Spring Garden in La Grange, Illinois

Embracing the shade

Helen Rehn is welcoming us into her garden today .

I endure in La Grange , Illinois , a suburb of Chicago . I used to long for a lot of sun in my garden , but I now apprise my spook . Most of my garden lie in beneath a very old English elm or ared maple . When the garden comes to life history in the spring , it brings me joy .

A pink hellebore ( Helleborushybrid , Zones 4–9 ) with brunnera ( Brunneramacrophylla , Zones 3–8 ) . Both of these plant life have beautiful flowers , the false hellebore with long - lasting blooms that start in former spring and rest adorable even as they shade into green afterward in the season . The brunnera ’s clouds of little blue flush do n’t last as long , but they complement the hellebore perfectly . Both have attractive leafage the rest of the season as well ; the hellebore sturdy andevergreen , while the brunnera unfolds great , slenderly hirsute , pump - shape folio .

pinkish bleeding heart ( Dicentraspectabilis , Zones 2–8 ) blooms with violent Darwin tulips ( Tulipahybrid , Zones 2–7 ) . The Darwin tulip radical is one of the best for perennializing , coming back to flower year after yr especially in well - drained soils and in colder mood . Next to them , healthy clumps of daylily leaf ( Hemerocallishybrid , Zones 4–9 ) promise abundant salad days later in the season .

The lush leaf of this ‘ Ivory Prince ’ hellebore(Helleborus‘Ivory Prince ’ , Zones 4–8 ) crusade out past the fading blossom . ‘ Ivory Prince ’ is one of the aseptic hellebore hybrids , which means it won’tself - sowin the garden and tends to develop and bloom more smartly because it does n’t expend energy prepare seeds .

Brunnera palisade a newly plantedRhododendron(Zones 5–9 ) . The brunnera at the bottom left hassilver - patterned foliage , which is establish in many cultivars , such as ‘ Jack Frost ’ . When well-chosen , brunnera ego - sows , and the seedlings often deviate from have green leaves to silver leaves to lightly spot leaf with silver in between .

AJapanese maple(Acerpalmatum , Zones 5–9 ) begins to leaf out in the spring .

The pinkish bloom ofepimedium(Epimedium×rubrum , Zones 5–9 ) are beautiful in the saltation , and the airy , delicate - looking foliage provides a great counterpoint to thebig , bold leavesof the brunnera behind it . Despite their finespun look , Epimedium are durable plant life , one of the best choices for difficultdry shadeconditions .

The cloud of blue brunnera heyday are joined by othershade - bed perennialssuch as variegated Jacob ’s ladder ( Polemoniumcaeruleum‘Brise d’Anjou ’ , Zones 4–8 ) and Japanese timberland grass ( Hakonechloamacra , Zones 5–9 ) .

More Darwin tulip bloom behind the dour foliage ofHeuchera‘Palace Purple ’ ( Zones 4–9 ) .

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