Speaker Notes From Meetings - 2002

March 19, 2002

Unusual Perennials

From left: NHS President Keith Saunders, Marion Jarvie

(Short Notes from the NHS March 19, 2002 general meeting with Marion Jarvie. Marion is an internationally known horticuluralist. She has spent over 25 years teaching at the Civic Garden Centre and the University of Toronto, and has lectured around the world. She owns a showpiece property of unusual trees, shrubs, and perennials in Thornhill, Ont. which is open to the public twice a year. This year the open dates are June 1 and 2, and July 13 and 14th. )

A slide show presentation of Marion Jarvie's garden through the seasons offered a display of many unusual perennials, and varieties that gardeners sometimes just overlook when choosing their plants. All of thee plants listed below are hardy to at least zone 5, and some to zone 4. Some points to keep in mind when gardening:

• You have to shop around to find unusual plants, or the plants that you really want. One nursery will not have everything.
• Get the soil right! It will pay back in spades. With new plants, improve the soil to at least the depth of the pot it came in. Sprinkling a few bags of soil or compost over an area does not amend it. You have to work to depth.
• Group plants that like the same environmental conditions together.
• Plants don't like to be lonely. Group plants together, and think of what might accompany them.

Unusual, or "Underplanted" Perennials

Adonis Amurensis An early spring plant. Will bloom, then disappear in about 8 weeks until the following year.
Trillium Nivale (Snow Trillium) Blooms in the first part of April.
Jeffersonia Dubia A low clumping plant with pale mauve flowers. Blooms in very early spring.
Arum Italicum Pictum (Lords & Ladies) The leaves remain green all through the winter. The plant produces clusters of red berries in the fall.
Hellebores These are very hardy, semi-shade plants. They can take up to 3-5 years to grow from seed. They have a long season of blooms, up to 3 months for some varieties. Picture shown is Hellebores Niger (Christmas Rose).
Glaucidium Palmatum A member of the peony family, this plant disappears after flowering in early spring. It can take 6 years to bloom from seed.
Maidenhair Fern Is hardy to zone 4. Give it shade and lots of mulch.
Brunnera Perfect for a shade garden, and is resistant to slugs. Variety shown is "Jack Frost", which won the Plant of the Year in Holland in 2001.
Lysmachia Alexanders Does not take over the garden. Is shade tolerant. Blooms in summer.
Epimedium Perfect for dry shade & under trees. Comes in many different colours and size varieties. Is disease and pest resistant.
Helictotrichon "sapphire" This ornamental silver-blue grass grows to about 2".
Platycodon grandiflorus (Double Balloon Flower) This easy to grow plant blooms from late summer into fall.
Phlox paniculata "Becky Towe" This unusual variety of phlox is variegated.

Other unusual perennials shown were:

• Anemonopsis - a late summer shade lover
• Echinacea - the white variety is especially attractive
• Cypripedium - Pink Lady's Slipper. Likes a boggy environment
• Columbine - will survive in shade. Not a long lived perennial
• Clematis "Will Goodwin" is a blue clematis that will bloom all season into fall.
• Corydalis Elata - the blue variety is scented. Blooms in summer
• Veratrum (False Hellebore). To grow on the edge of a woodland. Slow to grow.
• Disporum. A variegated plant for the woodland.
• Pulsatilla - native to the prairies. Also known as "Passion Flower". Best to pick a plant at a nursery which is already in bloom. For sunny areas.
• Persicaria japonica - Brilliant spring bloom. Becomes a variegated bush in summer.

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