Smilacina (syn. Maianthemum)

Perhaps the penultimate perennial in our shade garden. This Asian False Solomon Seal species reaches the pinnacle of expression in this pink-purple flowered form. In time, this will develop thick stems variably black or green and less commonly coated in a subtle pale peach fuzz of small hairs. These impressive shoots arise from the soil in spring as if the imaginings of some wild fever dream about asparagus. At full maturity which will take some years, these will be pushing 6' in height and when in flower will render even the most consummate gardener speechless.

(David Culp, author of 'The Layered Garden', was not without speech when he dropped to his knee upon seeing this blooming but the words were disconnected and for the most part unintelligible. He said almost a year later in conversation "You know, that was was just one of those moments in your life").

The large panicles of small pinkish purple flowers appear usually the first week of June for us and own the shade garden. We have many striking plants in the garden but when Martha Stewart Living wanted to know when to come out and shoot the garden, we said "First week of June - Maianthemum oleraceum will be blooming". It will be a few years before these become contenders for the best thing in your garden but if ever a wait was worth it, this is that wait.

Pretty cool False Solomon's Seal whose terminal display of small, narrow-tubed yellowish to green flowers carries more interest than might be implied. This is genetically distinct from the white flowered M. henryi from Yunnan and has a pure, sweeter fragrance than the more cloying white form. We love them both. Sometimes seen as the invalid species ginfushanica.

False Solomon Seal. This Chinese species is one of our favorites in the shade garden and we delight in its ribbed leaves with elegantly understated small violet daubing at the base of each leaflet followed by the precise detail in the small greenish flowers. In the late summer into fall, it has strut-your-stuff full heads of bright orange fruit that just makes us shake our heads in amazement. We've paired this with our collection of Hedychium densiflorum from the eastern Himalaya which has late season spikes of similar orange flowers but at 60" rather than the 30" of the Maianthemum. It's nice when a speculative pairing actually works.

Staggeringly good False Solomon Seal from China which owns its corner of our shade garden when it is in bloom. The very gratifying terminal white flowers are a reward unto themselves but on a big clump like we have, the fragrance from these makes this a multi-sensory experience of the very best sort. Small red fruit if you are lucky.

One of the finest False Solomon Seal's around and rarely obtainable. These are spirit-breakingly slow to grow from seed and the time required to grow plants to flowering size which these should be calls into question our business acumen. However, these are of such perfection when mature with stout 24"-30" stems arching gracefully and each bearing a terminal plume of flashy white flowers that once again we forsake common sense for beauty.

A False Solomon Seal collected by the good folks at Crug Farm Nursery during a plant hunting trip to Central America. They found this once common species in Guatemala relegated to remnant populations at higher altitudes above 9000 feet where it found it spread rhizomatously to form small colonies. This decline of a species is a common situation particularly in lesser developed countries where human subsistence takes priority over species preservation. We can thank plant hunters for their efforts in preserving and conserving plants through cultivation. White flowers on stems to 18" and the rhizome is best mulched well to prevent frost from penetrating in winter.

This is from a collection of ours from North Dakota where its glaucous-green leaves looked most appealing. Small starry white flowers in May and June and the subsequent fruit is most appealing - to us anyway - when immature as the round green "peas" are decked out in dark stripes. This will spread a foot or so a year and you can eat the new shoots to keep it in check.

If Thomas Hardy had written a book based on this plant, he would have tiltled it "Fusca the Obscure". Or Poe "Descent into the Plant Maelstrom". BIO -Botanical Interest Only. If you buy this we're doing an intervention on you and get you into the Plant 12-Step Program. You need help.

Guatemalan False Solomon Seal. A collection by Port Townsend's own Josh McCullough from Volcan Azul in Guatemala at around 10,000'. This grows both in the trees as an epiphyte and on the forest floor as a geophyte. Fab narrow pleated leaves with terminal drooping panicles of flowers backed in lavender-pink with pale faces followed by shiny red berries. The flowers pictured is the first small bloom on these plants and we expect a better effort once they gain more maturity and practice. I know Sue expects a better effort from me at times but I'm straying into too much information again. A very rare plant in cultivation and regrettably likely best in Zone 9 but it is completely untrialed. This is a genus we are passionate about.

Dwarf False Lily of the Valley. This wee woodlander as a species is native to western Europe and Japan with this tiny-leafed form likely from Japan. This is sometimes offered under any number of names and we got this one from Michael Wickenden of Cally Gardens. Small white flowers.

Kelly likes to bang on about Maianthemum oleraceum or even, god forbid Maianthemum fuscum, but this may be the true underappreciated gem of the genus. Pairs of glossy pleated leaves set so close together you'd be forgiven for not seeing the stem from which they spring. Grows big like its impressive relatives but stays low and arrays itself horizontally gently proffering gleaming sprays of flowers in a variety of purple hues with a pleasingly sweet smell which travels. A presence of beauty and charm without stealing the show, simply very likeable. 

Guatemalan False Solomon Seal. A collection from Guatemala at 8000'-9000' on Volcan Azul by Josh McCullough where he found this growing both epiphytically on Oak trees and terrestrially. Cool New World False Solomon's Seal that is best brought in during the winter unless you are Zone 9. This makes an interesting lignotuber of sorts at the soil surface which is a big swollen storage organ that is often found in epiphytes (tree dwellers) to help them weather periods of dry as well as uncommon cold snaps. Ahh, the adaptations of plants! We haven't flowered it but this has long 10" pedicels according to Josh's notes.