Circumpolar Rock Garden

Established August 2002

updated June 2, 2008

The entire frontage of our yard was landscaped in August of 2002.  A professional landscaper hauled in 4 tons of Dresser Trap basalt boulders and 3 tons of S. Dakota Sioux red quartzite.   These were placed to create a somewhat natural set of outcroppings along the short hill across our front yard, and along the granite sidewalk.  We also replaced our ancient and decaying concrete steps and sidewalk from the steps to the front door--this was the primary reason for the project.  Rather than using the usual concrete, we had the steps replaced with four-foot wide St. Cloud granite slabs, and the walk with matching granite pavers.  The boulders are mostly in the range of 1000 lbs, with one 1,800 lb stone.  That's about a dozen large, colorful and jagged volcanic stones.  We chose the volcanic stone to create a wild, boreal feel to go with the 25 foot blue spruces behind the stones.  Being that it's on the North side of our house, this area is somewhat shady, with one zone quite sunny, and another zone in pretty deep shade, receiving mostly Northeast and Northwest sun in our "circumpolar" location.  The spruces create rather acidic conditions.  Hence, we are planting ericaceous plants and exotic dwarf conifers as the theme.  Heather, erica, miniature rhodedendron, Wintergreen, Crowberry.  

The intention is to get the pH down to 5.5 with a few patches around 4.5.  I'm still not there yet, but the effect on the soil is quite visible.  It takes time to lower pH. Besides making a hospitable environment for some very beautiful shade plants, grass will just not grow well in acidic soil.  That's the big thing I notice after 3 winters--the grass that I dug out has not returned--something I can't say about neutral to alkaline areas I've worked.  

Perhaps the greatest charm of this acidic garden is that it is a beautiful and practical garden idea for the north side of a house with large evergreen shade.  This area does get quite a bit of sun after the Spring Equinox, but it was not an ideal location for trying a more conventional garden that belongs on the south side of the house.  I dreaded the idea of being limited to hostas or lily of the valley, which is what I notice most gardeners do in similar situations.  It had to be unique.   

The landscaper didn't do any of the gardening, and the only sod they lifted was where the stones went.  We dug the sod, added peat moss, compost, iron sulfate, gypsum, garden sulfur, and then worked it all in very meticulously.  Finally, we covered it all with pine bark mulch.  Not wood chips, but pure bark mulch, which smells so good when it rains. 

In Spring of 2004 I got an electronic pH tester, with a nutrient detector also.  I immediately went to check the soil in several locations.  I was surprised to see that the acidification was not very strong yet.  The pH of most of the area was between 6 and 5.5.  I am shooting for 5 to 4.5.  So, I added more sulfur and iron sulfate to the area where I first tried to get a Pink Ladyslipper to grow.  I also sprinkled more Bonide soil acidifier (sulfur beads) and iron sulfate (Minnesota taconite mine tailings) around existing plants.  The iron sulfate is an excellent acidic fertilizer, but it is very strong.  Apply sparingly and read the directions.

Here is a list of the plants I have placed in this garden.    The connecting theme in this garden is the Ericaceae family, which includes the Rhododendron, Blueberry, Wintergreen, Uva Ursi, Empetrum and Bog Rosemary.  Although each is distinct, there are structural similarities that tie them together.  

Aconitum henryi 'Spark's Variety' -- Monkshood or Wolfsbane [Ranunculaceae] Bachman's 1995 The flowers are larger and more beautifully dark blue-purple than A. napellus, (see below), but I suspect it's actually a cultivar of it.  The flowers are suspended out up to 6" from the main stem on wavy horizontal stems, which makes it much more airy than the densely packed A. napellus. 4 to 8 foot stems tend to be almost vine-like.  Ours are in a pretty shady location and they reach 6 feet or more. They must be staked or placed in a tomato cage early in the season, or tied into an adjacent shrub as I do.  I moved them to the front yard to accompany the boreal garden on the North of our house.  This is the third season that I will be playing a prank on unwitting gardeners who pass by.  I placed a nice clump of this about 2 feet to the side and a bit back from a rhododendron bush so that the tall, lanky and flexible stalks can be bent and threaded through the branches and tied inconspicuously with jute twine.  The effect is stunning, as the bush provides a canvas for the blue violet flowers, and the casual look would give the impression that something that looks like a rhododendron is blooming in July with the most unusual color--deep blue-purple! 

Acontintum septentrinale "Ivorine" Linder's 2000. White flowers, shorter in size--about 10-24".  It's leaves are very much like the A. napellus, but the flowers are very different in shape--taller and skinnier.  Very nice, but reseeds itself vigorously.  Cut the dead flower heads off after blooming.  The stems are sturdier than the others, and don't seem to need staking.  That's a plus.  I don't think they form the characteristic turnip tuber either.  I have this in a sunny location among vigorous growth of larkspur and poppies.  It does well there and seems to reseed a bit.  After dividing it, I placed clump of these right up against the sidewalk in the circumpolar garden.

Actea rubra -- red baneberry [ranunculaceae] Spring 2004 Friends School plant sale, I think.  Located in boreal garden now in three locations in the circumpolar garden.  A short version of the cimicifuga ramosa with leaves that are a bit more raspberry like.  It is the only member of the ranunculaceae family that produces berries, though the cimicifuga come close.  The berries of actea are poisonous.  I have seen them in the wild in both lime and acidic conditions.  All three of ours are in the boreal/acidic garden.  In 2005, they all survived and expanded a bit.  They also bloomed for the first time.  Of the three I put in different spots, the one that gets the most sun has expanded the most and flowered the best.  They are identified as shade lovers, but I recommend making sure that they do get a bit of direct sun, or bright shade to get the most beautiful plants possible.  I would describe their current best location as getting about 3 hours of direct southern sun until the leaves of my maple come out, but otherwise, it's pretty much bright shade.  My general impression at this point is that they are pretty tough, bug resistant and fairly tolerant of variable water conditions. (mild drought to overwatering)   It is also long-lasting with its beauty.  It does not collapse or get scraggly after blooming, so it would make an excellent alternative to or accompaniment for astilbe.  As of 2008 I have only noted one seedling, and slow growth from the roots.  I expect that without bark mulch they would reseed more.  However, I would say that the clump that was the most pampered for water, but least exposed to light looked rather diminished this season.  [More info and image]

Andromeda polifolia 'Blue Ice'   [Ericaceae or Empetraceae]  Bog Rosemary. Fall 2002 Rice Creek Gardens.  Placed in the rock garden.  Pink, bell shaped flowers on a plant that does look a bit like rosemary.  It gets about 12" high and 15" around and has steely blue foliage for winter.    The blooms are subtle and cute, yet very visible.   This plant has recently been adopted into the English Heather Society.   Nice description and images , and here too.   Now that we've seen it bloom in May of 2003, this one gets high marks.  It's very short, which is what we want, and the flowers are really cute.  May 2006 starting last year just before blooming a quick and virulent blight attacked about 2/3 of the shoots--perhaps the effects of dog urine, because this is near a sidewalk.  The remainder bloomed nicely, and the plant seemed to recover.   Later, both plants looked fine, but the new one finally died. In retrospect, I suspect one of these causes for this failure: excessive sun, garden sulfur, animal urine (probably cat), fungus.  That's a few too many variables, and the attractive appearance I described above is only possible with happy plants, and this one is way too expensive to treat as an annual.  In a last ditch effort, I moved it to the Northeast corner of the garden where it will get only morning sun during spring and summer.  After a week, it looked better than it did.  In May 2008 it looks great.  So far, no signs of fungus or dog pee.

Anemones

• Anemone sylvestris -- Snowdrop Anemone  1995, 2002 Grow in partial shade in rich, loose, evenly moist acidic soil for best results. Some sun is clearly beneficial. Moist, humus-rich soil. Spreads by creeping rhizomes, which need to be dug out periodically to prevent it from taking over. It is a beautiful, lambent white flower that blooms in late spring and repeatedly throughout the summer if it's happy.  Ours started on the East side of the raised bed--along with a Max Frei Geranium. Neither did well, although they were clearly alive and not diseased. I moved the anemone to the south, sunny end of the raised bed. It reciprocated with a profuse display of beautiful white flowers. It too looks somewhat like the pasque flower, blooming about three weeks later.  Two years after moving it to this raised bed, it mysteriously disappeared.  I guess that it was overcome by columbines that dominate the area.   A few years later, I put one in the boreal garden where it gets acidic soil.  Within a year it was clear that it was very happy.  In its third spring, my opinion is changing.  The rhizomes are about 4-6" underground and spread two feet from the original location, sprouting new plants every 6" or so.  To maintain this plant in its current situation require a buried pot to control the spread.  That and meticulous deadheading.  However, if you want an attractive plant about 1 foot tall that will fill in a large area of rich, acidic soil in part shade, then this one is a good choice.  Clay will, according to some sources, slow down its spread.  In terms of aggressiveness, this plant rates above such thugs as daylilies, snow-on-the-mountain, etc.  click for image and info.  In Summer of 2005 I decided that it was doing too well for its location, and would compete with the Wintergreen that is thriving in the same area.  I killed it because nobody wanted it.  Still, this is a marvelous plant if you have the space for it, or at least the diligence to control and deadhead. 
• Anemone X hupehensis 'September Charm' -- Japanese Anemone Leitner's 1995 Sun or light shade. Rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil. Spreads by underground stems to form clumps.  It took six years for ours to get to the point that we noticed it was spreading like that. The plant in our main bed, with alkaline-neutral soil lived for eight years but vanished in the cold, dry winter of 2003.  The two in our boreal garden also succumbed to the nasty weather. It benefits from some mulch for winter. Once it takes hold, it is fairly aggressive, spreading 3-5 feet away from the main plant.  You will need to dig out those underground runners.  Use them to propagate by root cuttings.  Divide it after flowering in late fall.  Supposedly it grows from seed too, though only a few seedlings are evident in my garden. It emerges fairly early in spring (tulip time) with little leaves that look like grape leaves.  This is an absolute must for September-October flowers in Minnesota, the pink flowers have irregular, large petals that give it a whimsical look.  When in bloom, it is covered with flowers in airy masses about 30-40" above the ground, and it does so right up to the first frost.  Click here to see a picture.
• Anemonella thalictroides 'double flower purple' cultivar.  Friends Plant Sale 2005.  This is an expensive exotic.  It was so small and fragile looking when I bought it--I'd guess that it was a second season seedling when I got it.  In 2006 it increased in size, but not really any increase in the number of shoots, however, it is in a fairly shady spot that gets bright shade without ever having direct sun during winter.  This one seems rather delicate compared to the others. In May 2008 it has five beautiful flowers on its delicate stems.  I recommend placing protection around it to prevent hose damage.

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'-- Bearberry, Uva Ursi [ericaceae or empetraceae] Fall 2002.  This low growing shrub will spread across dry, sandy or gravel soil on hillsides, even with some salt spray, so long as it has acidic conditions.  It likes sun, but will take some shade, which makes it an excellent candidate around evergreens and oak trees where growing grass is out of the question.  The berries are edible and medicinal, though not especially nutritious or tasty.  The berries endure to Spring, making them important for late winter forage for birds and some mammals.  Lots of information available at US Forestry Service.  One plant in a gallon pot exploded with runners in two years so that it now covers about 6-8 square feet.  Its seeds need fire to open, then cold stratification, so it's not likely to reseed in the average yard.  The USFS recommends it for erosion control, and notes that it is an important plant for recovery after fire.  Being a member of the family of ericaceae, it has the attractive, pale, bell-shaped flowers similar to those of blueberry, but smaller and less showy although they are a bit more colorful.  In structure, it's vaguely similar to the vaccinium, but much more prostrate, with darker, waxier leaves on long, running stems.  I really like it, and have seen no problems other than the speed at which it grows.  Maintenance obviously involves assiduous pruning of the fast growing runners.  In Spring 2006 it has a significant show of flowers for the first time.  Apparently it flowers only on older stems--perhaps even three seasons old.  I estimate that it has some runners that are about 7 feet long.   Spring 2007 we had a tough early Spring for ericaceous plants.  Early warmth teased them into bloom and new growth, but a hard freeze of several weeks had a harsh effect on this and other similar plants.  There was a lot of singed brown foliage, and then some die-back.  I think it's going to be okay, but it is evidently not happy.  The winter of 2007-2008 was similar.  Clearly, this plant should have some light winter cover through the months of March and April.

Arisaema triphyllum -- wild Jack-in-the-Pulpit [Araceae--Arum family] (about 5 of them were given to me by a friend '94) Easy to grow. Plant the ripe seeds in the fall. When these pop out of the ground in mid-may, they have a radically reptilian appearance. I have a large one that grows right out of the leaves of a Thalictrum aquilegiafolium.  The neatest thing about these peculiar beauties is that they occupy relatively little ground area, and their horizontal spread takes place largely above 20" over the soil.  That means you can interplant them with shorter woodland specimens like anemonella thalictroides or any of the small species of thalictrum.  Sweet Woodruff, Vinca Vine, Hostas, Canadian Ginger, European Ginger, Epimedium are just a few amicable companions that come to my mind. The second coolest thing about them is that the seed clusters that follow the flowers are almost as lovely as the flowers, and they're a nice scarlet color, and look a bit like a giant raspberry pointing upward. The third coolest thing about the Jack-in-the-Pulpit is that when you put them side-by-side with such tropical specimens as Peace Lily or Calla Lilies (to which the flowers bear some resemblance), you realize that Arisaema Triphyllum is more stunning.  The palate of greens and reddish browns that adorn them like strange lizards places them at the top of my list for the Gothic Garden.  

This hardy shade plant prefers moist, rich, humus-rich soil--peat and leaf mold.  However, I am pretty sure that it's harder to kill them than it is to keep them.  Propagate by seed--collect red berries in fall, remove pulp, and sow outdoors right away. They will easily and freely self-seed, so it's best to take control of this.  Seedlings have one leaf set the first year and take 2-4 years to mature to flowering size.  They grow into rather large bulbs or corms like a gladiola.  In my experience, they are very easy to transplant.  Even if something happens to them during the season, they will be fine the following year.  Plant them nice and deep--like 4-6" because the only enemy they seem to have is frost heaving.  Since they like to be deep, you are avoiding problems by getting them down that far.  Even after heaving, and being quite exposed to the Minnesota elements, I've seen them survive winter if you plant them before they thaw and rot.   The corm, which looks like a gladiola, grows with the roots coming out of the top. Plants normally die back before summer ends and emerge in mid to late May.  This seems to be most common with younger plants and those that succumb to bugs. Age seems to lend durability to the plants along with size.    You'll want to look at them up close, so plant them in raised beds, next to paths, etc.  

Highly recommended for woodland gardens.  Click here to see a series of four images of the plant.

Athyrium nipponicum 'Metallicum' -- Japanese Painted Fern [Dryopteridaceae] 1995 Small, shade loving plant. Sturdy and easy to grow. Late to emerge in spring. It looks oddly brown and artificial in May, reaching its normal coloration and height by the beginning of June. The multicolored leaves make it the closest thing to a coleus in the fern family.  Excellent idea for subtle color and texture in a shady spot where you can cultivate such a small plant.  It's about 6-8" tall.  Highly recommended, this is my favorite fern.  Period.  After six years, ours grew to a size where it was ready to be divided.  I did that in late Spring, and watered it regularly.  No problem.  Eleven years later I have divided and moved them about 4 or 5 times and never had the slightest problem.  The only thing to keep in mind is that they are slow to get settled in, and they are late emerge in about mid-May.

Athyrium X 'Ghost' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum x Athyrium filix-femina) -- Ghost Fern [Dryopteridaceae] 2003  I forget where I got this one.  It's very pretty, and easy to grow.  Refer to the entry on the Japanese Painted Fern above because the only significant difference seems to be the color of the foliage--which is an unusual pale green, almost white, with pinkish veins and stems.  It's located in a pretty shady location in the boreal garden.  One thing I've noticed is that it seems to attract an inordinate amount of attention from passersby.  I tend to keep the original plastic spike with the label on it near my plants until I get them memorized, and they have enough gravitas to make their location obvious in Spring.  This particular plant's spike is almost always pulled out of the ground and lying next to the plant, indicating that somebody went to significant trouble to stand on a boulder and lean across to pull it out and read it.

Betula glandulosa (unknown if var. hallii) (Bog birch, resin birch, arctic dwarf birch)  Linder's Fall 2002 in rock garden. This birch gives you all the beauty of young birch branches (that reddish brown, textured surface) on a very shapeable, tree-like shrub that runs about six foot high.  It's not supposed to get white, but from the looks of my plant (which may be a garden cultivar--it was poorly labeled) it could transform with age as birches do.  After six years, the stems are pretzel colored with fine white hash marks around the stem.  Old specimens can reach ten feet, but pruning should make it easy to prevent this.  It is hardy to zone one, which means that it's perfectly happy in Alaskan Yukon tundra.  Although it's home is in land considerably colder than metropolitan Minnesota, it appears to be quite happy here.  It sits atop a small man-made hill--a little berm that I put in to create a slope for drainage.  I have watered it, but not to excess.  It looks to be very happy.  The bog birch catkins are a food source for chickadees and other birds.  Internet searches revealed that it likes well-drained acidic soil (which it has).  The forest service has excellent information.   It's on the north side of the house, but it's a sunny location in summer, and fairly sunny in winter.   Being that it's at the top of the 20" berm, I thought that it would be a very good idea to build a volcano crater around it, building a water-retaining lip.  It apparently does not transplant easily.   But, at this point, there are no diseases, no bugs, nice leaves.  In 2005 I noticed that it's getting kind of shaggy--the branches get long and they are very flexible, so the whole bush gets blown about pretty dramatically by the wind.  As of 2006, I see the same thing beginning to happen.  In July I shortened them so that the whole thing is about 5-6 feet tall.  That should make for a stouter infrastructure.  After four years and one pretty vigorous pruning last summer, I very much like this tree.  If you keep the suckers and side shoots off from the lower portion, it makes a beautiful mini-tree.  At first I was wishing that I had gotten something a bit showier, or a full sized birch.  The leaves are really cute.  For pruning, I recommend using the same techniques as those used for lilacs.  I recommend it highly.

Calluna vulgaris spp. -- Scotch Heather  [Heaths and Heathers, Ericaceae or Empetraceae]  Note: Heathers are not really hardy in zone 4b where we live.  They require some extra attention, like showy roses.  In climates of zone 6 (possibly 5?) they are very good on slopes with moist, sandy and acidic soil.   They will only reseed if they are burned by fire.  I tried toasting some seeds on the bbq, but they didn't seem to germinate in the open garden.  Maybe they would in pots.  I have layered several plants now.  (That means I buried a couple of branches so the tips stuck out, held it down with a rock, and then I will cut and dig the clump up.)  This technique seems to be working well, but I haven't yet severed the connection to the mother plant.  

If it's flowers you seek, then go for the Erica species.  The Callunas are beautiful enough in their foliage.  I have all three planted fairly close together, and I'm going to have to move them apart this fall.  They are starting to grow into each other.  

There are some simple rules to follow to keep Heathers and Heaths.  

1. Cover it in leaves or snow for the winter.  I anchor this coverage down with bird netting used to protect blueberries.  I make metal wire tent stakes and push them through the netting, form a loop, and then push the end into the ground.  It works very well to hold the leaves in place, and assure some support during their interment under deep snow.  Anything that is actually exposed to air at zero degrees or below will die back or at least permanently loose leaves.  I uncover it around the first part of April, but I re-cover it with leaves if I hear that an ice storm or extra cold weather is coming.  Spring snow fall won't hurt it at all.  Dry, super cold air will desiccate the leaves.  They also seem to dislike freezing rain.  You might want to cover the mulched plant with a burlap bag anchored to the ground to keep the leaves in place.  I always scoop snow onto them when I shovel in the winter.  I think that it is best to uncover them in early April to prevent fungus, but to cover them again less densely until you pass the frost date.
2. Avoid watering it with tap water.  I capture rain water or use peat moss to condition water.  I regularly use vinegar (2 cups per 5 gallon bucket of water). Heathers are acid lovers.  I have used garden sulphur, but now after 5 years of applications, I no longer do.  I occasional coffee grounds, and one application of iron sulfate.  I also have my soaker hose system set up so it misses the heathers.  I hand water them.  Over time, I have been applying more tap water, and no problems are seen.
3. They hate nitrogen.  Do not give them things like blood meal, fish emulsion or other high nitrogen foods.  I have given them low doses of balanced chemical fertilizers recommended by a local gardener who cultivated many heathers I have.  During the past few years, I have been relying on organic mixes for acid soil like "Holly-tone" from Espoma, and applications of dilute vinegar.
4. After blooming, it improves their appearance to cut off the entire length of bare stem at the tip. 

The Callunas aren't terribly difficult, but not recommended for lazy gardeners.  Don't let anyone tell you that they can't be grown in Minnesota.  Click here to visit the Heather Society web page in the UK.  They have a very nice Handy Guide to Heathers and Heaths.  Heaths and Heathers--a great commercial site in Washington.  This looks like a great place to order heathers by mail.  There is an excellent article on growing heather in Canada.  My experience reflects his quite well.  I currently have 5 cultivars and an erica, so this next few years will tell me a lot.  This article discusses the different species and their hardiness in cold climates.

The winter of 2002-2003 was very tough on heathers.  None of them died, but some of them were not looking so good.  Snow cover is important here, and we had none.  I think that what got them was a combination of cold and dry soil.  The new ones in the front yard were more pampered with water, but less pampered with complete burial in leaves than those in back.  The result was that two of three plants in back were very nearly destroyed.  It will take a couple of years to nurse one of them back to health.  The ones in front were in excellent shape where they were covered, but exposed leaves were desiccated like a rhododendron. 

• Calluna vulgaris 'Drum Ra'--Scotch Heather. Rice Creek Gardens in Fall 2002.  Has white flowers on vigorous deep green foliage.  
• Calluna vulgaris 'Green Cardinal'--Scotch Heather. Garden City 1996. 15"h x 18". Bright green foliage that turns reddish purple in late season.  It will be dark when you uncover it in spring, and then it greens up.  Trim off any dead ends of branches that were singed by cold.  It's more stiff and upright than the sprawling, curly 'Sir John Carrington' or Erica.  This one is the more vigorous of the two Callunas we have.  It is also more sensitive to Winter cold air--losing more leaves if it gets too cold.  Bury it completely in leaves as soon as the temperatures start dipping below 10 degrees F.  The flowers are lilac pink, and are quite nice.  This appears to be the easiest one for cold climates.  You have to keep it (and all the others) from being exposed to the elements during winter, but given that kind of care, you'll have little or no trouble keeping it in zone 4b (or at least in urban zone 4b). 
• Calluna vulgaris 'Little Orchid'--Scotch Heather. This one looks really good four years later, but not as vigorous in the rate of growth as the Green Cardinal.  
• Calluna vulgaris 'Robert Chapman'. This one is doing extremely well, but not as vigorous in the rate of growth as the Green Cardinal.  Very pretty pale green. Has survived three winters, and looks great.
• Calluna vulgaris 'Sir John Carrington'. Garden City 1996. 12" h x 18". Chartreuse to yellow foliage changes to red in fall. Dark maroon-purple flowers from Aug-Sept.  This one is tough, but it doesn't grow as fast as the others.  This one has colorful foliage and deep lilac pink flowers.   Click for image.   

Daphne x 'Lawrence Crocker' [Thymelaeaceae] Spring 2006 this hybrid daphne is absolutely beautiful, and is very fragrant.  However, it is such a short plant--just about 4" after three seasons--that it is necessary to stoop down to catch its perfume.  The smell is similar to hyacinth, but even more pleasant.  It blooms in May, and seems to bloom again later in the summer, but not as profusely as the first Spring bloom.  This Thymelaeaceae Juss. family of plants is new to me.  Although there are a number of species, it looks to me like the daphnes are the only genus in the family.  They are toxic, and temperamental.  In appearance, the structure is rather similar to Andromeda, but the flowers aren't as unusual, and the semi-succulent leaves are darker green.  Although they prefer a more neutral soil, I am going to put it in the circumpolar garden, where I think it will look right at home if I can keep it alive.  A site I linked below states that an expert said of these miniature glories that they can die suddenly and inexplicably.  That sounds rather like the andromedas. I had no experience of these, and have never heard of anyone growing them here.  In May 2007 it looks great, and in May 2008 it continues to expand and look beautiful.  It has increased in size slowly, but steadily and has very healthy leaves.  It does not seem to have any insect pests at all, not even aphids.  I have been giving it pretty much the same treatment as the heather (see calluna), which means keeping it covered through winter, and then making sure in Spring that it doesn't get exposed to freezing rains, or sudden dips below 20 degrees. [more garden info, extensive botanical info, extensive history and tips,  nice image at Dave's Garden.]   

Dryopteris felix 'Femina Nana' aka Athyrium filix femina "nana" ?-- Miniature Ladyfern. [Dryopteridaceae] Rice Creek 1996. This 3-5" ultra dwarf fern started out in our raised bed.  It was pretty happy there, but was apparently stunted by the excess sun it was getting.  I moved about half of the clump to the front circumpolar garden to a spot that only gets a bit of morning sun in the Spring.  It's a star attraction in our fern collection amidst another small fern: Athyrium nipponicum 'Metallicum' (which spreads horizontally more than vertically--about 4-5" tall.)  They are both simply stunning.  Ferns require acidic soil and some shade.  I have not done a thing with this fern other than water it and give it acidic conditions.  It spreads very slowly.  This is an awesome specimen if you have a place for such a tiny fern.  I have not been able to find any information about this particular species anywhere.  All of the other cultivars are pretty large.  This is probably the smallest fern I've seen.

Empetrum nigrum 'Compass Harbor' -- Crowberry from Maine [Ericaceae or Empetraceae]  Fall 2002 from Rice Creek Gardens.  This beautiful, low, sprawling plant looks something like an Erica, but slightly more vertical.  This is a real boreal trooper--found in tundra areas and boreal bogs around the entire globe.  According to the owner of Rice Creek, it's quite durable.  Considering that a substantial plant in a half-gallon pot only cost $8.50, this plant must be fairly vigorous too.  She said that it doesn't require a lot of moisture, though it does appreciate it.  It is apparently both a bog plant and dry forest floor alpine.  It produces delicious blueberry-like fruit that can be harvested during the winter and early spring--frozen.  Hikers can use them for emergency water.  Links to sites with more info and images: Ethnobotany and Boreal Forest and Ascentia and USDA Forest Service.  Apparently it grows well in highly polluted boreal areas, where it seems to love heavy metals.  May 2006 it has little green berries all over the stems for the first time.  Apparently the wild life gets them before I do.  That's ok.  In May 2008 it has a lot more berries.  What I especially like about it is the fine, herringbone texture, and the range of shades of deep green to yellow-green to red that are often visible.  Reddish colors result from dying foliage.  It does tend to lose some stems in the spring, but it doesn't slow it down much. This is an excellent plant for a part sun location on a slope, rock outcropping or spilling over a retaining wall.  This is a very easy member of the Ericaceae family.  Go here and click the picture

Epimedium spp. beginning in 2006 we started to expand our collection beyond the two common species we have had for years. These are outstanding and easy plants that are surprisingly underappreciated.  They are a remarkable substitute for the common hosta, though they take longer to establish and spread.  After about ten years, the E. rubra has grown the most, and has been divided and moved, and moved again.  It is tough as nails in spite of its delicate and exotic appearance. The exotic species are obviously smaller and less vigorous, but that's okay.  

• Epimedium rubra -- Barrenwort [Berberidaceae (Barberry Family)] I forget the exact date, but I think that it was 1995.  Shade. Avoid waterlogged soil, but otherwise they grow anywhere in shade. Divide in late summer, but they can be abused like astilbes (anytime, anyway). I really love the flowers on these. They have an unusually angular, four-lobed form that dangles daintily above the airy leaves. Close examination gives me the impression of futuristic space ship. This is a distinctly "mercurial" plant. The flowers of the yellow cultivar look more like tiny daffodils.  The leaves of the rubra are probably more attractive with their reddish tinge. Epimediums start out as dainty and airy plants, but after three to four years, they begin to form serious masses. Give them room to spread. Obviously they make excellent architectural, border and foundation plants, doing the same jobs as Hostas, but with a completely distinct appearance. A cute plant will become large enough to divide within three years. They are nicest when smaller, unless planted in a large, continuous mass.  Once they take off, you'll probably be dividing it frequently.  Since mine is in a small assorted specimen area, I divide it every year.  I use what I call surgical division.  This plant is very vigorous and easy to grow.
• Epimedium unknown species 'Chen Yi #4'  Barrenwort [Berberidaceae (Barberry Family)] 2006 Friends School Plant sale. This rare species was "rescued" from development in Southeast Asia by a Chinese woman named Chen Yi, who sells a vast array of botanical treasures from Asia.  I didn't research that before I bought it at the Quaker "Friends School of Minnesota Plant Sale."  I was surprised to learn that the Quakers had chosen to buy from such an unpopular source.  I did some research on Dave's Garden for reviews or critiques of the nursery and found this.  It is fairly typical in appearance, except for the fact that the leaves are elongated and more pointed, the edges have stronger "spines" and the fuzziness of the leaves is more pronounced.  Overall, it gives the impression that it will be about 1/2 the height of the normal garden varieties.  It has white flowers, tinged with violet, and they're about twice the size of typical epimedium flowers.  In its third season it has spread, but is a bit less vigorous in appearance.  No flower this year.  Even if it doesn't flower, the leaves are striking.  Very nice.  [Image of flower]
• Epimedium x 'Youngianum' -- Young's Epimedium, Barrenwort [Berberidaceae (Barberry Family)] Spring 2006 Linders.  Shade.  Young's epimedium looks pretty much like all epimediums except for the all-white flowers. One source says that they are slow growing.  In May 2007 it is quite dead.  Apparently it's not hardy enough for Minnesota.  [Image from Dave's Garden] 
• Epimedium ? probably x veriscolor 'sulphureum'  purchased in 1995, I think.  It has the typical leaves of an epimedium with yellow flowers.  It is very healthy, but not nearly as fast growing as the E. rubra.  It has beautiful foliage, but the flowers aren't as spectacular as the E. rubra.

Euonymus fortuneii 'minus' variegatta. [Celastraceae] (Wintercreeper) Fall 2002 in rock garden.  From Rice Creek Gardens.  A replacement in 2003 from Leitners.  Stay tuned for updates.  In the Euonymus species is a more bushy and large plant commonly known as the burning bush.  Others are large creepers or ground covers.  This is apparently a dwarf version of the creeping variety.  The flowers are not notable, but the green and white foliage is very beautiful.  The tough winter killed it.  We bought another one, much larger from Leitner's in 2003.  In 2008 it is really doing well.  It survived the winter quite nicely and once the growth started, there were no dead branches, although it does lose a lot leaves on branches that stick vertically up above a foot.  The variegated foliage is very nice, and it appears to be a quick grower.  In Spring 2006 it looks extremely good.  I love this thing, but it is a fast runner.  The creeping shoots are well over six feet now.  I had to remove 4 runners that weren't variegated this year.  I am starting to sculpt it more to fill in like a background between the other more showy plants in the circumpolar garden. 

Gaultheria procumbens (Wintergreen, Box Berry, Ground Holly, Mountain Tea, Ground Tea, Partridge Berry, Petite the du bois, Teaberry, Spice Berry or Checkerberry) [Ericaceae] Rice Creek Gardens Fall 2002, Spring 2003  Another larger specimen from Highland Nursery in Spring 2004 in rock garden.   Spring 2006: added a Monrovia brand 'Red Barron'.  That means we have three slightly different cultivars. It's a 6" high ground cover with waxy leaves and red berries.  The leaves contain the aromatic oil that provides wintergreen flavoring for candy.  The berries are edible, and much loved by birds.    It's a circumpolar plant found in the Minnesota Boundary Waters area.  It does very, very well in our yard.  I give this one my highest endorsement for shady acid soil.  It spreads nicely from the roots.  Spring 2008 update: all three plants are spreading steadily and controllably.  Wow.  I only love it more every year.  Click for picture and info, close-up

Hacquetia epipactis [Apiaceae] We got this gem from Rice Creek Gardens in 1995.  The following year, I didn't see it in their catalog, and have not seen any since.  I call it "Hellebore anemone" because it seems like a cross between the two plants, though it is actually more closely related to the Eryngium (Sea holly) a rather thistle-like alpine plant native to Europe, and more distantly related to parsley and fennel.  The flowers are 5 petaled bracts colored like a euphorbia--brilliant chartreuse.  Click here to see a picture of my oldest colony of hacquetia epipactis from 2005.  The flowers shoot up first, then come the leaves--somewhat similar to a hellebore in terms of its seasonal development cycle.  Anemones do this too, but not with the sturdy, waxy and jagged edges.  Once the flowers fade, the seeds are nearly ripe, and they drop off as the bracts turn into leaves and flop over.  True leaves come up behind them, looking something like a hellebore.  The flowers stand about 3" high and about 1" across.  After blooming, the heavy, waxy leaves stand about 5" high, and form a dense clump.  The bract flowers turn darker green, the stems lengthen and droop over, perfectly designed to deposit seeds right at the perimeter of the colony.  Ours is spreading steadily, but not rapidly from its roots and reseeding modestly just beyond its perimeter. After I saw how readily its seeds take simply by dropping them in desirable locations right after they ripened, I started gathering the seeds for more careful planting.  I'm not sure if the seeds need stratification or not.  Now we have starts all around the garden, making a cheery display that attracts more attention than anything else in the early spring garden.  It seems to draw people like a magnet.  I gave one to my mother, and some jealous neighbor stole it out of her front yard.  

Once they set their seeds, they loose the vivid color, turning a deep green like the leaves.  They make a very nice ground cover for a rock garden or bouldered area.  They grow nicely in pretty deep deciduous shade, but they need early spring sun.  I have only just started some in full sun, and a clump in deep shade is doing well, but spreading less quickly.

In order to pull off a successful harvest of the precious seeds, you really need to keep an eye on them.  They ripen quickly and drop to the ground.  Cup your hand under a flower and very gently stroke the seeds in the center of the flower--they're fairly obvious.  When they are ripe, they will fall out of the flower at the slightest touch or flick.  The problem is that you you have to catch them before a breeze knocks them out.  If you have good eyes, it's not impossible to see fallen seeds on the ground and pick them up.  They are usually pale green when they are ripe, so you can't tell by looking.  Once they drop, they turn dark quickly.  I put them into an open container to dry for a few weeks, then I just plant them about 1/8" deep in loose soil.  This is a very easy plant, and a prize possession in our garden.  The seedlings will bloom in their second season.  This plant is extremely highly recommended.  Click here to see a nice picture, and this is a shot of my oldest plant, published at Dave's Garden.  Apparently it is occasionally a companion of Hellebores in the wild. 

Heuchera X brizoides 'Mt. St. Helens' --Coral Bells [Saxifragaceae (like Astilbe)]. Remove dead or damaged evergreen foliage in spring. Tends to look unattractive in early spring.  However, it's an easy plant, and it looks quite nice now on the north facing slope of our front yard.  They have really attractive red flowers and they flower for a long time.  Low maintenance.  Inexpensive.  Bright flowers for a long time.  Check, check, check.  This is a nice plant.   

Iris Reticulata.  Dwarf Iris.   Fall 2001 This is the second round of planting these.  The first batch only lasted 1-3 years.  They are marvelous plants, but apparently not long-lived.  I scattered them around widely in the garden.  I like the effect.  More planted in rock garden Fall 2002

Isopyrum biternatum -- Spring Beauty (anemone) (wild import '94.  Yes, I confess that I dug it up from the wild, but it was private property, and I made it thrive, OK?) [Ranunculaceae]. Slow start, but once I cleared away all the hostas that shaded it, it has been impressive.  I have seen rounded clumps 15" by 12" and 12" high. Obviously, it appreciates some sun, but disappears after blooming (gone by July). Delicate and charming. Its many white blooms and airy foliage last from early April until the end of May. Reseeds nicely, and transplants quite easily.  One problem is that it is very difficult to catch the ripe seeds before it launches them like a geranium.  Since it has short-lived flowers that keep coming for well over a month, it's difficult to tell which seed pods are ready.   I think that it would work very well in the lawn since the best part of the flower show would be over before mowing time, and it just disappears after that.  It has light, airy foliage that wouldn't have a dramatic effect on the lawn.  Similar to Anemonella thalictroides, but more delicate and ephemeral.  Very highly recommended.

Jeffersonia diphylla -- Twinleaf -- Ground Squirrel Pea -- [Berberidacea (like Epimedium)] Spring 2007 from Linders.  This underappreciated woodland wildflower is a native, endangered species.  I was pleased to find them at Linders because I feel pretty confident that they were cultivated rather than pilfered.  It's a bit early to comment on its viability, but the appearance is wonderful.  Imagine an epimedium with leaves that look like butterflies.  The flower is rather like Hepatica, but larger.  Mine hasn't flowered yet.  It's very enchanting because, like Epimedium, the wiry stems make the "butterflies" quiver in the breeze.  Six weeks after planting it in May 07, it was alive, but clearly starting to fade.  I wasn't sure if this was a normal late summer situation until the following May of 08 it was up, and looking absolutely beautiful.  We have had a cold, long winter in 08 and the location is in bright shade on a slope facing North.  The flower has not appeared yet as of May 22, 2008, but it still looks possible.     

Juniper horizontalis 'Blue Chip' -- Blue Chip Juniper [Cupressaceae] Linder's Fall 2002 in rock garden.  This is one of those sprawling, ground hugging junipers with the growth that tends to go off in points like a star (click for good image of the typical form, but this is a different variety that is more green in color).  They are fairly fast growing, making up to a five or six foot wide carpet of very blue foliage.  It is native to our area, and is known for its hardiness well into zone 2.   It is recommended for xeriscaping situations, but it is suggested that you water it during winter in warmer climates.  Click for image of plant growing in sand dunes.  Click for image. More information. The needles aren't as unpleasant to touch as some junipers, but you want to wear gloves when you work with it.  I am doing a semi-bonsai with it.  Starting with an 24" wide, angular plant in a gallon pot, I pruned out most of the vertical growth, and all of the growth from the center, thus exposing the branches there for bonsai wiring.  I cleaned up lots of dead growth, and generally made it look as "oriental" as I could.  I then washed as much soil out of it as I could, root pruned it, focusing on removing only larger roots, and leaving feeder roots.  Then I placed it into a broad shallow pot with stones in the bottom, and a layer of composted bark.  The pot I used is one of those plastic green pots used for hanging baskets that are ready made at the greenhouse.  I was pretty careful to bang the pot to knock the compost back down into the roots, and do the Japanese technique of chop-sticking the soil mix into the roots.  The idea is to stunt the growth, and get it accustomed to root pruning.  This pot was then buried in the soil so that the top part of the roots is slightly above the rim of the pot, and the rim of the pot is below the soil.  I mulched right up to the stem of the plant and out the full root radius with long strand sphagnum moss, and placed a water retaining crater around the whole affair, and placed bark mulch up to the sphagnum mulch.  I will water it well this fall until frost, then I will give let it grow for one year in the pot in the soil.  I will then dig it up, pot and all, root prune it again, but place it into a larger pot, and bury that pot the same way for two years.  I plan to put some bonsai copper wires on it once I see if it adapts to this first session of abuse.  At the end of that period, I will dig it up one more time, assuming that it is stunted and used to being root pruned, and then I will just let it grow in the soil.  Since it will be adapted to root pruning, I will be able to dig it up again if I think it's getting too vigorous.   My hope is to create an exotic juniper bush that will ripple up and down off the ground, and spill over some boulders near it.  I will focus on getting the wooden stems in the center to be visible.  Spring 2005 update: It has had a second root pruning last Spring, and it is doing fine.  It's definitely stunted.  It looks about the same as when I first put it in.   Maybe it needs a bigger pot.  Spring 2006: the results have been quite good.  The only complaint I'd have is that it really did stunt the growth quite a bit.  It has gotten bushier, so I am able to thin the growth some, but the overall diameter has not changed much at all. 

Lewisia 'Pinkie' - A L. longipetala x L. cotyledon hybrid -- bitter root  [Portulacaceae, more on the family] Spring 2004 Rice Creek Garden.  Small and cute like an alpine saxifrage, with a bit of a "hens and chickens" look, and a bit of a sedum look.  It has cute, cute pink, waxy flowers.  They are alpines native to Western North America.  Spring 2005, they bloomed for the first time, and look just great.  Spring 2006 they look excellent.  They are on a west facing slope in the less acidic part of our circumpolar garden.   [click for image, more information about Lewisias]

Lysimachia nummularia -- Creeping Jenny, Moneywort -- [Primulaceae] Spring 2007.  Two 4" pots are in the circumpolar garden.  I am trying them in shadier locations where I am having difficulty getting other things to grow.  The foliage is quite nice, even if I don't get blooms.  The upside of not getting blooms is that they can't reseed.  The reviews I've read suggest that cold weather and shade slow it down.  One of the plants I put in a place that tends to get dried out from the Spruce roots.  If I can get it to run around under those trees without taking over the garden, I'll keep it.  So, I'm not ready to recommend this one.  A month later they both look very happy and healthy.

Pinus mugo pumilio-- Dwarf Mugo Pine, Mountain Pine [Pinaceae] Fall 2002 Linder's in rock garden.  Click for image  Excellent container plant for bonsai, excellent for rock gardens and coexisting with perennials.  The tag says they get three to five feet tall, and six to ten feet wide.  Native to the Alps, it loves acidic soil, which it has.  It apparently is very tough, and can even tolerate fairly dry and sunny conditions, though it can take some shade.  It should be very happy on the northwest corner of the berm, about half-way down the side.  I am doing a semi-bonsai with it.  Starting with an 18" spherical plant in a gallon pot, I pruned it to clean it up in the center, and remove lots of small internal branches.  I then washed as much soil out of it as I could, root pruned it, focusing on removing only larger roots, and leaving feeder roots.  Then I placed it into a broad shallow pot with stones in the bottom, and a layer of composted bark.  The pot I used is one of those plastic green pots used for hanging baskets that are ready made at the greenhouse.  I was pretty careful to bang the pot to knock the compost back down into the roots, and do the Japanese technique of chop-sticking the soil mix into the roots.  The idea is to stunt the growth even more, and get it accustomed to root pruning.  This pot was then buried in the soil so that the top part of the roots is slightly above the rim of the pot, and the rim of the pot is below the soil.  This allows the shallow feeder roots to spread out horizontally, but they can be easily sheared when I lift the plant for root pruning.  I mulched right up to the stem of the plant and out the full root radius with long strand sphagnum moss, and placed a water retaining crater around the whole affair, and placed bark mulch up to the sphagnum mulch.  I will water it well this fall until frost, then I will give let it grow for one year in the pot in the soil.  I will then dig it up, pot and all, root prune it again, but place it into the same pot, and bury that pot the same way for two years.  I plan to put some bonsai copper wires on it once I see if it adapts to this first session of abuse.  At the end of that period, I will dig it up one more time, assuming that it is stunted and used to being root pruned, and then I will just let it grow in the soil.  Since it will be adapted to root pruning, I will be able to dig it up again if I think it's getting too vigorous.   My hope is to create a bush about three feet wide and two feet high.  Fall of 2005 I noticed that it was growing vigorously.  In Spring 2006 I observed that some thirsty roots had gotten over the rim of the pot and were gorging the thing.  I pruned it heavily in late April, and now it's looking great.  The stunting effect is very obvious very quickly.   More info on mugos

Rhododendrons  [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] at this point, we only have two specimens in this family, though we are beginning a collection of ericaceous plants.  There are almost 1,000 different species within the Rhododendron genus.  This page is a nice starting point for information on them:  Vireya Website's Rhododendron page.

• Rhododendron 'Karen Seleger' [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Fall of 2002 in rock garden from Rice Creek.  Stay tuned for updates.  This little beauty is only 15" tall with violet purple flowers.  It is supposedly quite hardy, and its compact form should make it very durable in its location.  This plant is extremely expensive for its size, so we only got one rather small one about 8" tall.  Spring 2006 it's looking much better after almost losing it last year.  It bloomed nicely, but is a bit sparse because it lost so much foliage, and it's an evergreen.  It has increased to about 10" in height.  The color of the blooms is nice--a deeper red tone than the usual PJM pink.  Spring 2007 it took a bit of a hit in the cold Spring, but it did bloom, and it's getting lots of new leaves.  
• Rhododendron X 'P.J.M.' -- PJM Rhododendron [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Fall 2002 in rock garden from Linder's.  As all of this genus, it needs acidic soil and more shade than sun, but good light.  Ours is on the east edge of the rock garden, up behind the blueberry.   It gets bright violet pink flowers, and grows 3-5 feet tall, and may spread much more than that.  Monrovia description  An observation I have made is that it is very thirsty planted near a spruce tree.  Make sure it doesn't dry out or it will lose leaves.

Rubus chamaemorus -- Cloudberry [Rosaceae] Spring 2003.  This yellow raspberry grows rhizomes underground, which could make it a nasty pest except for one thing: it is very short and the stems die back to the ground every year.  I bet you can mow it.  It did very well in 2004, and obviously is of the underground spreading ilk.  It quadrupled in size.  Hmmm.  It's so small and cute.  Spring 2005: It is continuing to spread underground, reaching up to 3 feet from the original planting.  The flowers are visible for the first time this year.  They are a bright, strong pink/mauve.  I am completely seduced.  Spring 2006, the spreading is continuing, but not as quickly as I thought.  It's quite well-behaved, but the location is rather shady.  No blooms and some caterpillar must have stripped it.  Spring 2007 it is more vigorous looking this year.  It bloomed.  So far (four years later) I'm not greatly impressed, but I think that more sun would help.  The owner of Rice Creek gardens personally recommended it for shade, and I think it's cute, but not enough blooms and no berries yet.  The blooms are very pretty and quite large. Click for image and info. more images

Saxifraga Crustata [saxifragaceae] 2002 Rice Creek Gardens.  Looks like a "hens and chicks", but much finer and smaller.  2006 it looks very nice, but the eunymous is crowding it out, so we'll have to move it.  It's still alive in 2007, but it is still very small, barely hanging on.

Saxifraga 'Peter Pan' Mossy Saxifrage [saxifragaceae] 2002 Rice Creek Gardens.  Four years later, this is doing extremely well in a pretty shady spot underneath the miniature birch tree.  It is ultra small at about 1" and cute pink-white flowers on 2" stems.  It's spreading like a bed of moss.  Spring 2007 it has spread a lot, though the original core has died, so it looks like one of those that probably likes division.  I really like it.

(Semi)aquilegia Ecalcarata [Ranunculaceae] Rice Creek Gardens Fall 2002.  This incredible little rock garden gem has rose-wine colored spurless flowers, otherwise, it's just like an alpine columbine.  Look at this lovely picture.  There is some debate as to whether or not it's actually just an aquilegia, this seems an odd argument.  It's obviously a very close relative.  As near as I can tell after two and a half growing seasons, the Semiquilegia is immune to the problems that plague the larger leaved Aquilegias.  It is only about 3" high in its leaves, but a mature plant sends up the lovely flowers about 10" high.  The sellers on the 'net list it as hardy to zone 6, but one can safely assume that if Rice Creek sells it, it's going to be hardy in Zone 4.  I have both specimens in a fairly sunny north exposure in fertile, acidic soil.  They both thrived for a season, and then succumbed to crown rot, or something like that, vanishing almost without a trace.  I expect to see some seedlings, though.  However, unlike other columbines, known for their interspecies promiscuity, this one will not hybridize with other columbines.  Native to central China and Tibet.  Spring 2006 the seeds I sprinkles about are evident now, and doing quite well.  However, there are no plants more than 2 years old.  Therefore, my advice is to be certain to plant some of the seeds in situ to assure their survival.  In spite of the short lifespan, I still recommend them strongly. 

Smilacina stellata (L.) Desf. var. crassa Vict. -- False Solomon's Seal, Solomon's Plume [Liliaceae] Rice Creek Garden 2004.  Placed in sunny North exposure in our acid soil garden, these are incredibly short and cute.  This naturally ocurring cultivar from Rice Creek is a dwarf that only gets about 3-6" tall with all the leaves compressed vertically, as if the stem were a telescope.  Shortness makes it perfect for moist alpine and boreal woodland settings.  As the rhizomes run outward and develop, the roots disappear along the older lengths of rhizome.  Spring 2005, after mistakenly thinking that they died late last Summer, they spread.  Now there are about three plants for each of the two I put in, and they are clearly spreading underground.  All Smilacinas should be considered slow to start, but quickly turn into vigorous thugs.  Fortunately, like the Solomon's Seal, the rhizomes aren't terribly deep and they're easy to find. They are very happy in the sunnier side of the boreal garden. In Spring 2006 they are sprouting all over the place.  Like the other members of the family, they run about in the garden, covering a surprising distance, and never appearing in the same place twice.  The ultra compact size helps keep them from being considered total pests.  In Spring 2007 they are spreading widely about the garden now, and look great peeping up through low ground cover.  They are also known as Maianthemum stellatum and Convallaria stellata click for general information, more information and more information, information on uses and cultivation, closeup of flower

Thalictrum coreanum (pink) Rice Creek 1997 expensive, only 6" high.  A real beauty, T. coreanum is a pretty unusual member of the family.  The wiry stems attach to the underside of the leaves giving it some of the personality and structure of an epimedium.  The shape of the leaves is about halfway between T. aquilegifolium and a Nasturtium.  The flowering occurs from mid-May throughout the season.  The flowers are sparse puffs like the T. aquilegifolium.  Mine are white in color with a faint pink tint.  The leaves are mottled--green, chartreuse and russet, especially in Spring.  It likes neutral soil, and seems to tolerate some acid. It likes moist shade, but I find that they do quite well in more sunny locations, given the soil is good and watering is consistent. Extremely highly recommended.

Thalictrum isopyroides -- Zi jin ye tang song cao (Chinese) Rice Creek Gardens Spring 2006.  No flowers yet as of mid-May 2007, but it looks great.  This tiny Chinese alpine is probably the most delicate and beautiful for its foliage--perhaps even more so than the T. kiusianum.  However, I'm waiting to see the flowers and such before recommending it.  This Canadian garden supplier has some pictures of it, and you can even by it and some other very exotic beauties.

Thalictrum kiusianum (pink) (Kyushy Meadow Rue) Outstanding small meadow rue.  Very expensive.  They seem to be trouble free and slow to spread.  They need some light, and because they are so small, they are easily shaded out by other plants.  Give them rich soil, even water, and apparently they can tolerate some acid in the soil.  I have not seen any reseeding.  Spreading is by rhizomes.  They look like tiny versions of the T. aquilegiafolium, but the leaves are more like the Anemonella thalictroides.  There is an image of the plant in a large mass, which indicates how floriferous it is, but it doesn't capture the essence of the plant because it is so small.  This picture is better, but too dark.  They range in color from faintly lavender-white to mauve.  In Spring 2002 I put in a couple in the circumpolar garden, and four years later, they are definitely starting to spread into a nice ground cover.  I really love these.

Thalictrum zhongdian (from China).  Spring 2006 Rice Creek Gardens.  Located in the Circumpolar garden, this Chinese alpine specimen appears to be similar in structure and proportions to the Hewitt's Double and T. diptercarpum.  It did not bloom for me last year, but seemed content.  This year there is just one stalk, and it might not bloom this year either.  It looks really healthy, but it is definitely taking its time getting established.  I can't find any images of it, but I found this gallery of images of its native landscape.

Thuja 'Teddy'. (Arborvitae) Fall 2002 Rice Creek Gardens.  This is a dwarf cultivar.  In the rock garden, this 15" dense ball of glaucus juvenile foliage will make a very attractive and interesting impression.   Rather expensive for its size, but these are the kind of plants that you want to spend that kind of money on.  Exotic evergreens are a specialty at Rice Creek.  It survived the winter, probably because we planted it in the shade of a large stone.  It doesn't like winter sun, but it gets some after the Equinox.  Four years later it increased in size quite a bit more than I expected.  It's about 15" tall and very full.  Because of its lush growth I had to create a girdle to hold all of its vertical branches together because it has developed a tendency to collapse on itself--probably with the help of the neighbor's cat who thinks it makes a really nice cozy bed.  It is a very nice looking mini bush, though.  I recommend it.

Trollius chinensis 'Golden Queen' -- 1996 Globe Flower [Ranunculaceae]. Water and fertilizer. Easy to grow from fresh seed. A fabulous plant. The intense yellow flowers stand high (about 3 feet) above the attractive foliage.  I have mine next to Jacob's Ladder, with bright lavender flowers.  The two bloom together to produce a really loud color combination.  Since the trollius is so bright, I think it silly to try to find a color to complement it.  Instead, use it for its attention-getting nature, like an oriental poppy.  In Spring 2002, I finally noticed a number of seedlings--because I let some seed pods develop.  They must reseed pretty easily.

Species Tulips planted in Fall 2002 in rock garden.  6 'Little Beauty'

Vaccinium angustifolium 'Burgundy Dwarf' -- Low bush blueberry [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Spring 2004 This particular species creates dense foliage and a really compact, low growing structure of less than a foot in height.  That makes it ideal for coverage in a rock garden like our Circumpolar garden.  It doesn't appear to be mature enough to bloom this year, but the plant filled up the four inch pot it was in.  It has many leaves and stems.  In its second Spring, it looks vigorous, but close to the ground in May.  It looks like it will get a growth spurt in June.  In Spring 2006 it is blooming for the first time and has increased by about 2-3 times its original size 2 years ago.  As promised, it is a low grower at about 8".  

Vaccinium 'Northblue' -- Blueberry [Ericaceae or Empetraceae] Fall 2002 Highland Garden Center, in the rock garden.  This self-fruitful variety does not require two plants.  It also provides the best combination of large berries on a small plant.  We are not expecting to get many for ourselves.  The birds and passersby will probably get them before we do.  Blueberries like very acidic soil, so we planted ours on the edge of the root range of a large blue spruce.  They can tolerate some shade, but berry production is reduced.  This location is bright, but has limited direct sun.  Most of the brightest sun it gets is between sunrise and 10:00 AM, and from 4:00 PM to 7 PM.  The second season yielded only about five fruits.  This third season the plant is obviously thriving, and covered with beautiful blooms.   For more information on cultivation, check these links:  Growing Blueberries in the home garden and Blueberries for the home garden  I did a soil test in Spring 2004 and found that the soil near this plant was only about pH 5.5, so I added more sulfur and some coffee dregs.  Spring 2006 it looks very nice with lots of flowers, but the growth in size has been minimal.  It is still only about a foot tall and maybe a bit more than two feet wide. 

Veronica 'Blue Reflections' [Scrophulariaceae] Fall 2002.  This creeping Veronica is only about 3-4" tall, but has spread in four years to cover a large area.  In a location with Winter sun, be sure to mulch it so that it's not exposed to the air.  We have it in the sunniest location in the circumpolar garden.