Uvularia

A nice find in the woods of North Carolina, this variegated Perfoliate Bellwort is a choice addition to the shade garden. Creamy, feathered markings adorn the margins of the perfoliate leaves which pair nicely with the creamy white flowers. Perfoliate means the leaf surrounds the stem so it looks like the stem runs through the leaf. Slow to increase, we don't have many.

Merry Bells. One of our favorite of the Midwest and Eastern woodland wildflowers. Rich gold pendant flowers dangling like earrings on a woman of some serious substance. Combines beautifully with upper crust plants such as Cardiocrinums and Arisaemas yet hangs comfortably with box store Hostas. These are divisions from our stock plants.

Perfoliate Bellwort. So named for the perfoliate leaves in which the stem seems to pierce the leaf and bellwort for the pendant pale yellow (in this form) to greenish flowers. This is a collection from Hamblen County Tennessee shared with us by botanist Aaron Floden. A delight in the shade garden contrasting well with dark Podophyllums and ferns.

One of the little gems of the woodland is this scarcely encountered selection which we have planted under our Disporum 'Night Heron' in our shade garden where it contrasts with the almost black new growth of the Disporum. Pretty sweet. A gentle infiltrator wending amongst plants of stouter stature, this carries a joyous light in its white edged leaves and pale bell flowers. Naturally small rhizomes.

Little creeping woodlander from the East Coast newly placed in the Colchicaceae which alters our world view. Socially inept biochemists will soon lump all life into a single family derived from a virus, blue-green algae or a bacteria. Bah! Delicate creamy bells in spring. Quite tough.

There are many bigger and more impressive Uvularias and even more similar enough to pass the same tests. BUT. If I was a fairy, or a gnome, there are none that would match this one for planting priority. The perfect diminutive but not tiny size, drowsily nodding habit, and large cream yellow bells, all capped off with a painted margin of white just make this so incredibly charming in a children's book sort of way. Wood make for a truly idyllic groundcover in a woodland garden where all your local fae-folk friends live their merry or naughty lives outside the gaze of the plodding 'Big People', oh to live in such a world. 

For those sick freaks who want to be cold year round, this is one blizzard that sticks around during the summer and makes way for the real thing in Winter. Darrell Probst selection of this delightful Eastern woodland native dusted with variegation from light green to white like a miniature chlorophyll snow storm. Slowly spreading and with small yellow flowers in Spring. 

A wunderbar find by plantsman Darrell Probst. This delicate woodlander creeps about sporting a hanging creamy bell-shaped flower in spring. The glory of this selection is the yellow margined foliage putting this way high up on the plant collector's "gotta have" list.