All the Dirt on Gardening

Any yard or patio with a bit of shade is a potential home for Native Bluebells.  Mertensia virginica is a perennial gardener’s dream plant. They are cold hardy from zones 3 to 8 with pink-turning-blue flowers for two months, avoided by rabbits and deer, require zero care, and spread slowly to form colonies.  The oval leaves come up early spring, followed by the tiny pink flower buds and then the multiple clusters of  1-inch long, bell shaped, blue flowers.   Virginia Bluebells are ephemeral, meaning that after they flower and the leaves gather nutrients for next year, they disappear completely. Every year, I intend to divide our 10-year-old clump but spring is so busy that they are gone before good intentions become an action item. Many gardeners over-plant their Native Bluebells with Hostas or Ferns but ours are just mulched, leaving their planting area empty the rest of the year.  They mature at 2-feet tall and each plant is about 9-inches ...

We have a grove of trees on our back acre and have planted dozens of plant varieties back there. Based on our soil type, rainfall amount, and lack of attention (zone 7 NE OK) I can recommend some real winners. We've gardened on these 2 acres for 20 years now and these are the plants that have thrived with minimal attention. All of these are blooming now - photos taken yesterday. Viburnum shrub Daffodils planted under shade trees return every year Flowering quince in half shade  Native Phlox blooms, spreads Shasta daisies do quite well around shrubs Iris of course bloom before trees leaf out Rue Anemone spreads very slowly and blooms every spring Spicebush shrub blooms every spring and feeds Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars Virginia bluebells - native - incredible! Spanish bluebells - thrive here Native violets feed bees, butterflies

Virginia Bluebells are some of the happiest spring flowers for shade. The flowers are pink and then blue or is it blue and then pink. Either way, no one cares because they are a spring thrill. The leaves are a soft round shape and I've yet to see a spot of disease or a bug bite in all the years they have been out in the shade bed. What's amusing about them is that they move around the bed, travelling from one side of that paver path in the photo to the other. I asked them why but they gave no response. Cold hardy in zones 3 to 8 or 9 means that gardeners in most parts of the globe can be successful with them. Plus, they are a native so they behave. They max out at about 1.5 feet tall and die to the ground with summer's heat. They can be inter-planted with ferns and hostas since they are gone when those plants are showing their stuff. The clumps can be divided early in the spring or root cuttings can be made when the plants are dormant. Ephemeral pla...

It was 85 today after 2 nights of freezing weather. Must be spring. The neighborhood dogs met at the bottom of the road to talk about such matters. And, no doubt compared notes about where the bones are buried. Virginia Bluebells ( Mertensia virginica ) are ringing in two of the three places they were planted. It appears that the third set chose to remain silent henceforth and forever more. Anyway, I love these wonderful flowers of our spring garden. Some people call them Virginia Cowslip, or Oysterleaf or Roanoke Bells. More lettuce seedlings went into the ground today and we are getting braver about putting plants into the ground in the hope that no more freezing weather will come. I untied the climbing hydrangea today and started to train it up a tree. We bought it last year during the Hydrangea Festival in Memphis. Gardens OyVey is a great source for all things Hydrangea. Also, our friend Jerry Gustafson started Hydrangeas by rooting them and he gave me a couple to plant. They ...

A fellow garden writer said he has had good luck with Virginia Bluebells in his Northeast Oklahoma garden. They are not sold in garden centers so I ordered a few bulbs from the mail order nursery he recommended. The United States Department of Agriculture plants database says they are native to the US which is a great find. It seems that so many of the plants we buy are native to Europe, Asia and parts south such as Mexico and South America. Plants native to our own soils should be stronger and resist diseases. The USDA map indicates native growth of Virginia Bluebells includes Kansas and Arkansas - why not Northeast Oklahoma, too? If you haven't visited the Plants database, click on the link above for a treasure chest of plant information.