taller than the pink flowered Astilbe ‘Europa’.  Diamant starts blooming  a little after Europa, but their flowering times overlap. I wrote more about Europa in a previous post.

After about 3 weeks the flowers gradually turn brown, but they are still interesting. I leave the faded plumes on the plants until next spring.

The leaves are attractive, and look nice combined with the finer textured fronds of ferns, or with broader leaves.

Astilbe simplicifolia ‘Hennie Graafland’ is a medium sized astilbe, about the same height as ‘Europa’. The flowers have darker centres, giving them a brighter, more saturated look than ‘Europa’. The cotton candy plumes on these are just beginning to open from the bottom.  In a few days, they will be as fluffy as the other astilbe. Despite being in a medium shady area, getting maybe an hour of direct sun, this perennial gets a good number of plumes. The flowers in the bottom picture are all on one plant, though there are 2 other Hennie Graafland behind in the clump.

The extra glossy, dark green leaves are what I like most about Hennie Graafland. In the shade garden, the shiny foliage is very showy, and contrasts nicely with more matte textured leaves. Since the plumes bloom bright for about 3 weeks, it’s decorative to have the polished looking foliage for the rest of the season.

I always look forward to the astilbe blooms in the shadows, but their attractive foliage is around until frost. They don’t seem to be bothered by any pests or diseases in my garden. This perennial is an excellent plant for the shade, and hardy in zone 3.

Here is some more information and photos about astilbe in this followup post.

Astilbes add a feathery softness to the shade in the summer. Astilbe ‘Europa’ is a lovely medium sized perennial with soft pink plumes. The fluffy plumes look good above the foliage, which stays healthy and green, as long as they get enough moisture.

This is a great flowering plant for medium shade. Only a third of the plumes have opened, but already it’s looking good. They would probably get even more blooms in a light shade or sunnier location, but I’m happy with how well it does in the medium shade. The flowers of Europa are a beautiful, clear pink, without purple or peach tones. The light coloured flowers are very noticeable in the shadows. I like how they look with the fiesta white double flowering impatiens. Sometimes I’ve planted a pale apple blossom pink double flowering impatiens with them too. The plumes look pink for about 3 weeks and then start turning brown. This is one of the few perennial blooms that I still like the look of after the flowers lose their colour. I leave the astilbe plumes on until next spring. Like the Hydrangea flowers, they add interest over the winter.

The foliage looks good, green and healthy, and I find it stays that way, as long as it gets enough water. These astilbe plants get about an hour or so of direct sunlight in the early morning, and then a bit of dappled and indirect light for the rest of the day. This probably helps them from getting too dry, I haven’t watered them for a month, but the rain has been very accommodating this summer.

The plumes of this perennial open from the bottom up. In this closeup, it’s easy to see the delicate pink of the astilbe flowers, and the top still waiting to open.

My Astilbe arendsii ‘Diamant’ and A. simplicifolia ‘Hennie Graafland’ are barely beginning to open, and not ready for their closeup yet. They should be adding their showy white and pink blooms to the shade soon too. You can read more about these other astilbe in another post I wrote.Do you grow astilbes, and do you have a favourite?