A plant I fancy: Lobelia cardinalis

As it gets colder and rainier, I seem to be kicking into planning mode.  The plant this week is related to the two previous plants I coveted (toad lily and chelone).  All three of these, along with astilbe, some bulbs, and maybe a couple of shrubs, are the makings of my rain garden.



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden Plantfinder

Conveniently, chelone, toad lily and lobelia (or cardinal flower) are all late summer/fall-flowering.  They will add some interest to my backyard, where there is absolutely nothing going on right now.  They all prefer slightly moist soil and cardinal flower is even recommended for stream banks.


Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden Plantfinder



Scientific name: Lobelia cardinalis

Common name(s): cardinal flower
Height x Width: 2'-4' x 1'-2'

Growth rate: Medium - can be divided and may self-seed.
Hardiness: Zones 3-9
Soil: Rich, medium to wet soil

Light: Full sun to partial shade
Bloom Time - July - September

 

Reasons I like it:

• grows well in shade
• provides late summer/early fall blooms
• is native to the south east
• it's supposedly deer resistant*

Where would I put it?

• In the backyard, in a damp spot that will become a rain garden or anywhere between the understory and the lawn (I'm starting to sound like a broken record!)

Lobelia 'Monet Moment' - Courtesy Perennials.com

* As with the toad lily, I did actually purchase a lobelia last year.  I got Lobelia 'Monet Moment' from Bluestone Perennials.  It's planted in the general area of my future rain garden amidst the pachysandra.  A deer, or something, has really enjoyed chewing on it.  I'm hoping it will come back next year, when I'll be much more diligent about spraying tasty plants.  I'm not really a pink person (although my most recent bloom day would lead you to believe otherwise), but I think this shade would match toad lily, chelone, and astilbe (if there's any overlap) better than red would.  If it doesn't come back, I might also consider Lobelia fulgens 'Queen Victoria' -- I love that dark red foliage!

A plant I fancy: Tricyrtis

I recovered, completely, from my funk last week.  I was a little under the weather on Sunday so I spent the whole day in bed with gardening books and looking at all of the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.  As a result, it's quite easy to come up with a list of plants I would like for my garden...in fact, the difficulty is deciding on just one to talk about.


Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Scientific name: Tricyrtis

Common name(s): Toad Lily

Height x Width: 1'-3' x 1'-2'

Growth rate: Clumps gradually increase in size, may also self-seed

Hardiness: Zones 4-9
Soil: Prefers rich, moist soil

Light: Prefers partial shade

Bloom Time - Late summer through fall 



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Reasons I like it:

• grows well in shade
• provides late summer/early fall blooms
• supposedly deer resistant

Where would I put it?

• In the backyard, in a damp spot that will become a rain garden or anywhere between the understory and the lawn

 

Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder


A lot of people have tricyrtis, or Toad Lily, blooming in their gardens right now.  Technically, I should have one as well.  I bought one at the William Paca House plant sale earlier in the year, but it seems like the deer ate it.  Between the chelone I posted about last week and the toad lily this week, I've got quite a few things planned for my non-existent rain garden.

Old Pictures

We survived the hurricane with minimal damage:  no trees down, but several big limbs.  Also, the arbor into the woodland path is probably a goner.


I haven't taken any new pictures, but here are some I found on my camera.  I believe they're from June.

Look what I found: Hellebore xhybridus

Hellebores, or Lenten Roses, are quite trendy these days.  I'm not sure if it's because they were named perennial plant of the year in 2005, because "winter interest" has become such a focus in garden design, or because these wonderful plants are finally getting their due.  You might not be able to find them at Home Depot, but most specialty garden centers or perennial catalogs will have them (and the varieties available are spectacular).

In my experience, hellebores will grow about 1.5 feet tall and about 1.5 feet wide.  They are one of the first plants to bloom in the garden, starting in February or March and lasting until June.  Flower colors range from white, through pinks and purples, all the way to black.  Most blooms are tinged with green or have freckles.  Since the nodding blossoms face down it can be difficult to fully appreciate them.  Many people cut the flowers and float them in bowls of water.

Hellebores are very easy to grow and do not required extra coddling or watering.  Mine have always seemed to thrive on neglect.  Once the plants are done blooming, their leathery, evergreen leaves add texture to the garden throughout the fall and winter.  I trim the most battered leaves back in the early spring, but you don't have to.  At the old house, I had a couple of Lenten Roses in a fairly sunny foundation bed.  Now, I have a grove of them deep in the woods.  They didn't seem to mind the sun, but most sources agree they do better in partial or full shade.  It doesn't seem like the deer bother them at all, which is great.

You might be wondering why I'm posting about these plants now instead of earlier in the year.  There are a few reasons:

1. I didn't have a blog when they first started blooming
2. I knew they'd be blooming for a while, so I wasn't in a rush to post about them
3. I'm most excited about seed pods forming in the center of the flowers

Seriously - when they first started blooming, I was excited, but now I check them at least three times a week to see whether the seeds are getting close to being mature.  As soon as those seed pods turn brown, I'll be able to collect the seeds.  I'll direct sow some in the woods and try to grow the rest indoors over the winter.

Other efforts to expand the Hellebore grove include ordering two Lenten roses from Bluestone: Ivory Prince and a double flowered variety.  I also purchased three hellebore foetidus (Stinking Hellebores) at the William Paca House plant sale.  Stinking hellebores don't really smell bad unless you crush their leaves.  They're a little bigger than the hybrid hellebores and have really interesting lacy foliage.  Their flowers are typically smaller than regular hellebores and are usually chartreuse green.

A plant I fancy: Hakonechloa macra

'Aureloa' habit - Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Scientific name: Hakonechloa macra
Common name(s): Japanese Forest Grass
Height x Width: 24" x 24"
Growth rate: Seems to be slow growing, although may differ depending on variety/conditions
Hardiness: Zones 5-9
Soil: Prefers moist, well-drained soil that is high in organic matter
Light: Partial shade

'Aureloa' detail - Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Reasons I like it:

• Does well in the shade
• Has a selection of varieties with different color options and variegation, everything from white to gold to pink
• Fairly unique - I haven't seen it all over the place

Where would I put it?

• On the west side of the house (Chimney Bed)
• On a slope in the woods
• On the slope under red maple

'Stripe it Rich' detail - Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

I'm not a grass lover.  I always skip that section in catalogs and really have never paid much attention to it in the garden.  However, I'm willing to give Hakonechloa macra a try.  It seems to have a long season and be fairly low maintenance and it really seems like more of a foliage plant than a grass.

The variety 'Aureola' was the perennial plant of the year for 2009 and the publicity sheet (can you believe a plant has a publicity sheet?) mentions quite a few shade plants that combine well with Hakonechloa macra.  These plants include: hosta, heuchera (especially those with purple foliage), tiarella, astible, epimedium, wild ginger, bleeding heart and ladies mantle.

Do you have any Japanese Forest grass?  Would you recommend it for a shady slope?

Look what I found: Arisaema triphyllum

Also known as Jack-in-the-Pulpit

I was so excited to find an arisaema triphyllum, or Jack-in-the-Pulpit, along the woodland path.  It's a native plant, but it looks really exotic...almost tropical.  Starting next month or so, the spadix (which is the little pokey thing the ant is crawling on in the photo above) will start growing a cluster of fruits which should turn bright red in the fall.

Although arisaemas are supposed to naturalize, I found a lot of people posting online that they only have one or two specimens that come back every year.  One of my plant propagation books, (Making More Plants, by Ken Druse), had detailed instructions for harvesting and cleaning the fruits and growing arisaema from seed.  Future project?  Probably.


In this photo, you can see a smaller plant in the bottom right

I only found two in the woods, but I hope to make a little patch out of them.

A plant I fancy: Astilbe

*Updated to ensure pictures are properly credited


'Red Sentinel'
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder



Scientific name: Astilbe japonica, Astilbe chinensis, Astilbe thunbergii, others and hybrids

Common name(s): False spirea
Height x Width: 12-36" (though some ultra-dwarf varieties, like astilbe crispa 'lilliput' can be as short as 6-8")
Growth rate: Unknown
Hardiness: Zones 4-8
Soil: Can grow in average soil, but prefers moist organically rich soils
Light: Partial shade to full shade



'Rheinland'
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

 Reasons I like it:

• grows well in shade
• provides late spring/early summer color, right now it seems as if everything will be done blooming by early summer
• is drought tolerant once established
• fresh green fern-like foliage remains crisp all season and can act as a groundcover
• as leaves emerge in the spring, they can hide the dying foliage of daffodils and other spring bulbs

Where would I put it?

• In the backyard, in a damp spot that will become a rain garden or anywhere between the understory and the lawn
• I would put 'Rheinland' or 'Deutschland' in a bed with toad lily and a purple lobelia
• I would put 'Red Sentinel' in a bed with red lobelia and foamflower
• I would put either 'Sprite' or 'Lilliput' in a bed with hostas and annual impatiens

'Deutschland'
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Astilbe, or false spirea, seems to be a requirement for every shade garden.  I've tried to grow it before, but the spot was a little sunny and could have been too dry, so the plant didn't do much over the course of two years.  Everything I had read about woodland gardens recommends them, so I'm going to try again, even if they're not a native plant.

Have you tried astilbe?  What is your favorite variety?

Look what I found: Brunnera macrophylla

Brunnera macrophylla is also know as Siberian Bugloss.  I've seen the 'Jack Frost' variety in plant catalogs before, but something about the variagation put me off and I never really considered it for my garden.



It looks as if we have the general variety.  I prefer this to the variegated form and find it quite charming.  The bright green leaves form a substantial clump of foliage and the dainty flowers remind me of forget-me-nots.  They are about a foot high and have about a foot spread.  I'm not sure if the previous owners planted a single plant or a handful, but they've spread all along the woodland path.


The brunnera is along the left side - look for the large heart-shaped leaves

Brunnera prefers partial shade and average well-drained soil.  With time, it will naturalize, spreading by rhizomes and through self-seeding.  There are several variagated varieties that are not quite as silver as 'Jack Frost'.  However, these varieties ('Hadspen Cream', 'Langtrees', and 'Dawson's White') seem to lose their variagation as they spread.

A plant I fancy: Actaea simplex 'Hillside Black Beauty'

*Updated to reflect new botanical name and to ensure pictures are properly credited

After the past three entries, I need to post something a little less "scrolly".  One of the things I hoped to use this blog for was to keep track of plants that catch my eye.

 Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

Scientific name: Cimicfuga Racemosa Actaea simplex (Atropurpurea Group) 'Hillside Black Beauty'
Common name(s): Black cohosh, bugbane, fairy candles
Height x Width: 4-7 ' x 2-3'
Growth rate: Moderate to slow
Hardiness: Zones 3-7
Soil: Moist, acidic
Light: Shade to partial shade

Reasons I like it:
 - Deer resistant
 - Native*
 - Attracts butterflies
 - Distinctive purple foliage
 - Late-blooming
 - Seed heads could provide winter interest

Where would I put it?
 - In the understory between the lawn and the woods, between smaller perennials and bushes
 - Possibly along the path in the woods
 - Next to plants with contrasting foliage

What do you think? Do you have any cimicfuga in your garden?

* If you're in the Maryland area and are interested in Native Plants, there's a sale at Adkins Arboretum on the Eastern Shore this weekend.