Northern Shade Gardening

From the middle to late spring, the sweet woodland flowers are blooming in my garden. I love these charming flowers that grow under the trees without complaint, tolerating the shade and root competition, and flourishing in the organic matter dropped by the trees. This group shows such distinctive blooms, that you have to appreciate the wonderful diversity of nature.

Trillium grandiflorum two white flowers

The Trillium grandiflorum (great white trillium) are blooming in purest white, with three petals and three leaves. I planted the bare rhizomes in the soil a few years ago, and although the whole plants skipped the first growing season, they are blooming now. My trilliums  grow very close to a maple trunk, squeezed in next to a Philadelphus (mockorange) shrub. I look forward to seeing this group expand, since they remind me of the forests of Eastern Canada. Mine are about 17 cm (7 in) tall, so they are tucked behind some short Asarum (wild ginger).

Arisaema sikokianum woodland flower

Arisaema sikokianum (Japanese jack in the pulpit) has the most unusual flower of all. The exotic looking bloom has a cup with a pure white middle, the colour of milk, while the pure white  spadix rises out of the middle of the cup. The elaborate spathe (hood) arches higher over top and is striped in purple and black. The hood is high enough to allow a good view of the spadix, unlike some jack in the pulpits. I always have to look at this one from all angles, since I find it fascinating. The back shows the elaborately striped and curved hood, and the front shows the stripes meeting the white interior.

The Arisaema sikokianum foliage dies back in summer, to reappear next spring. Because this is an ephemeral, I really have to remember where it is planted. Last Fall I accidentally dug it up when planting bulbs. It was late in the season, and I was worried that it would stress the plant as it headed into winter. Arisaema sikokianum was rated for zone 5, so digging it up in late Autumn was not going to help its survival in zone 3. Plus we had a cold winter, so I wasn’t sure if this jack in the pulpit would come back. We also had a cold May with a snow storm at the very end of the month. I was very pleased to see it doing well this spring. It is a little shorter than last year, about 18 cm (7 in), possibly because of the tough late spring. However it is flowering, so I suspect that Japanese jack in the pulpit is hardier than generally given credit for.

Cypripedium calceolus lady's slipper flower

Another elaborately shaped flower is the Cypripedium calceolus (yellow lady slipper orchid), which has these delightful yellow flowers with a deep pouch. The distinctive flowers are endearing, while the twisted sepals and petals radiating out draw the eye inwards to the dramatic lip. It is such an amazing adaptation for insect pollination, forcing the visitor into a trap where it must crawl past the stigma to get out. No nectar for you! This lady slipper is another woodland floor plant, at about 20 cm (8 in) tall. It is tucked beside some more Asarum europaeum, in front of some Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern) and next to some Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss).

Polygonatum commutatum dangling flowers

Polygonatum commutatum (giant solomon’s seal) rises above the other woodland perennials. Mine are 45 cm (18 in) tall, not quite giant status, but still growing. The solomon’s seal has these fabulous flowers that dangle in rows under the curved stem. The flowers are suspended  in singles, pairs or triples, a highly variable plant. The stems of Polygonatum commutatum all arch in graceful curves, so they arc wonderfully over top of shorter flowers, creating a pretty effect. One group of these plants are flowering in some of my deepest shade, getting a half an hour of direct light in the earliest morning, and a smidgen of dappled light. Despite the low light, the solomon’s seal produce a multitude of the little jewelled bells hanging from the arches. At first the cream coloured bells are closed, but as they mature the bottoms flare open with a small ruffle around the edge and a hint of green.

Sanguinaria canadensis single white flowers

The Sanguinaria (bloodroot) bloomed a few weeks ago at the end of May, but I’m including them here because they are a classic woodland plant. Here is a previous post with more about the bloodroot. Sanguinaria canadensis produce these simple white flowers next to the beautifully lobed leaves. The flowers consist of perfect petals radiating outwards. These leaves look good all summer and contrast nicely with the feathery texture of ferns or Astilbe.

Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex double flower

The Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex (double bloodroot) flowers are very showy, and packed with many extra petals. The double form has an extended bloom time, so you can enjoy them for longer. The flowers come up right with the leaf which has deep lobes.

The flowers of these woodland perennials are all varied in shape, making each one interesting to examine. Flowers can look gorgeous in large groups from a distance, but they can also take your breath away when you observe them closely and note the intriguing details and adaptations they have developed. The picture below shows the flower closeups, with Arisaema sikokianum on the upper left, Polygonatum commutatum on the top right, Cypripedium calceolus on the bottom left and Trillium grandiflorum on the lower right.

Arisaema Cypripedium Polygonatum Trillium flowers

The Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’ (Foxtrot tulips)  have developed wonderful pink tones, now that they’re fully open. With their extra petals, these tulips look beautiful in the garden. They are in Division 2, which are double early tulips. I wrote about the ‘Foxtrot’ tulip combined with the blue Muscari before, but I don’t think I emphasized how wonderfully pink they really are.

Tulipa 'Foxtrot' 2 double pink tulips

‘Foxtrot’ flowers have various shades, from a light shell pink, through medium to rose pink. The blush shading of pink and white on each petal is very attractive. When they first open, each petal is almost pure white, before they develop their mature colour. The double petals can have a bit of a ruffle around the edges, giving them an attractive shape, almost like a peony. If they packed any more petals into the flower, they would look like my ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ peony blooms.

Tulipa 'Foxtrot' 3 double tulips

These tulips also have a wonderful scent. I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet fragrance a group of them can give off. It reminds me a bit of my lilac. Between the lilac, tulips and lily of the valley, the garden is deliciously perfumed right now.

pink Tulipa 'Foxtrot' and blue Muscari

The above picture show the edge of the Muscari armeniacum ‘Blue Spike’ (grape hyacinth) group in front of the tulips. I’ve got over 50 ‘Foxtrot’ tulips planted in this group, and with the Muscari in front it is my favourite garden section right now. They look terrific with the smaller blue bulbs.

Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’ are a little shorter and sturdier, so they remain upright, even when they get a bit of snow. Because they are 30 to 35 cm (12 to 14 in), they look balanced when combined with shorter bulbs, like the Muscari.

With the cooler weather, these spring bulbs have been blooming for three weeks already and are still going strong. I’m very pleased with their vigour and appearance so far.  I planted them last Autumn, but since they are in a part shade location, I’m not sure yet how strongly they will come back next year.

I’ve made a gallery to show how pretty the ‘Foxtrot’ tulips look in a group as well as up close. You can click any of the small photos to see it full sized. It’s a pink extravaganza.

Here are some of my favourite colours of the shade garden in late May. I love the combination of blue and white flowers in spring, with silver leaves to showcase them. If the overflow of the photos are hidden at a smaller resolution, just click them to see the full picture.

blue flowers of late May

Above are some of the blue perennial flowers of spring, bringing a bit of the sky into the garden and making the beds a little more serene. On the upper left is the beautiful sky blue of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ (Siberian bugloss). Three established, large plants of these can produce a square metre (around a square yard) of airy blue flowers. On the upper right are the pretty light blue flowers of Muscari azureum (grape hyacinth) bulbs.  The flowers over the spotted leaves are Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (lungwort). They emerge pink, but quickly turn this bright blue shade. The fern fronds behind make a good background for them.

silver leaves of May

Silver leaves are my favourite with blue and white flowers. The steely tones pull together the cooler coloured blooms, and show them off . The top left picture is of Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern), with its first silvery green frond. These ferns are slow to come up in my garden in spring. On the top right is the silver grey foliage of Pulmonaria ‘Samourai’. The bottom of the picture shows the king of shade foliage, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. The exquisite silver and green pattern make this my favourite leaf. The silver colours of these perennials add an extra glow in the shady areas of the garden.

white flowers of late May

White flowers are a stand out in the darker areas of the garden. On the upper left of the above picture are the white flowers of Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’ when they first open. As the flowers of these bulbs age, they turn pink. These are in a part shade location, so I’m not sure how they’ll return next year.  On the upper right are the sweetest smelling Conavallaria majalis (lily of the valley) flower bells. The garden is full of this wonderful scent right now. Along the bottom of the photo are the pure white flowers of Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot). This perennials bloomed briefly, but shone while they were out. Another white woodland flower coming out now is the Trillium grandiflorum (great white trillium).

Purple leaves and flowers in May

This image shows some purple leaves and flowers. On the upper left are the newly opening Syringa vulgaris ‘Wedgewood Blue’ (lilac) flowers. These blooms get more blue as they develop. If you’re wondering why it’s drooping, it’s because I had just shook off the wet snow that bent the branches over. The top right perennial is Heuchera ‘Mint Frost’, which has green and silver leaves for most of the summer, but includes lots of purple and red shades in the cold. With our colder late May temperatures, they have lots of colour in them still. On the bottom of the picture is the intense silvery purple foliage of Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’. It is another super foliage plant.

My favourite colours are repeated in groups around the different shady garden beds. What are your favourite garden colours for late spring?