Archive for the ‘Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’’ Category

Hosta Garden Companions

Consider planting a colorful array of low shrubs, perennials, annuals, ground covers and spring bulbs with hostas. Additions must prefer partial sun to shade and moderate moist soil. Choose varieties with brightly colored foliage, structure, size, texture and color for contrast. Avoid aggressive vegetative companions. Hosta companions can include anemone, assorted ferns, astilbe, lenten roses (Helleborus), […]

Planting Under Trees

Here is an idea that I picked up at Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, Pennsylvania and pollinators will also love you for it. When planting a deciduous tree, make good use of the ground area beneath the tree by planting shade tolerant ground covers. Evergreen trees don’t work here. You can also create a beautiful planting […]

Deer Resistant Perennials

Most deer-resistant plants share several traits or characteristics: 1. Aromatic flowers / foliage; 2. thorny, bristly, or hairy (pubescent) leaves or stems; 3. toxic plants. If “deer pressure” (population) is exceptionally high, deer don’t heed plant lists like this one. Available food resources, species of deer, seasonal weather are all factors. Flowers, foliage, fruits, and […]

12 Plants With Silver Foliage

Silver King Artemisia (Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver King’) is an aggressive form with bushy, upright patch of fragrant silvery foliage and loose sprays of grey flowers in midsummer. Prune back hard after flowering to rejuvenate foliage. Deer and drought resistant. (z 3-7). Silver Mound Artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’) – soft feathery leaves grow into compact, […]

Marginal Plants For Wet Areas

Most perennials demand well-drained soil. They perform poorly or die out when in ground that is constantly wet and soggy. However, a small number of perennials tolerate and even thrive in moist soils.  Most plants listed here are all hardy within zones 5-8, and grow best in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. Most are okay getting their feet (roots and crown) wet for […]

Favorites For The Shade

Here are ten of my favorite perennial plants for shady areas (USDA hardiness zones 4-7). All prosper in 1-2  hours of early morning sunlight and in humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil.  Mulch to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. Hosta – unquestionably the shade favorite of  U.S. gardeners.  A low maintenance plant that returns every spring with lush […]

Jazz Up Shady Garden Areas

From brilliant green to rich gold hues, fabulous foliage and flowers can wake up any dark or colorless, shade area. See below a list of great plants that wake up a blah area of your shade garden. Plant list is suitable for gardens in plant hardiness zones 5-8. Exciting colorful and/or tropical-like foliage or showy flowers. Hostas, […]

Controlling Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are common pests of many common garden plants. They are particularly troublesome in shady woodland areas. They crawl across leaves and leave a slimy residue over the leaf surface. They feed primarily at night. Ecologically, their niche is to decompose organic matter. During the daytime hours they hide under leaves, mulch, rocks, stepping stones, […]

Tidy Up These Perennials After Blooming Is Finished

Deadheading, the practice of removing the old spent flowers from perennials, is a way to improve a garden’s appearance and reduce overcrowding. Secondarily, many (not all) will rebloom after deadheading. Not all perennials respond to deadheading by reblooming. Most daylilies (Hemerocallis x.), coralbells (Heuchera spp.), and hostas (Hosta spp.) are prime examples of perennials that do not […]

Join The Brunnera Revolution

Over the past decade heartleaf brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla), aka Siberian Bugloss and Alkanet, has become a popular spring flowering perennial in U.S. and Canadian gardens (USDA plant hardiness zones 3 – 8). Native to Russia brunnera need little care when properly sited. Sprays of tiny blue-petalled /yellow centered forget-me-not flowers explode into a blue haze […]