Who is beginning to take serious looks at the catalogs now?

I've been setting my catalogs aside for a bit and have just now begun to seriously look at what I want to order for spring. I've got my eye on quite a few ferns. Hay Scented Fern being top on my list.

So what does everyone else have their eye on to plant in their shade gardens this coming season?

bleeding hearts and painted fern

Your Dicentra reminded me that I need to track down Squirrel Corn and then I forgot that I need to order some American Ginseng.

I love Bleeding Hearts. I have a few of the Japanese Painted Ferns here but I have no idea if they will come back for me this year. Last year was rather dry... again.

I have no idea how well they'll do- I moved here 3 years ago to an empty shady canvas! ; D At first I thought hostas would be the only thing to grow there but now I'm trying to expand. I ordered some astilbe seed and received goat's beard(??) seeds in a trade. Also heard that sweet peas and snow on the mountain might grow there so I'll try those as well. My mom seems positive that her black-eyed susans would thrive there simply because they're taking over her own garden and wants me to take them off her hands!! hahaha hmmm I don't think it works that way...

I think Goat's Beard is much nicer than Astilbe. You can look it up under Aruncus dioicus. I think you will be very happy with that seed.

I planted Snow On The Mountain and it did far too well here. You can look that one up under Euphorbia marginata. I am still getting rid of that plant from all over the place. You might not be too happy with that in the long run. There's a reason why it's called snow on the mountain I guess. It'll put your Mom's Black-Eyed Susans to shame.

Do you have dry shade or moist shade or maybe a little of both?

Have you ever looked at photos of Maiden's Hair Ferns? I fell in love with those last year.

Is it the Maiden's Hair- galium verum? I'm not sure I'm finding your new lover.

I get a lot of moist shade, but also dry. We've got an oak tree that's gotta be over 100 years old and it's right next to the house on the North side. So there's a decent shady area to experiment with. I'm gonna try every seed that comes my way!

Moist shade is the best.

New lover, eh? Pretty funny but the Maiden's Hair Fern is definitely a fern unto itself. I am really sorry about not giving you the binomial. The Maiden's Hair Fern is Adiantum pedatum. Take a look at that and tell me if you don't feel the need to buy three of those to get them going by you.

oh wow! That DOES look cool- just looking at the picture, I would've thought it was only for warmer zones, but COOL!

Well, it looks as if we both have new loves in our life.

I thought you might like that.

I'm sure glad it wasn't the other one- I wasn't quite sure how to say "Man, that's really ugly!!" in a polite way.

oh, I see yours, too! Has it grown much since this picture?

Aww, I grow and sell Galium for a living, my feelings are hurt. I always thought it was be u ti ful in its own right and I was going to send you a few for your new shade garden. How ever will I go to sleep tonight knowing your true feelings about Galium.

Just kidding.

Check this out though for a top ugly contendor-
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/01093.html
If that plant doesn't look like a bunch of deformed lily pads gone terrestrial, I don't know what does.

And then there is this plant for which there is no description readily available to me-
http://www.bourlingueurs.com/namibie/fotos/welwitschia1.jpg
http://www.namibia-photo-safari.de/images/hq/versteinertes-holz-4.jpg
http://www.naturephotographers.de/namibia/images/ak780.jpg
Now tell me that last photo doesn't look as if that plant is seriously diseased?
The plant is called Welwitschia mirabilis. If that doesn't take the cake for unattractive, I don't know what will.

Oops, I was typing when you were typing. Yes, I bought them. Yes, they did grow and they did quite well. I am quite happy with them. I learned that with ferns, it might be a good idea to prime the area by gathering leaf litter to scatter around before you plant them. If you like ferns, you might want to grab some nice decomposing rotting leaves for your new babies.

Nightie night,
Lauren

why gather rotting leaves? I haven't moved them since they've dropped!!! hahaha

Please tell me those plants are just dead- that they're not supposed to look like that

Lauren, violavalleywildflowers, an eBay seller, has squirrel corn up for bid. I've bought lots of plants from them and have been happy with everything I've received.

I've had squirrle corn for two years and it hasn't bloomed yet. Is there a secret to it?

Hey alteredstate, I just did a search for violavalleywildflowers and came up empty handed. I think my girlfriend came up with a nursery that was offering it and I was "supposed" to keep track of their contact information but..... I dropped the ball. I will try to contact her and see if she still has the name of who was selling the Dicentra canadensis.

Hey pins, Squirrel Corn likes moist rich woodlands. Where do you currently have it planted? It blooms in early spring around me but might bloom earlier down south by you. The blooms are dainty and could be easily missed, is it possible they bloomed and you missed them? I've had that happen before with other plants.

I found the link to where we can buy Squirrel's Corn-
http://www.wildflowerfarm.com/

I also remembered I wanted to locate some
White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum)
Green Dragon (Arisaema dracontium)
Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)
Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)
Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza longistylis)

your forgotten wishlist keeps growing...maybe you need to stop remembering- just live in the moment! ; )

What I need is a 12 step plant program ;)

Oh, I know what you mean. I think the 1st step for me would be to not get onto davesgarden anymore!!

Oh nooooooooooo..... Being online here with others who "suffer" means that we are NOT out at nursery centers less which means we buy fewer plants! That pittance of an annual subscription fee that we pay here must save us thousands of dollars.

good point. Maybe step 1 would be to put a stop to the plant/seed catalogs that come to our door. I might have to move...

But wait a minute...if I didn't log on to daves, then I wouldn't have known about maidenhair ferns and I woudn't have had to put one more plant on my "Remember...I want this" list. The road goes both ways.

Maybe a new forum? What would it be called? Plant Obsessors Anonymous? Help me out here...

PEA not POA... silly you!

Plant
Enablers
Anonymous

hahaha
how about:
Plant Extremists Anonymous

Very good! Extremists can be enablers! I like that just as well!

was trying to find a picture of your squirrel corn (there's one in the PlantFiles, but the plant is a bit too small to see what it'll look like, I think), so went on eBay (I wished she'd back up- I'd like to see the whole plant- not just the bloom) and found Bloodroot from the same seller. One more thing to add to my list (and I blame you for this one, too, because I was trying to find one of your babies). I'm telling ya, davesgarden is the ROOT of my problem!! (hardy har har har)

This message was edited Jan 25, 2006 11:21 PM

By the way, here's the link (40 cents!!):

http://cgi.ebay.com/This-listing-is-for-1-squirrel-corn-rootstock_W0QQitemZ7737254477QQcategoryZ42207QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Wish she'd back up so I could see the plant...

And my bloodroot:

http://cgi.ebay.com/25-Bloodroot-seeds-Sanguinaria-canadensis_W0QQitemZ7737429111QQcategoryZ42207QQcmdZViewItem

Oh my! Nice Bloodroot!

Am I supposed to feel guilt because your list is growing? ;)

Here are a few more for you to take a peek at, just for the sake of taking a peek mind you as it isn't my intent for you to buy any of them mind you because I would never want to be accused of wrong doing mind you-

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia)
http://em.ca/garden/per_dodecatheon_meadia1.html

Wild Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)
http://2bnthewild.com/plants/H117.htm

Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)
http://www.gwf.org/poppy.htm

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
http://www.rosebay.org/chapterweb/shadegt80.htm

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
http://www.iowaprairieseed.com/Plant_Profiles/Plants%20A%20-%20C/aqui_can.htm

American Columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=FRCA2&imageID=

Downy Gentian (Gentiana puberulenta
http://www.andersonprairie.org/pictorialguide/plantguide/gentiandowny.jpg

Purple Fringeless Orchis (Platanthera peramoena)
http://www.missouriplants.com/Pinkalt/Platanthera_peramoena_page.html

Wild Leek (Allium tricoccum)
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/alliumtric.html

Violet Bushclover (Lespedeza violaceae)
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/lespedezaviol.html

Blue-Eyed Mary (Collinsia verna)
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/plantbio/digitalflowers/picts/Scrophulariaceae/16-Collinsia%20verna%20habit.jpg

Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)
http://www.missouriplants.com/Yellowalt/Passiflora_lutea_page.html

12 shade plants. Does this qualify as a start toward a 12 step program? Just curious? ;)

Nightie night fellow sufferer!
Lauren

That's it. You've done it. I'm going to "unwatch" this thread now.

By the way, the Purple Fringeless Orchis link wasn't working so I yahoo'd a new one:
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cwe/illinois_plants/ThePlants/PGenera/PlaPer/PlaPer.html

I'm in love with the Downy Gentian and the Wild Stonecrop (like some others, but those 2 are my new lusts). I really had no idea there were so many flowering shade plants. Truth be told, at first I thought this place was doomed just for hostas and that greenish algae-like stuff that's growing there. So I guess you could say you're opening up my options. But I'm not liking you for it!! Now I guess I'm gonna have to do some planning- before I was just going to throw stuff in the ground somewhere (anywhere) as I got ahold of it.

So I'm under the impression you have a rather large shade garden then? Or you wish you did? hahaha What's on YOUR wants list? Besides the stuff you "just remembered" that you want. ; D

Rather large shade area to work with- yes. It intimidated me in the beginining. I don't have all or even most of the plants I've beem listing above but they are plants that have caught my eye or that I feel might work somewhere here. Getting your hands on some of these plants can be an issue so sometimes all you can do is lust for them.

What's on my wants list? I have to leave for work soon but later on when I get a chance I'll list a few for you. The Ben Franklin Tree is one that is on my list of plants that I want that comes to me off the top of my head.

I need to add this link for you because his prices are wonderful-
http://www.shadeflowers.com/

FYI- The Ginseng he is selling is American Ginseng not Chinese or Korean. He's got the good stuff!

One issue though, he'll take orders now but he's a small operation and won't ship until just after Labor Day. I placed my order with him for this coming fall last week and I just sit and wait for him to ship. He is not a huge operation and will run out of inventory if you wait too long to order which is why always place my order about now before spring hits and people are out there in groves looking for plants. I never have to chase him down to get plants or anything. He charges my credit card a deposit of about 50% of the order and then he charges my credit card the balance when he ships the plants bareroot. One exception, ferns do have some foliage on them when he ships.

Yeah, I'm noticing that this stuff isn't exactly the easiest to find. Thanks for the site and the background info!

By the way, just read my earlier post and when I referred to "this place, " I just want to clarify that I'm talking about my own yard, and not the Shady Gardens forum.
Cheryl

Hey Cheryl, I knew exactly what you meant. I sort of felt doomed for a while too until I realized plants for shade can be equally as beautiful as those for full sun. Sort of an eye opener isn't it. The other thing I really like about shade is that so many ferns can be used. I really like ferns.

I guess I thought all ferns were tropical plants- I didn't think they'd actually be able to thrive in my own yard so I just kept passing them by! No use dwelling on what you can't have, right? Ya still don't get quite the variety, though. I still feel pretty "forced" to see what the shady side has to offer (or else live with the bare patches). But maybe that's just because I don't know what I'm missing yet. ; D If I stick around you too much longer, who knows...I may start planting more trees around my house!! hahaha jk

Hang with me baby, we'll walk on the "dark" side together!

Funny you should mention you thought ferns were all tropical. I was trying to work some ferns in around a small pond and I picked up some end of season sales. Around here, most garden centers sell temperate species ferns so I thought nothing of buying 3 huge ferns for about $15 a piece. I dug holes, I sunk them in the ground, I watered them, and then I posted a photo of my handiwork and some good soul here was kind enough to point out to me that I had blown $45 on sinking tropical ferns in the ground in a state that gets lots of snow. Ugh. I gave one to my girlfriend Sylvia, one to April, and one to tha animal control lady who comes by quite frequently. I figured I better get them out of the ground fast before the first frost came or they'd be toast. Can we say a fool and their money are soon parted?

OK, no for my secret weapon against people who are in shade denial. Check this site out-
http://www.mossacres.com/
Now exactly what were you saying about feeling "forced" to see what the shady side has to offer? Girlfriend, I think you might actually be planting more trees around your house sooner than you think. Let's face it, nobody who has full sun can work with mosses. What an earthy natural look. So peaceful. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Hi Lauren!
I have finally taken a good look at the side of my house, it is south-facing, but gets lots of shade from a 30' blue spruce. I had noticed that the purple coneflowers and grasses I planted there last summer didn't look so hot, better to consider this area part shade.
I am a catalog junkie from way back, but have never mail-ordered plants. I am lusting for White Flower Farm's "Shady Ladies Perennial Collection" :
www.whiteflowerfarm.com/preplanned-gardens.html. It includes one each of a Japanese painted fern Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum', Blue Star Amsonia tabernaemontana, and Yellow Foxglove Digitalis grandiflora, the amsonia is their own selection, it is supposed to be a deeper blue than the species, and if the plants look anything like the pictures, I'd be mighty happy!
I was thinking of centering a Yellow Waxbell (Kirengeshoma palmata) with an oak-leafed hydrangea and 'Bright Edge' yucca on either side. The yuccas are full sun plants but I know they'd survive okay, and would provide structure in winter. I could even tuck in some purple-leaf heucheras to pick up the burgundy stems of the ferns. Maybe even do an alternating thing with those two plants as edging? The amsonia turns bright yellow in winter. Do you know about Waxbells winter looks/habit are? I'm unfamiliar with it, thought it would be a challenge, but since it looked similar to the oak leaf, "like a sister, only different" if anyone remembers that old SNL joke LOL. The blooms are different, at any rate. The area is well drained, amended with wood chips, 3' or 4' deep X 12'-13' long. Brunnera macrophylla could work there too, with the blue flowers of the amsonia.

Hey PGZ5, How be you!

I am totally unfamiliar with Kirengeshoma. You got me there woman! Gimme a few images and specs on this plant such as native range.

I like the idea of the Brunnera macrophylla up against the Amsonia. Have you checked into any Pulmonaria spp.? I particularly like Heuchera 'Purple Palace' and I definitely like the Oak Leaved Hydrangea.

Before you order at WhiteFlower Farm, you might want to check prices elsewhere. They can be kinda pricey. You are aware that the Schaumburg Garden Club hosts and annual plant sale where you can pick up smaller shade plants for around $2 a piece, right? Smaller plants often seem to acclimate to their new surroundings better and I find I have considerably fewer casualties.

Your little thumbnail image above for me was still a thumbnail image when I tried to look at the picture. Whatareyatryingtodo? Make me feel blinder than a bat? Also too, your hyperlink to WhiteFlowerFarms is stating the image is no longer available or something.

I've been pretty good with the catalogs so far this year, with the exception of a few pulmonaria that are "must haves"

Re the Moss Acres link. Does anyone remember the movie Finnegans Wake, when they're in the woods. Looks just like that. Lauren... when you come for a pond margin diagnosis, you'll have to look at what we call Lover's Lane - we might be ablet o get away with a moss thing back there.

Prairie - I have a lot of shade, as well as 1/2 shade. How about columbines? Also some delphiniums do well in 1/2 & 1/2. I will have some Pulmonaria Mrs Moon to split this year - if you want to try some, let me know. They would love a good shady mulched spot. Also how about woodland phlox (phlox divaricata). Pretty blue, some are fragrant, but they can reseed with abandon if they're too happy.

Stacy