Epimedium, Butterfly Weed, Spigelia and Hakone Grass

This was my third time speaking at the United States Botanic Gardens, and I think the gardens were more gorgeous than ever! Below are a few of the MANY plants that caught my eye.

Two Workhorse Perennials for Shade: Epimedium, commonly called Barrenwort, and Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, commonly called Hakone or Japanese Forest Grass. Barrenwort (left on photo) is a terrific groundcover for dry shade. Four-petaled spring flowers can be yellow, beige, pink, lavender, purple, red, or white. The leaves, that are evergreen in warmer zones, can be especially striking in cooler weather, turning shades of burgundy and maroon. Barrenwort enjoy part shade to shade in Zones 4 – 9 (depending on the cultivar).

Japanese Forest Grass is one of the few ornamental grasses that grow in shade. This clump growing grass has a lovely cascading habit. Foliage can be solid green; green and white; green, white and pink; solid yellow; and yellow and green. The grass ranges in height from 12” – 24” tall and is hardy in Zones 5 – 9.

Two Noble Natives: Spigelia marilandica and Asclepias tuberosa. Spigelia, commonly called Indian Pink, is breathtaking. Brilliant red tubular flowers, tipped in yellow, brighten part shade to shady gardens in early summer. The flowers are magnets for hummingbirds and butterflies. Spigelia grows between 12″-18″ tall and is hardy in Zones 6 – 9.

Asclepias tuberosa, commonly called Butterfly Weed, sports sizzling orange flowers in mid to late summer. The flowers are a nectar buffet for pollinators, especially Monarch Butterflies that also lay their eggs on the foliage, which is the required food source for monarch butterfly larvae. Asclepias tuberosa grows between 18”-24” tall in Zones 3 – 9.

Callirhoe involucrata, commonly called wine cups or poppy mallow, is a native perennial that is highly heat and drought tolerant. It only gets 6” -8” tall, but has long, flower-covered stems that look spectacular sweeping over retaining walls, softening pathways or intertwining among other perennials or shrubs. It wants full sun and soil with good drainage. Wine cups is hardy in Zones 4 – 8. Here it is pictured with the shrub Rhus ‘Tiger Eyes’ and a coral bell, Heuchera villosa.