GARDEN CAPSULE
The challenge: You have the usual sun-loving chrysanthemums and asters, but you’d like some autumn-blooming perennials in your shady woodland garden.
The solution: Plant toad lilies (Tricyrtis), which have tiny but exotic flowers that resemble tiny orchids. They are mostly white or lavender with purple spots. The plants grow 2 or 3 feet tall with long, arching stems with ladderlike leaves. Among other possibilities: White wood aster ( Eurybia divaricata), unlike other asters, thrives in full shade. White, starshaped flowers cover the 18-inch-tall plants in autumn. The dark-green foliage and dark stems are handsome in all seasons. Bottle gentian ( Gentiana andrewsii) blooms in partial shade, with unique blue flowers shaped like little bottles throughout the autumn. Arendsii monkshood ( Aconitum
carmichaelii) is one of the last perennials to bloom at the woodland’s edge. The dark-blue, helmet-shaped blossoms top stately plants that grow 3 to 4 feet tall.
Pluses: The recommended plants will add interest and lateseason color to an otherwise mostly green woodland garden. Both white wood aster and bottle gentian are Midwest natives.
Minuses: Unless you plant toad lilies at the front edge of a path for close viewing, you won’t be able to appreciate the small flowers. None of the recommended perennials has a winter presence: cut spent foliage to the ground after a hard freeze.
Sources: Many of these perennial plants are carried by local garden centers. You can also order white wood aster and bottle gentian from native-plant nurseries such as Prairie Moon Nursery (866 417-8156, www.prairiemoon.com) or Prairie Nursery (800 476- 9453, www.prairienursery.com). A mailorder source for both monkshood and toad lily is Digging Dog
Nursery (707 937-1130, www.diggingdog.com).