It’s not unusual for plants and bulbs to have specific requirements like ‘full sun’ or ‘full shade’. The term ‘full shade’ to us means being under a ‘Conifer canopy’, almost never seeing the light of day.
Hyacinthoides hispanica, nicknamed ‘Spanish Bluebells’, is one that doesn’t seem to care whether they are planted in full-sun or mostly-shade. They appear to be pest resistant and aren’t fussy about their soil. Hyacinthoides hispanica ‘Excelsior’ in mostly shade below and in full sun with Narcissus ‘Hillstar’ on the right.
There are also white and pink forms of Hyacinthoides hispanica available. Below on the left are H. ‘Queen of Pinks’ and ‘Excelsior’ with Helleborus foetidus in mostly shade. On the right on a berm next to our dock is H. ‘Queen of Pinks’ and ‘White City’ in full sun. They have been known to naturalize in certain situations and even cross pollinate with the help of our local bees.
Another type of Hyacinthoides is non-scripta, nicknamed ‘English Bluebells’, which is the little blue flower that so many of us fell in love with when visiting English gardens in the spring. The non-scripta types are happier and perform better in our northern climates, plant zones 4-6. Their flowers are a bit smaller and shorter than the ‘Spanish Bluebells’ and available in blue and white.
Another adaptable plant, which is one of our favorites, is Leucojum aestivum and its larger, robust clone, ‘Gravetye Giant’. It is a member of the Amaryllidaceae family, which makes it pest proof. Its flowers are white, which blend with any color scheme. It perennializes in areas right on the water’s edge (see the photo on the left) and in soil that would cause most bulbs to rot, and it’s totally happy in regular garden soil, whether it’s in mostly shade or in full sun! This bulb is the winner of the ‘most adaptable contest’!
This is an image of a cross section of several gardens in our Chesapeake Bay Friendly Garden. There are very sunny areas, other places are almost in total shade and lots of other areas are a combination, depending on the time of day.
The big leaves right in the front will have Convallaria flowers soon (Lily of the Valley), so this is a shade garden. On the far left, you can see a few daffodils, so that is a spot that is sunny almost all day. We try to choose locations where plants will be happy, but sometimes it’s such a joy just to PLANT without having to worry! Leucojum is one of those ‘non-worriers’!
Take a look at our fall-planting catalogue to see what we have available now!
