DEL.ICIO.USERICA GLASENER
Plants that shine in the shade
Thursday, February 05, 2009
I have never much cared for the paint by number concept. I prefer a more experimental approach to both painting and gardening.
But after visiting Piccadilly Farm — a nursery in Bishop that specializes in hellebores, shade plants and conifers (and lots of other great plants, too) — I can see the value of having a palette of plants to work with and having a design on paper, or at least in mind, before you head to a nursery or garden center.
Erica Glasener
The Nippon Lily, Rohdea japonica, offers striking wide strap-like leaves and clusters of red fruit.
Erica Glasener
Poet’s Laurel, also known as Alexander’s Laurel, Danae racemosa, is a rare and elegant plant that forms a fountain of glossy foliage, reaching 3-to-4 feet at maturity.
If you are flummoxed by what will grow in the shade, here are some ideas for combinations of shrubs and herbaceous plants that promise to please. Remember when you select plants, foliage and texture are as important as flowers. Many of these plants are available at Piccadilly.
Plan No. 1
One of my favorite evergreen shrubs is Poet’s Laurel, also known as Alexander’s Laurel, Danae racemosa. Rare and elegant, it forms a fountain of glossy foliage, reaching 3 feet to 4 feet at maturity. Plant it in front of a group of Oakleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea quercifolia, and carpet the ground with selections of Lenten Rose, Helleborus orientalis. For contrast and more color, fill in the background with Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum pictum. To bring light to your woodland, a small patch of Variegated Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’ does the trick. With its subtle variegation, this graceful beauty will make you wish you had planted more of it.
Plan No. 2
Start with the larger plants and work your way down. Shrubs like Camellias, Florida Leucothoe, Agarista populifolia or Illicum floridanum, the Florida Anise, are effective for a backdrop in the shade. If the site gets morning sun and afternoon shade, Japanese maples provide architecture and beauty year round. The Nippon Lily, Rohdea japonica, offers striking wide strap-like leaves and clusters of red fruit, perfect for combining with hardy gingers such as Asarum splendens with its handsome mottled leaves. (At Piccadilly they offer several different forms of Rohdea, including two variegated selections.) For contrast plant Southern Shield fern, Thelypteris kunthii. With tall arching fronds, it reaches a height of 4 feet. For dry shade, even around tree roots where few plants thrive, Barrenwort, Epemidium, in its many forms is the ideal plant. In early spring it sends up tiny spurred flowers followed by new foliage that looks good for months. For a vibrant spring carpet, Creeping Phlox, Phlox stolonifera, ‘Sherwood Purple’ forms mats of foliage 1 to 2 inches high and produces masses of tiny purple flowers that shoot up on 8-inch stems.
Source: Piccadilly Farm, 1971 Whippoorwill Road, Bishop, GA 30621, 706-769-6516.
Call for hours or to make an appointment.
Piccadilly Farm will hold its 17th annual Hellebore Days on March 6 and 7.
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