As has often been mentioned in this blog, I don't have much of an early spring garden but there are a few little spots that are looking pretty at the moment. The ones that have caught my eye this week are all in shadier parts of my garden - which has been something of a bonus given the very hot, windy weather we have been experiencing over the past two weeks. Spring flowers in sunnier areas have taken something of a hammering as they aren't used to intense heat in their blooming season and seem to be fading faster than usual. Those in shadier spots seem to have been more protected.
One such vignette that I like at the moment has a clump of creamy-yellow Clivia miniata (which all came about from a single seed given to me many years ago), in front of which a self-seeded nasturtium of the same hue has arranged itself! A floriferous Abutilon in the background has a similar colour, and a compact, variegated Phormium cultivar has creamy stripes on its strappy leaves. The soft-blue flowers of shade-tolerant Iris wattii, are interspersed amongst the clivias, their colour echoed by the blooms of Eranthemum pulchellum beside the Abutilon. I love the combination of the soft yellow and pale blue, which seems so spring-like!
The lantern-like blooms of Abutilon are very profuse in early spring and they feature in a number of part-shaded spots in my garden. In another shady nook, the red and yellow inflorescences of Abutilon megapotamicum loll over the cute shrub known as firefly (Justicia floribunda, previously called Justicia rizzinii, which is smothered in tiny red, yellow and orange trumpet flowers (shown at the start of the blog). Elsewhere, firefly looks effective with the tall spires of the bromeliad Aechmea caudata, which have the exact same colour scheme in their tiny, clustered blooms. Aechmea caudata also looks effective with orang Clivia, as pictured above.
In another shaded border, a specimen of Zantedeschia albomaculata subsp. albomaculata displays its pure-white spathes, above its white-spotted foliage, skirted by a froth of white forget-me-nots and the petite, starry blooms of Libertia paniculata. The latter is a pretty Australian native perennial with fine, grassy leaves, which enjoys shade. Ageing hellebore flowers grow nearby, having self-seeded into a colony over the years. More Iris wattii grows here.
In another corner, the shade-loving groundcover Lamium maculatum forms a rug under a young Fuchsia arborescens, a species Fuchsia that grows in part shade. The Lamium sports its hooded, purplish flowers for a long period in spring. Self-seeded Primula malacoides, which pop up in various shaded spots in the garden, add to the picture.
These little garden areas have been the result of my interest in discovering shade-loving plants suitable for Sydney gardens. I've always had quite a bit of shade in my garden, but the traditional plants suggested for such spots in Northern Hemisphere gardens, on the whole, don't really flourish in our very different climate, with our hot, humid summers and mild winters. Through trial and error in my own garden and observing many Sydney gardens over the years, I have discovered a very wide range of plants that flourish in shade here, so that these areas don't have to be regarded as the poor relation of sunny borders and can shine in their own way. They certainly don't have to be places of doom and gloom that we never want to look at!
And I've written a book about it all! The book, called Embracing shade in Sydney gardens will be released in my blog next week, and will be available for purchase via the website. It will be an e-book, which can be read on a computer or tablet, with links to the plant descriptions on my website accessible from within the manuscript itself: to provide you with photos, cultivational information and plant combination ideas about the plants discussed in the book - just the same as when reading one of my blogs! And, of course, the book can also be printed out if desired.
The book with over 100 pages of detailed information will help you to understand shade and explore plants for every level of the garden: from trees down to groundcovers, and even shade-loving edibles. I am excited to share the book with you next week!
Congratulations Deirdre! Thank you, Janna, Deirdre
I have the darker blue Eranthemum pulchellum and it is putting on a good show at the moment. Another memory of my Mum's garden but she called it Daedalacanthus and had both blues. She had that justicia 'fireflye' too and I have not seen that for ages. I love your patch of creamy yellow cliveas and wish now I had not left mine in a pot and let them spread more. the toning nasturtiums is lovely. thanks for getting my week off to a good start.Your mum sounds like my sort of gardener, Anne!
Congratulations . Deirdre I really enjoyed this weeks blog . Building a garden on a shady block of sandstone at almost 80 years of age is certainly a challenge Thanks for the blog Deirdre very helpful Wow, I am very impressed, Kay! Deirdre
Really looking forward to devouring your book Deidre.. I've just discovered Eranthemum pulchellum and have lots of shade, so am looking forward to tracking it down online.Thank you, Marion. Deirdre
Much as I prefer printed everything, & though I live far from Sydney, I'm looking forward to your E-book, Deidre. Congratulations on linking it to your very efficient, useful website- I'll try- yet again- to enjoy I.T.'s benefits. After 20 years my Far Side has become park-like and original shade has been happily over-whelmed by a succulent, self-seeding ground cover, in flower now. Name is there somewhere! (I'll send it.) It can be dug in to start mulch for even very dry patches. + great blog. Thanks so much, Lillian.Deirdre
Succulent ground cover from previous: Thank goodness for pics., though this one is a bit rare. Good old google found it in a South African plant reference: Crassula spathulata. Your plant reference, Deirdre, has it as C. multicava- Fairy Crassula or London Pride (the common name that escaped me). Your description is great and I suggest anyone with big areas of dry shade read it.
Lovely as always. Thanks for sharing. The Brazilian bellflower abutillon is a bit weedy. Unless tied around a stake, it layers and runs lots. Iris wattii/evansia runs but is easily pulled out. Erigeron and barleria are flowering despite of my efforts to eradicate it. But my double snapdragons (perennial?) look great. My pelargoniums flower in part shade. Good they don't get rust nowadays. My Coleus look nice. In my big shady areas the dreaded scrub turkeys scrape everything to their heaps. Sounds like you have some good shade plants. That Abutilon does need to be tamed. Hope the brush turkeys will move on! Deirdre
Spring has been very hot, but some plants, such as freesias, wallflowers, pentas have not been affected by the heat, in my garden. 'Special' (and expensive) ranunculi, purchased from a Tasmanian supplier, have been worth the expense, with wonderful, big blooms, and have been flowering for nearly a month now. I chose yellow and burgundy colours and they bring great colour to the garden. Looking forward to the shade book.Your spring garde n sounds a delight! I do like ranunculi, Deirdre
Congratulations on the new shade e-book, am looking forward to reading it knowing it will be relevant to Sydney gardens. Lovely vignettes of your shady spring garden. The warm wind has been a destroyer of the flowers of Magnolia Inspiration and a pot of mini daffodils for me. However still have some ranunculi from Tassie which are holding up well along with bluebells as a nod to spring.
I found some snowdrops and freesias flowering where I have several other bulbs which no longer flower. thought at first they were Earlicheer jonquils, but alas those do nice foliage, but it's now too warm for them here on the NSW-Qld border. 15 yrs ago I even had daffodils flower. Also my hellebores are no more. I have never been able to grow lily of the valley here. In upstate NY I had heaps next to my house. But my Oklahoma rose has flowers despite crowding by awful suckering elderberry.It is challenging gardening in such a different climate to where you were before. Warmer temperatures are affecting the behaviour of some of our plants and I have noticed things flowering sooner in this very warm spring we have been having in Sydney this year, Deirdre
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