Bergenia
Common name Elephant’s Ears, bergenias are easy to grow and will thrive in good deep, well drained loam in sun or shade but will also tolerate dry soils, excessive damp can cause them to rot. Basically an evergreen, bergenias are early flowering and can sometimes be damaged by frosts, keep the plant looking its best by removing dead or damaged leaves.
Borage
I love this herb, Borago officianalis is really an annual but I have included it here because it self seeds and generally reappears in the same spot every year. Definitely a plant for a sunny spot, will not perform in shade or on wet soils. Not only are the flowers a striking shade of blue but they are set off by the fine hairs that cover the stems and sepals. The foliage has a cucumber scent and both flowers and leaves are edible and have medicinal and culinary uses. A white form is also available and sometimes crops up among the seedlings.
Brunnera
Brunnera
A plant for cool shady conditions which will grow in moist soils brunneras have very attractive leaves and blue myosotis-like flowers and look well at the front of a shady border.
Bupleurum
A bit of an oddity Bupleurum is an unusual plant for the herbaceous border. Found in Central Europe and even the UK it will grow in virtually any well drained soil in full sun or partial shade. The plant shown was grown from seed, the cultivar normally offered for sale is Bupleurum longifolium ‘Bronze Beauty’.
Caltha
The Marsh Marigold or King Cup is a plant for a boggy place and can be grown as a marginal where it will thrive. It overwinters with its buds just below the soil surface from where both flowers and leaves erupt together early in the spring. A member of the Buttercup family, it is an invaluable plant for early colour.
Campanula
Bellflowers are a popular, generally easy to grow, genus ranging from arctic alpine plants as cushions or scrambling over the ground to tall border perennials. Although relatively easy campanulas are not good with winter wet and some species can be quite invasive such as Campanula poscharskyana from Siberia. Some of the showy border hybrids such as Campanula ‘Sarastro’ can have disproportionately large flowers and will need support. Propagation is from seed for species plants, buying in most cultivars or division in the garden.
Celandine
Ficaria verna subsp. verna or Lesser Celandine is my favourite ‘weed’. Growing from persistent bulbils, this native member of the buttercup family is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. In a damp woodland setting, such as I had, it makes a wonderful very early spring flowering plant, providing an early source of nectar for the bees, however, in a more formal setting, it is definitely to be discouraged.
Chaerophyllum
This Central European plant is similar to Cow Parsley but much more delicate in appearance, easy in a moist but not waterlogged soil. Personally I think this is a really useful border plant, the fernlike foliage is apple scented and the umbels of small flowers are a great attraction for pollinators even in late summer.
Chelone
Chelone obliqua or Turtlehead is a cottage garden plant which thrives in any good well drained garden soil. It has dark green leaves which unfortunately do not contrast too well with the purple flowers, however there is a white form available. It is a late flowerer so provides some colour into the autumn. This plant was grown from seed, the white form is probably best obtained from a good nursery.
Convallaria
Lily of the Valley used to be seen in most gardens but has gone out of fashion over time. A plant for shady woodland or spreading under shrubs its distinctive flowers give off a very strong scent which can then be followed by berries. There is a pinkish form available. Although popular for its ease of cultivation and scent I think it is possibly too invasive for today’s way of gardening.
Corydalis
Corydalis or Fumitory are generally shade lovers, ideal for a woodland setting, which flower in varying shades of blue to blue/white with the Yellow Fumitory being a welcome exception. They originate in the Northern Hemisphere primarily from China but are also found in America and the mountains of N.Africa. The nondescript Corydalis ophiocarpa is a good example of growing from seed not being quite what you hoped for! A point of interest Pere David who was a catholic missionary to China was a keen botanist and zoologist, although he collected the corydalis pictured above he also discovered Pere David’s deer. The deer became extinct in China where it had once been plentiful but is now being restored in significant numbers from the herd at Woburn.
Crocosmia
Formerly known as montbretia Crocosmia should have been included in an earlier post as they are grown from bulb-like corms. Native to South Africa, so best grown in a sheltered spot in a severe climate, the original orange garden plant (Montbretia) was a hybrid Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora but there is now a huge range of vibrant colours available through intensive plant breeding. Easy to grow they will thrive in most situations and soil types other than anything too wet, a little shade may help the flowers to last longer.
A Plantsman's World 