VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS

Another one of my favorite shade plants is the VIRGINIA BLUEBELL.  I was so taken by a drift of them in a garden that I ordered some last year.  Although mine haven't spread into a drift yet, they were beautiful last spring.  I especially love their vibrant green, big, oval-shaped leaves.  Now is the time to plant them if you want spring blooms.  Their nodding flowers are wonderful in naturalized woodland settings.  I have them in the upper corner, under the boughs of a giant pine, among the hosta, ferns, primrose, and spring flowering bulbs of daffodils and tulips.  One of the reasons they go so well in areas of those perennials is that when they go dormant, the hostas 'fill in' that area and it still looks good.  They are very hardy, and grow  1-2 feet tall and bloom in early spring with beautiful blue, nodding clusters of flowers.  They like moist, rich, humus-filled soil, and naturalize especially well under deciduous trees, rhododendrons, and shrubs.  Because they go dormant in summer, be sure to mark them so you won't accidentally dig into them during the rest of the year.  And, if you need to divide them, do it in the summer--you'll easily find them in your marked areas. Protect them from slugs and snails, as they are a real treat for them.