Fritillaria (frit-uh-LAR-eeyuh)

Think spring-blooming bulb plants, and tulips (Tulipa), daffodils (Narcissus), and Crocus leap to mind, but a wonderful avenue for northern gardeners to explore is the many other readily available but under-used bulb plants that heartily grace the spring garden.

I love Fritillaria, a small, classy plant that provides some of the earliest bloom to my garden. It thrives in my Zone 4 beds, and does fine in Zones 2 and 3 if planted twice as deep as instructed and mulched for the winter.

The flowers hang downward ("pendant") in white, and purple-and-white checkerboards.

Care and Use
The added benefit to Fritillaria is that it does well in shade, and tolerates damp spots, a condition usually spelling death-by-rot for bulbs. Plant in the fall in drifts of no less than seven bulbs (but up to dozens), scattered in groupings throughout the very front of the bed.

Rhododendron‘PJM’ (Row-doe-DEN-drun)

She’s a beauty. Pictured is the oldest and largest PJM in my garden, a ten-year-old that tops out at just over five feet. The photo is from last spring. This is what she’ll look like again in two to three weeks. (Sorry, but when a plant is beautiful, I automatically refer to it as a she; sexist, I know.)

I have three more up by the bay window in my front yard, four-year-olds that are around three feet high, and they do a nice job of knocking your socks off from the street. What a plant.

PJM is the hardiest of the many varieties of “Rhodies” that can be grown in the north, with bud tolerance to 25°-below zero. I think I did a little better than that one year, but mine grow in a somewhat protected area. They are one of the few broad-leafed evergreens available to northern gardeners, meaning they have leaves that do not die and drop in the winter. The PJM is particularly beautiful year-round, its dull-green leaves turning purplish in the fall.

Care and Use

Ah, yes. Successfully growing Rhodies involves some prep and maintenance. The Home Depots of the world sell a million of these things each May, when they are offered for sale in two- and three-gallon pots while in brilliant bloom. People snatch them up by the Taurus backseat-load. But I’ve always felt each plant should have a big tag that reads, “WARNING: Growing This Thing Involves Gardening.” Because what happens is most homeowners take them home, stick them in clay, don’t water them, and they die. To quote my ten-year-old, “Duh!”

Rhododendrons need to grow in an acid, moist, light, well-drained soil with a pH between 4.5 and 6.5. In other words, if ever there was time you need to prepare the soil, this is it.

Nearly all Rhododendrons grow and bloom best in shade to partial shade, which is why I love them. The one pictured will hit six-feet, about the tallest you can coax any Rhodie in the north. Rather than waste any more space here, refer to my column Growing Rhododendrons and Azaleas.

Osteospermum (ah-stee-oh-SPUR-mum)

Here's a plant I consider a knockout, in my mind the most elegant and attractive daisy-like flower available in the nursery business. I also enjoy it because it has no common name, at least not here in the Twin Cities, so to find it you need to be able to remember and pronounce the Latin, Osteospermum.

It's native to South Africa, a perennial grown as an annual here in the north. I see it more and more every year in nurseries, and it's not tough to grow from seed. It's an extremely vigorous plant, reaching around eighteen to twenty inches in height and bushing out quite boldly during the growing season, similar to a mum.

Pictured are actually three different colors-Orange, Lime, and Cream, and though the Web doesn't do the photo justice, you get an idea of how muted are the colors. They are soft but have a distinctive glow about them, a dull shine, if that makes sense. The underside of the petal is slightly darker than the top, which is a very cool look, especially when ruffled by the wind.

Care and Use
Osteospermum is a greedy plant; it needs lots of sun, lots of water, and lots of fertilizer to do well in our shorter, cooler season. It's used to South Africa, remember. The plants I grow in my yard's sunniest spot receive just over four hours of direct, midday sun, but frankly it's not enough; the plants get lanky and need staking. Six hours or more would be much better.

Space one foot to fourteen inches apart in good garden soil near the front to middle of the bed. They bloom profusely all summer long if grown in a soil that is not allowed to dry out, are fertilized throughout the season, and deadheaded regularly.

Think about using them in containers. This spring I even saw them in hanging baskets at a few nurseries.

Asarum canadense (a-SAR-rum can-a-DEN-see)
Common Names: Canadian Wild Ginger, Snakeroot, Ginger Root, False Coltsfoot

Here's a multi-purpose, low-maintenance, easy-to-grow, Zone 4 shade groundcover that while not prevalent at nurseries is well worth seeking out.

I first started growing Canadian ginger ten years ago, and from the two or three small divisions I spotted at a farmer's market I now have drifts, swatches and clumps settled throughout most of my property. The plant is not by any means a showstopper; in fact, spring flower is nearly colorless, odd, and ugly, gratefully hidden underneath large, heart-shaped leaves.

Use Canadian ginger as the set-up, the transition in the shade garden, the matte of the painting. It tends to perform aesthetic chores humbly, setting off the plants around it. Leaves are large, up to eight inches across, and completely block out any weed growth underneath. The plant spreads moderately year to year, its fleshy root system visible just above ground. Worth a try in Zone 3, with winter protection.

The plant is not really a member of the culinary ginger family (Zingiber officinale) but obtained its common name due to the fact that its roots smell like ginger, and in fact were used as a ginger substitute by early Canadian and American settlers.

Care and Use

Plunk Canadian ginger anywhere you're getting sick of hostas; it works particularly well underneath trees and throughout shaded woods. I like to string it along in curving banks. You can divide it with a shovel in the spring, just slicing through and digging out clumps to replant elsewhere. I've never fertilized it in my life. It has no pest or disease problems to speak of.

It prefers soil that has a fair organic content, although once established I've found it wanders off into any old soil it finds along the way. Though the books say it does best in moist woodland soils I have older patches of this stuff in some areas that I absolutely never water, and each spring, there it is, greater in girth than the year before. Granted, these are very shady places. It will do fine if exposed to several hours of direct sunlight, but in these instances one should not let the soil dry out indefinitely.

I have no idea the name of the cultivar I bought — it was simply labeled "Canadian Wild Ginger" — but you may encounter varieties named 'Eco Choice' and 'Eco Red Giant.' Toss some in a shady corner and forget about it. A few years from now you'll think of many places to try it.

Baptisia australis (Bap-TEASE-ee-uh a-STRAW-less)
Common Name: False Indigo

One of my favorite perennials, and a mainstay of my garden for over a decade. Useful as a background specimen, it's a native of North America, easy to grow, very pest and disease resistant, and lives for upwards to twenty-five years.

In bloom right now, False Indigos are a striking plant, very different, with rich blue, pealike flowers on spires ranging from two to four feet. It develops slowly into a bushy clump. Blooms only last a few weeks but the foliage remains attractive all season, particularly if the plant is deadheaded (no significant re-bloom).

Care and Uses

False Indigo is very carefree. It takes three to four years for the plant to bloom from seed, and two years to bloom when purchased as a young potted specimen. Mine still wasn't blooming after four years, until I learned the plant does not bloom well in acidic soil. For the first time in my life, I added lime to my garden soil, around the plant, in the fall, and next spring it bloomed. I have repeated light lime treatments each fall, with success.

Though listed as full sun, the plant performs well in as little as three hours of direct sunlight per day, provided it is midday sun. It will bloom more heavily in full-sun locations. An inch of water per week is fine; it is actually quite drought-resistant. Tolerant of most soils.

It has a very deep, fleshy root system and whereas the plant does not require dividing, if you do so, be prepared to dig very deeply and ultimately cut off stubborn roots with a bypass pruner. You could tether a dirigible to a mature clump. Divide in early spring.

False Indigos combine well with anything. Pre-bloom, during bloom, and after bloom, they look like nothing else.

Dictamnus albus (I say dik-TAM-nus, some say dik-TOM-nus)
Common Name: gas plant

Here's a very easy to grow May-June bloomer that has never caught on to a huge extent, and I don't know why.

Killer spikes of pink or white flowers (both pictured) last three weeks on tall (upwards to four feet) erect stems that don't need staking. Its dark green, compound leaves are much more interesting and add more to the garden than those of, say, tall phlox, asters, boltonia, or any number of other vertical high-risers. Performs just fine anyplace you can wangle four hours or more of full sun, plus it's hardy to Zone 3. I don't get why more people don't grow it.

Care and Use

Plant at the middle to back of the border in soil well amended with organic matter. Prefers neutral to alkaline soil, so if your soil is acidic, this is one time I'll let you use a little lime. Though long-lived, plants may take a few years to become established. It's a slow grower, so division is usually not necessary. If you do divide, it's best to leave the plant in the ground and slice it in half with a sharp shovel, removing only half and leaving the rest in place. That's the long-winded way of telling you that divisions often don't make it.

Does not benefit from deadheading. In fact, it's best to leave the thing alone after blooming and allow the star-shaped seed pods to develop, and remain through the winter. Cut to the ground in early spring.

The common name is derived from the fact that the stems emit an ignitable mist when pruned, or so I'm told. Though not poisonous, flowers and foliage have been know to cause a mild skin irritation to some, easily remedied by the use of gloves when handling.

Torenia (Tore-EE-knee-yuh)

Quick, name a profusely blooming annual with a trailing habit that flourishes in shade.

I didn't think so. But, lo and behold, there is one, pictured here in a couple of guises surrounding my humble home. As I've said often, I prefer annuals that look like perennials, and this trailing Torenia fits the bill. It has square or maybe five-sided stems and attractive, rugose leaves that make it look like something from the Nepeta (mint) family. I'm pretty certain the blue is a little richer than the way my photos will turn out on the Web.

I found the plant at Lynde Greenhouse in Maple Grove. This blue variety is "Blue Moon," the only one Lynde grew this season; there is also a pink, "Pink Moon," and a blue with yellow throat called "Yellow Heart Moon." It's a Ball Seed product, for those of you who keep track of pedigrees.

This plant is flourishing in about one hour of direct sun at the end of the day. I deadhead it every few days, fertilize it every two weeks, and once we got out of the cool nights of June, it took off.

Care and Use
This is the container plant I've been looking for, something that will trail and bloom in the shade. It mounds up nicely; I have one plant all by itself in a ten-inch high pot and it looks great, could have gone bigger. Pictured is one I have in a wall pot at my front door, and one in a window box (sorry about the dreadful impatiens, this box will look great once the little red runts get up where they're supposed to be).

Tilia cordata
Common Name: Littleleaf Linden

Striking, captivating, exquisite — any of these words describe the Littleleaf Linden, commercially one of the most popular of the lindens. This is an excellent choice for residential yards, with an attractive pyramidal form as a youngster that it luckily never quite shakes as it matures.

The Littleleaf cares little about the type of soil to which it is assigned, making it an excellent choice for heavy clay conditions. You don't need to test the pH level, because it will do fine whether soil is acidic or alkaline. Tolerates dry soils without complaint.

It branches quickly and prolifically, its one-and-a-half to three-inch leaves holding a rich, dark green until turning yellow in the fall. Yellow flowers in the spring do not stop the show, but are reasonably pretty and very aromatic. Be aware, the flowers attract bees for a few weeks in the spring.

A fast grower, Littleleaf Linden prefers cooler climates (they do not fair well in the south) and is hardy to Zone 3. Reaching heights of 60 to 70 feet, spreading to widths of 40 feet, this is an excellent choice as a shade tree for medium to large yards.

Recommended cultivars are 'Chancellor', 'Corinthian', 'Glenleven', 'Greenspire', and 'June Bride'. As is pointed out in the essential tree and shrub book, Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs, by Michael A. Dirr, "'Greenspire' is the most popular because of its central leader and uniform branching habit." Plant one now and in ten years you'll have a very nice shade tree, in twenty years, a beauty.

Allium senescens 'Glaucum'
Common Name: none, though alliums in general are called Ornamental Onions

Creating an attractive garden is all about contrasting textures, and that's what makes this tiny wonder such a fabulous plant to have on your pallet. The gray-green leaves look like a succulent grass, and after the plant becomes established they can twist in the same swirling directions, like cowlicks.

The plant only rises to about ten inches, and blooms a sort of mauve-pink in mid- to late summer, in umbrels, as is the alliums' wont, atop one-foot stems.

Care and Uses

Allium senescens 'Glaucum' requires full sun and will disappoint in part shade. Soil need not be anything special – it's an onion – but obviously good garden soil that has been amended with organic matter is best. The plant tolerates dry sites well.

Use it as a groundcover and edger at the front of the bed. I took the top picture at the Minnesota Arboretum, where they use it a lot, and it does look great along a brick edge. But I'd never in my life plant it as shown, with a great, looming Siberian iris or whatever the hell that is providing zero contrast in foliage. Better to string it in front of perennial geranium, or combine with sedums, alchemilla, heuchera, campanula, anything with foliage that has lobes or some width and shape to it. You decide.

The second photo shows 'Glaucum' in more formal mode, ringing a sculptured ball of Alpine Currant (it's either that or Korean Boxwood, I don't have my glasses on).

Whether you grab it at an end-of-the-season sale or wait until next spring, buy at least seven. One here and one there won't do much. It's a cheap plant, maybe four bucks a pot in the Twin Cities. You want to create a narrow swath of the stuff, at a minimum two feet long, at maximum maybe a couple hundred bucks worth.