 Anemone nemorosa 'Robinsonia' |
All the selections of Anemone nemorosa that I grow are fully hardy into zone 5. The slowly spreading clumps make great groundcovers beneath small shrubs or trees, scampering between larger perennials. Foliage is nicely cut and reaches only four to six inches in height. They do go dormant around the latter part of July.
One of the first cultivars of European wood anemone I ordered was A. nemorosa 'Robinsonia'. The blooms are a soft lavender-blue. It is a good grower and blooms are numerous. A. 'viridiflora' is a favorite for its unique blooms. Each bloom is fully double, forming a green pom-pom surrounded by lacy foliage. There are numerous forms and cultivars to collect, ranging from a single white to that fully double green.
Anemone ranunculoides is similar in almost all respects to A. nemorosa save bloom color. The buttercup anemone has bright, almost metallic, shiny yellow blooms. It several named forms in extra large petals, full double blooms, etc.
There is also a hybrid between A. nemorosa and A. ranunculoides. It is sometimes referred to as A. nemorosa 'Pallida' or A. nemorosa x. seemannii (or x. intermedia). The bloom is a soft creamy yellow.
Epimedium is indispensable to the shade gardener. It is often touted for its ability to perform in dry shade with root competition. That it will certainly do, but it will perform even more luxurious in halfway decent soil with adequate moisture and light. In fact, most epimedium will perform very well in more light than normally recommended.
Epimedium blooms are sometimes called 'fairywings' or 'bishop's cap' due to their unique shape. The blooms are on thin, wiry stems in sprays. Each one shaped somewhat cup-like and having spurs of varying lengths. Colors can range from a pure glistening white to yellow, red, lavender and bi-colors.
Personally, I do not feel that there is any such thing as a "bad selection" of epimedium. Any species or hybrid you pick because you like it is a good selection. My current favorite is E. grandiflorum 'Lilafee'. New stems and foliage emerges in so dark a mahogany purple they are hard to see against the soil. The stems retain the dark color all year and the leaves have a casting of dusky purple lasting until after bloom period. The blooms are numerous, of good size and lilac-purple. Foliage lasts through December.
My favorite combination of plants in bloom during April is bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and merrybells (Uvularia grandiflora). The foliage of Virginia bluebells emerges a purple black, lightening to a blue-green as it matures. Blooms are on long arching stems above the broad leaves, hanging in clusters. They are bell-shaped and blue that ages over to pink. Merrybells looks very much like asparagus as it emerges. Foliage unfolds as the stems mature, but retain a kind of wilted appearance at the stalk end. At the top of the stem the tips arch to carry nodding bells of soft yellow. The yellow of the uvularia and the blue with pink bells of the Mertensia make a classic and dramatic companionship of color. After the bluebells go dormant in late July the merrybells will remain to grace the garden until hard frost.
 Phlox divaricata |
Phlox divaricata, or blue woodland phlox, goes back to my first awareness of our native plants. Fifteen years later the original transplants to my garden are still there. In fact, they have slowly spread to form drifts among my larger perennials. Seed seems to get around in the garden and this phlox freely hybridizes with other cultivars and hybrids. Even if you cannot see a clump, you know when the flowers are open from the wonderful light fragrance.
There are many selections available on the market in addition to our native P. divaricata. Several pure white blooming cultivars are available along with blooms having contrasting eyes in individual flowers. I happen to enjoy P. divaricata 'Clouds of Perfume' for the light lavender blooms and their sweet fragrance.
I also use the creeping woodland phlox, P. stolonifera (and various cultivars), to spread among larger plants and along the cliff edge between rocks. Most are fairly assertive in spread and make easy answers to difficult places to plant. The foliage is ground hugging, the leaves fairly broad and prominent for a plant that stays so low to the ground. Some will have deep, lustrous, green foliage while others will have light green, or mat surfaces. Blooms can range from white to lavender, pink to blue and there are variegated cultivars. My current favorite is P. stolonifera 'Ariane' for its large, clean-white glistening blooms with a yellow eye over deep green lustrous foliage.
No woodland garden is complete without a selection of Trillium. April is prime month in this area for trillium to reach their full potential in both foliage and flower. Please see the newsletter featuring trilliums from February, 2002.