Shade gardens don’t have to be about hostas all the time
I love a practiced hosta . They ’re tough and beautiful and look good all summer long – provide the deer and slugs leave them alone . But permit ’s be honest : they can get a bit deadening . We can do better people ! So today ’s pictures boast some beautiful , engrossing plants for nicety that you have n’t see a thousand times . A lilliputian something to mix up the old-hat old hosta monoculture .
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Chuck Gleaves sent in this beautiful image of Glaucidium palmatum (Japanese wood poppy, Zones 3-8) standing behind a mass of Primula kisoana (Japanese primrose, Zones 5 – 8). These two are perfect companions, blooming the same time in late spring and preferring the same cool, moist, shady conditions.
Rubus odoratus (purple flowering raspberry, zones 3-8) is an under-appreciated native plant. Native to a wide swath of the Eastern US, it blooms all summer long with big, fragrant, flowers over bold foliage. Even better, the beautiful blooms are followed by small but tasty raspberries. The downside? It will sucker and spread aggressively. Not a plant for a small garden, but perfect if you have a big area to fill.
Cissus discolor (rex begonia vine) I’m not big on annuals, but this is one that I adore. The leaves look like a rex begonia, but on a vigorous, heat-tolerant vine that tolerates deep shade. Bring it inside as a house plant for the winter, and it’ll beautify your shady corners for years.
Epimedium lishihchenii (Zones 4 – 8) suffers from a ridiculous, unpronounceable name and no real common name, but I love this plant! New leaves emerge pale green flushed with orange and topped in early spring with absurd, delicate, yellow flowers. All summer long – and through the winter in mild climates – the graceful foliage makes a lush, tough, adaptable carpet.
Primula sieboldii (Japanese woodland primrose, Zones 3 – 8) is my favorite primrose. Most primroses insist on perfectly cool, moist shade and die dramatically at the first hint of hot drought. This tough little fellow doesn’t mind heat at all, and if it gets too dry in the summer, just goes dormant. The leaves die back, it waits out the heat, and then it pops up again next spring, flowering away as if nothing had happened.
