Native perennials or wildflowers offer a unique
opportunity for innovative landscaping. Many Woodland
species are available to blend in with the shady garden.
Wildflowers are a passion with me. I enjoy the early spring
flowers. They make a garden “come to life” while other perennials
are slowly poking out of the ground.
However, most very early flowering woodland wildflowers transplant
much better in the fall than spring. By the time one is ready to
get into the garden these early spring bloomers are already
displaying their flowers.
Not to
worry, there are plenty that can be planted in spring that will
give a show later in the season. Enjoy browsing through the
lists.
Springtime
abounds with woodland wildflowers before the trees leaf out and
begin to cast a heavy shade on the forest floor. One of the first
to appear is Hepatica or commonly called Liverwort (the leaves have
an appearance of the lobes of a liver and wort is an old English
word for plant)
Shortly after or
even while Hepatic is blooming, the Merrybells bloom with long
dangling yellow bell-shaped flowers. The plants don't really look
merry with the drooping leaves, but they become erect as the season
progresses.
Trilliums soon
follow. Trilliuim grandiflorum or Large Flowered Trillium is very
showy in large patches on the forest floor. It turns pink as the
flowers fade.
As the summer
passes and the Goldenrods begin to bloom, we know that fall
is just around the corner. This Zig-Zag Goldenrod is one of the few
(out of many species) that prefer a shaded
environment.
