The wonder of woodlanders
Adding magic to early spring ...the pint-sized perennials that light up those dank corners
THIS is the month a host of pint-sized perennials known generically as woodlanders add a touch of magic to gardens. Often emerging from bare ground, although some are evergreen, these subtle gems produce clumps of attractive foliage and pretty flowers long before most perennials – those hardy plants that reappear each spring – have thought about waking up.
Native to temperate parts of the world, where they thrive in woodland settings, these understated plants are indispensable for adding interest to tricky parts of
Apart from brightening up the scene, they’re essential for wildlife
the garden. As they are tolerant of low light conditions, they are ideal under trees, shrubs and hedges, or planted in northfacing borders and dimly lit spots.
Apart from brightening the scene in spring, woodlanders are essential for anyone wanting to attract more wildlife to their garden.
Epimediums, erythroniums, brunneras, pulmonarias, trilliums and many other species boast flowers that are a good source of nectar and pollen for all sorts of bees and pollinating insects.
At this point, I’d like to make a confession: I’m a little bit obsessed with these early risers. I’ve got lots of them dotted about the place, whether under trees, in the shadow of a wall or in a shady corner, but last weekend I decided to go one step further and dedicated an entire bed to some of my favourites. Located down a bosky side return, the triangular-shaped space was occupied by a tree fern surrounded by slate chippings. After clearing the site, I dug the soil and improved it with leafmould, before planting some real gems, such as Epimedium ‘Spine Tingler’, Mukdenia rossii and Pulmonaria saccharata ‘Leopard’.
Also in the line-up is Erythronium ‘Pagoda’, a gorgeous form of dog’s tooth violet with bronze-marbled, glossy-green leaves and slender 12in stems that bear up to ten sulphur-yellow flowers with sweptback petals.
The foliage provides interest from early spring into summer, when it dies back below ground.
In my opinion, dog’s tooth violets are the most desirable of all woodlanders. Erythronium californicum ‘White Beauty’ boasts white blooms carried on 18in stalks above marbled leaves, while E. dens-canis produces clumps of heavily spotted leaves and 6in stems bearing nodding purple flowers. Bulbs are available for planting in the autumn but I prefer to start dog’s tooth violets off from ready-grown plants bought in bud. As well as providing instant impact, they’ll establish far more readily than bulbs, which are easy to damage when handling and will fail to grow if the soil dries out.
Commonly known as lungworts, pulmonarias are a clan of low-growing, clump-forming evergreen and deciduous perennials that produce loose heads of tiny flowers on short stems between March and May. Due to their spreading habit, they are useful for ground cover or planting at the front of borders.
Among the best are Pulmonaria rubra, with its red flowers that are carried above a tussock of light green leaves, and ‘Sissinghurst White’, whose white flowers are held over clumps of white-spotted foliage. ‘Opal’ has silver-speckled leaves and soft blue flowers that open from pink buds between March and June.
Keep pulmonarias in good shape by snipping off old leaves once flowering is over. Plants are vulnerable to mildew disease, so water regularly over summer to prevent the ground drying out – if plants do succumb to this fungal menace, cut back hard and they’ll respond with a flush of healthy leaves.
Closely related to forget-me-nots, brunneras spread via underground stems to form clumps measuring anywhere from 9in to 18in tall, depending on variety.
They are grown chiefly for their sprays of tiny flowers, although some have showy, variegated foliage. A relative newcomer known as ‘Diane’s
Gold’ has bright yellow-green leaves. Brunnera macrophylla ‘Betty Bowring’ is much more understated, thanks to its plain green, heart-shaped leaves. Forming a compact mound, it’s topped with elegant white blooms from March into May. I keep mine in good shape by cutting spent flowering stems back to the base and removing tatty leaves.
Most woodlanders prefer a partially shaded spot with moistureretentive soil – they hate dry ground, so improve with garden compost, composted horse manure or leafmould prior to planting.
Once they are in place, mulch the surface with a 3in layer of composted bark, taking care not to pile the material against stems.