Bergenia

Long my favorite Bergenia with large upright broad paddles of leaves which turn the best maroon in the winter of any in the genus. Oh sure, the dark pink flowers are good in spring but this plant is one of the few reasons I look forward to winter. Galanthus for contrast - oh my.
Featured in Fine Gardening

Click HERE to read the article.

A very distinct form of this species which was collected in Nepal by Tony Schilling and shared with us by David Mason of Hedgerows Nursery. A good spreader rather than a clumper, the rounded ping-pong paddle leaves offer much as a small-scale groundcover. White to tinged pink flowers in early summer. Deciduous to semi-deciduous, we are inordinately fond of this collection and have it planted at the entrance to our shade garden. This particular collection is quite rare in the trade. Tony used to be the director at Wakehurst and David was deputy director so the chain of provenance custody is just how we like it.

Dramatic Bergenia from legendary OR nurseryman Russell Graham and we have named it so in appreciation and to keep this clone distinct. One of the most frustrating plants in our garden, not for us but for pleading customers as we've never offered it. Deciduous leaves up to a rounded square foot and white-pink flowers.

A hybrid Bergenia from the breeding work of Rosemarie Eskuche in Germany. 'David' has smallish leaves which stand quite upright taking on good color in the winter. Being smaller and upright lends itself to containers or the rock garden. Intense pink flowers on stems to 16" in spring are impossible to ignore unless of course you decorate with plastic flamingos.

Large green leaves in summer becoming muted somber puce in winter. This either heightens or lessens Seasonal Affective Disorder depending on how much you like puce. We do, so when we struggle emotionally with the unrelenting gray, a stroll by Ballawley keeps us briefly but firmly tethered. Tall rich pink flowers.

A Chadwell collection from the Himalaya which we've grown for over two decades. This species is found at higher elevations than B. pacumbis which shares the same range. The green leaves are not uncomfortably large but pleasantly average. (I've said this before - seems familiar somehow....) White flowers.

Evening Glow'. Sturdy German hybrid which excels in all areas of foliage, flower and garden worthiness. Good rich glossy green foliage colors up very well in winter especially given exposure to sun. The March and April flowers are a strong pink with an infusion of magenta which glam rocks Spring's murmuring pastels.

Nice hairy-leafed species from the Himalaya ranging from Nepal to Pakistan. This is semi-deciduous in our area and will go totally deciduous in colder zones. Like most Bergenia, this can take full sun, but late spring frosts can ding the new leaves and pink flowers. Rounded hairy mid-green leaves with reddish petioles. This clone a gift from a serious collector's garden.

Named for the stringently impeccable plantswoman and designer, this large-leafed deciduous Bergenia with pink-white flowers is a worthy namesake. She had a deserved reputation of not brooking fools gladly but strangely was always pleased to see us - perhaps a case of the exception proving the rule. Light green leaves with crenulate dentation on the scalloped leaves.

These are divisions from our 1997 seed collection in Yunnan China. This is one of our favorite species (of course we could say that about any of them at any given moment!) of Bergenia and while the leaves are not the big elephant ears of some, they are nicely shaped and have some of the best winter color developing rich purple color. Pink flowers.

Excellent Irish selection formerly called 'Helen Dillon' but determined to be properly 'Irish Crimson' One of the most requested plants in our garden and forever associated with the amazing gardener Helen Dillon. Small upright leaves brilliantly colored in winter with vivid pink flowers. Very few from division. Best color in full sun.