6 early native spring wildflowers for shade
MY GARDEN, LIKE MOST (and like the assortment at the garden center), is a jumble of non-native and native plants. But at the moment of early spring, a half-dozen Eastern wildflowers take my breath away. In a slideshow, six easy, captivating natives for the woodland or shade garden.
Follow each plant’s name (the green links) to a full plant portrait, with all the details.
- Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla: Delicate and fleeting white flowers, but I love this plant from the moment it emerges from the ground, all purple-bronze (thanks to pigments called anthocyanins—read about why plants disguise themselves with non-green pigments in early spring).
- Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica: Invite a few bluebells into your garden and you will soon have more. (Photo below.)
- Celandine poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum: Great foliage, great fuzzy seedpods—and of course great golden flowers from early spring and on and off into summertime if they’re happy. (Photo above.)
- Wake robin, Trillium erectum: You have to love the vivid color red this one outfits itself in, despite an otherwise-pastel spring garden. Tough as can be—and I even divide mine in spring, like this.
- Large-flowered bellwort, Uvularia grandiflora (top photo): As many years as I have known, and grown, this yellow-flowered gem, I don’t think I have ever failed to be startled by its intricate construction. I call it merry bells, but who knows if that’s the common name of this species or one of its cousins. The sight of these blooms makes me happy, so the name seems apt.
- Blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides: This one hasn’t bloomed yet, but as with the twinleaf, I’m captivated by it from the first foliar hint poking through the soil—in this case a stunning purple. Yellowish flowers follow, and then the handsome round blue fruits.
the slideshow
HOVER your cursor over the right (or left) edge of the big photo to toggle between images (using the arrow that displays), or double-click the big image to po it up on your screen first. You can click each thumbnail to navigate, too.
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- From the minute it emerges in very early spring, I am fascinated by Jeffersonia, or twinleaf.
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- Jeffersonia’s dark, wiry stems and graceful stature.
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- Fleeting white blooms are not the main story with this wildflower.
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- The foliage is where the plant gets its common name of twinleaf, of course.
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- Another early to arise star: blue cohosh, or Caulophyllum thalictroides. Look at the coloration of those stems!
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- The wake robin, or Trillium erectum, a native trillium to my area.
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- Even when the flowers are fading, I still love this trillium.
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- I divide my trillium rhizomes in spring, when the plants are easy to locate and dig. A few soon turn into many!
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- Uvularia grandiflora, which I call merrybells but is usually called bellwort, is elegant at every moment in its season, even before it blooms.
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- A clump in the shady garden, in bloom.
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- A detail of the Uvularia flowers.
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- Virginia bluebells has gradually spread itself here and there around my garden.
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- A detail of Mertensia virginica flowers.
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- The celandine poppy, or Stylophorum diphyllum, which sows around shady areas with abandon but is easy to remove or relocate.
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- A detail of the Stylophorum blooms, followed by beautiful fuzzy seedpods.
So many pretty yellows and blues. Those are two colors I feel you can never have too much of in a garden. As always, your posts are so interesting and informative. Thank you.
We were the unlucky ones who got slammed with snow AGAIN plus cold rain for days and days….but…all that moisture has not discouraged the celandine poppies and soloman seal from pushing up in anticipation of better days. Hope my space will resemble yours soon. The snow brought in a huge batch of orioles, grosbeaks, indigo buntings and a red headed woodpecker!!! I’m on the 5th jar of grape jelly, 2nd bag of oranges and a huge jug of nectar. Every stressful scenerio has a bright side, right? Now we need some warmth to get those veggies and annuals in the ground.
Thanks to your blog and insight, I planted Trillium and Virginia Bluebells. Now there’s even more to add and enjoy.
Would you recommend a hardiness zone for these? I am in Zone 3 – I think I need to do some searching for native plants for my area (though I love each of these in the slideshow!!)
Does anyone know which of these lovely natives might be deer resistant?
I love bluebells but they have always failed to show the next year. I live in southern Ontario Canada. I did plant them in shade in a rather damp area of my garden under trees.
Any tips on how to keep them coming year after year?
Native spring wildflowers are wonderful. I just attended a workshop on April 20th where I learned a lot more about them. Documented here:
https://franklincountymgs.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-native-woodland-plants-and-spring.html
And the Blue Cohosh is new to me, and thus a newly desired acquistion.
Hi, Ray — the blue cohosh has been with me for about 20 years and I never tire of how amazing it is. Strictly Medicinal/Horizon Herbs definitely sells it in different forms (potted, maybe dormant roots…) so have at it! Thanks for the event link.
Thanks to having read your blog and book, I have most of them in the garden. I now need to add more of each so it gets better looking.
I love to plant natives and have been looking for some new ones to try. Thanks so much for this informative post!