Carol Klein reveals the plants in her garden that suit a dry and shady spot
Epimediums are a boon for any gardener dealing with the conundrum of what to grow in dry shade
On our tour of the garden, introducing you to all its constituent parts, last week we visited the shady garden, concentrating on the trees that grow or have grown there. This week I’d love you to become better acquainted with some of the plants at ground level that have made this place their home.
We’re blessed on our islands in having a temperate climate and being able to grow plants from all over the world from similarly temperate regions.
Especially in the northern hemisphere there are many woodland areas that equate to our own. Looking round the beds that make up this part of the garden, one of the most widely represented species is the epimedium clan. There are the vestiges of
E. grandiflorum, an herbaceous species from Japan. When it emerges in spring its pink, white or purple flowers, not to mention its bronze, almost translucent foliage, look fragile. In fact, they’re tough as can be.
‘Ferns and epimediums were made to be together. They thrive in the same conditions and their foliage complements the other’
Whereas E. grandiflorum varieties tend to stay in one place, there are other barrenworts, to give them their vernacular name, that seem set to move around and colonise. E. versicolor and two of its offspring ‘Sulphureum’, with bright yellow flowers, and ‘Neosulphureum’, with pale yellow flowers, are unstoppable and a boon for any gardener dealing with that most vexed of gardening conundrums – what to grow in dry shade. These last are evergreen and their burnished leaves create patches of life in the winter garden. But shear them back – even if it breaks your heart – in late February or you, like me, will be in there with your nail scissors attempting to trim back the leaves without decapitating the new flowers and foliage!
Ferns and epimediums were made to be together. They thrive in the same conditions and their foliage complements the other; the entire heart-shaped leaves of the epimedium, a perfect foil for the filigree of the fern fronds.
Hellebores abound in this part of the garden. They’re in their element here, though surprisingly some don’t flower as prolifically as others in sunnier positions.
Hellebores are long-lived, deep-rooted plants that need sustenance to flower well. We’re cutting back the old leaves of those we missed, making sure we make the most of them and the coming spring in the shady garden.