What’s new in the Perennial shade Garden?
We have some stunners this year. People often assume that you have to have a lot of sun in your garden to make it look sensational. Not so. We have a whole greenhouse devoted to shade plants …filled with amazing choices.
Pulmonaria ‘Little Star’ (12-14”) is just adorable with lovely polka dot leaves. A darling compact variety that has charming pink buds that open to blue flowers and adds texture to your garden design. (Hardy to Zone 3) It is both deer and rabbit resistant, attracts hummingbirds and makes a good cut flower.
The award winning Primula ‘Miller’s Crimson’ (Japanese primrose) has gorgeous crimson blooms that seem to pop when placed next to chartreuse Heuchera or Hosta. This robust candelabra primrose has flowers that rise above the rosettes of lettuce-like leaves, with each stem showcasing up to 6 whorls. It attracts butterflies and is deer resistant.
Brunnera are always amazing in the shade garden, giving splashes of silver heart-shaped foliage everywhere. Two incredible varieties this year are Brunnera macrophylla ‘Sea Heart’ and ‘Silver Heart’ (8-12“) and the exquisite green veining throughout the frosted silver leaves resemble the intricate wing of a dragonfly. These low maintenance perennials are perfect for the woodland garden and are deer and rabbit resistant. In the Spring they have dainty indigo blue forget-me-not flowers that just add to their charm.
Bleeding Hearts are always popular. Two new ones are Dicentra ‘Ruby Gold’ (32”) which is the first gold foliage bleeding heart with true brilliant red flowers that have a touch of unusual orange; and the award winning ‘Valentine’ which is the improved version of the traditional variety boasting a sturdier plant with the new green growth tinged with purple and more arching stems adorned with lovely heart shaped rich scarlet-red flowers.
They are deer and rabbit resistant and attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
You can liven up a dark area by adding plants with chartreuse coloured leaves. The Hosta ‘Lemon Snap’ (2-4”) has chartreuse coloured leaves which dramatically show off the bright red stems and purple flowers. The Heuchera ‘Indian Summer Lime Berry’ has unusual bright lime-green ruffled foliage. They definitely make the other shade plants stand out.
