Sunday, January 8, 2012

Hush... The Garden Is Dreaming

This was a Christmas gift from a sweet friend.

And so it is . . . though not under a blanket of snow, as yet!

Heuchera is another genus of herbaceous perennials that has undergone much diversity in the past few years.  If you haven't tried coral bells, or checked out the variety in both leaf shape and color as well as blossom size and color - you should!  There are quite a number of cultivars from which to choose.

The greatest problem I have with these plants is the "Winter Heave"-ho!  They seem to be rather shallow-rooted and the freeze/thaw action during Winter often leaves them out of the soil and need of quick attention in the Spring!

A little extra soil and/or mulch in the Fall usually takes care of the problem, though.  :-)

(Winter color - photos taken a week ago)

Heuchera 'Purple Petticoats'

Heuchera 'Beaujoulais'

Heuchera 'Caramel'

 Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
 

Heuchera 'Key Lime Pie'

Heuchera 'Sashay'

Heuchera 'Tiramisu'

I have two more Heuchera left ... but I didn't get photos!
'Lime Rickey' wasn't happy and "left" two years ago.
He truly was a beauty, and I may give him another try.


Happy January 2012!  We are patiently (vs impatiently) waiting for Winter Weather here.  It will snow - it always does.  ;-)  I'm going to assume school children (and teachers?) are anticipating their first "Snow Day!"  LOL

Best wishes, 
SG

16 comments:

Andrea said...

I love that title, i thought it is yours, then i saw the label! Our garden doesn't dream, they are always either awake or dead! We only have two seasons, the wet and the dry, but most plants when watered well continuously keep awake. However, since we have water difficulty in our area in the province they died in the dry months, even trees sometimes die like last year. I love it when you are still waiting for snow, when Randy and Meg's garden is already in spring. And with this climate change and tilting of the poles, we might get more variations.

Randy Emmitt said...

Shady,
Love the sign! Glad to see you ice free up there in the north.

Darla said...

What a great sign. I have three Heucheras, I dug them up, placed them in containers and put them in the greenhouse. I haven't any idea how to grow them. Just learned yesterday that they like dry shade? Does that sound correct? I am zone 8..

Rose said...

I love your new sign--what a thoughtful gift! Heucheras have become one of my favorites--I seem to be drawn to their delicious names:) I lost my 'Key Lime Pie' last year, though--perhaps winter heaving was the culprit. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd like a little snow, too. My garden could use a cozy blanket while it sleeps this winter.

scottweberpdx said...

Wow...you have so many! I just have a few...and they do tend to heave themselves right out of the ground by spring time...but as long as I re-settle them, they don't seem to suffer from it :-) BTW...love that little sign...what a cute gift idea!

Casa Mariposa said...

You have such a great blog! My garden is dreaming, too, of a moist, sunny, not too hot summer in 2012. That's why it's just a dream!:o) I have a few heuchera that are doing well but have plans to add several to my shady front porch container garden next summer. I'm adding Sashay, Midnight Rose, and Georgia Peach.

Casa Mariposa said...

I've heard sea oats can reseed a bit so I"m going to keep my out out for seedlings.

Shady Gardener said...

Andrea, thanks for your visit. Truly lots of differences this year.

Hi Randy, It's so ODD to not have snow (or even had more than one snowfall in early December that didn't last long!) yet!! Love the temperatures though!

Shady Gardener said...

Darla, My experiences with heuchera is they like dappled shade at least... or even 1/2 day sun. Mine don't thrive in heavy shade. They really don't like wet feet. I've never dug them. I think they'd also be great container plants. Zone 8 - pretty temperate. You could leave them outdoors during the winter.

Shady Gardener said...

Rose, Perhaps one reason we're needing the snow, besides the valuable asset of a nice insulating blanket for the plants, is we truly need more moisture!! Besides, I love the snow (just not ice and not on the road!). :-)

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Scott, I lose a plant here and there. We had such a drought this past summer, it'll be "interesting" to see who makes it back this Spring!

Shady Gardener said...

Casa, Thanks for your visit. If my garden doesn't share your dream, I DO!! :-) Let me know how the sea oats do... I planted some for my brother/sister-in-law and I don't think they did very well.

troutbirder said...

I am missing the snow. It's unbelievable. Broke all time high a few days ago by NINE degrees. And thanks for the kind words for Mrs. T. We saw the oncologists at Mayo today and it was all very positive. :)

Shady Gardener said...

Good! Thanks for the good word, troutbirder. And I'm missing the snow, too. It will come, though.

Ida said...

Very pretty sign. Popping by from Scavenger Hunt Sunday - Not finding your enteries here though or am I missing something?

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Ida, Try again! ;-)