Native Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica, and native Celandine poppies, Stylophorum diphyllum, are two of my favorite plants for spring and are wonderful combined with almost anything. Very easy to grow in part to full shade and woodland conditions.
In April 2011, I wrote a post about beautiful spring pairings. To read it, click here. I always meant to continue the topic and have finally taken the time to photograph the garden. Some of the combinations are the same but that’s because I love them!
Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.
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Virginia bluebells with emerging tassel ferns, Polystichum polyblepharum.
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Or how about blue on blue with Virginia bluebells and Siberian bugloss, Brunnera macrophylla?
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Native Celandine poppies are just as versatile, here with summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum.
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Native Celandine poppies with ‘Sulphureum’ epimedium, daffodils, native cinnamon fern, and the leaves of winter aconite, Eranthis hyemalis.
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Gold hostas look so beautiful when they are emerging. Here ‘Paradise Island’ hosta with ‘Bowles Purple’ vinca. Although I don’t recommend planting vinca because it is so invasive, I couldn’t resist adding this purple variety to a contained space.
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One of my all time favorite combinations, the peach-colored spring leaves of ‘Magic Carpet’ spiraea with the similarly colored stems of ‘Goldheart’ old-fashioned bleeding-heart.
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Native ‘Purple Beauty’ moss phlox, P. subulata, with a sedum showing its winter colors.
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Checkered-lily in its white, Fritillaria meleagris ‘Alba’, and purple forms seed through out my dry, full shade woodland.
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Orange epimedium, E. x warleyense, with the emerging leaves of Hosta montana ‘Aureo-marginata’.
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That’s all for now but look for Part 3 soon.
Carolyn
Nursery Happenings: Our third open house, featuring ferns, hostas, and hardy geraniums is Saturday, May 16, from 10 am to 3 pm. However, don’t’ wait until then—you can stop by anytime by appointment to purchase these wonderful plants. Just send me an email at carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net with some suggested dates and times that you would like to visit.
Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b/7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.
If you are within visiting distance and would like to receive catalogues and information about customer events, please send your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.
Facebook: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens has a Facebook Page where I post single photos, garden tips, and other information that doesn’t fit into a blog post. You can look at my Facebook page here or click the Like button on my right sidebar here.
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CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS 