Lords and Ladies
Arum lilly, arum maculatum
This unusual plant has earned a variety of nicknames due to its flowering habits. This hardy European perennial puts out arrow shaped leaves in the winter which will flower in the spring and then produce small berry-like fruit before dying back for the summer. They prefer partial to full shade.
Japanese Rose
Kerria japonica, family rosaeceae
This popular plant is the sole species of Kerria. It is a deciduous shrub that blooms on slender stalks in the spring. Until we fenced in a portion of our yard, we never saw a bloom because the deer ate them all before they put out their lovely yellow flowers. It is unlikely that they will be blooming for Garden Walk, but they are so unique we wanted to feature them.
Lungwort
Boraginaceae family
These plants with their lovely spotted foliage prefer shady moist locations, so we planted them next to our water feature. They grow in clumps are easy to divide and their foliage makes a lovely addition to our water-feature garden. The tiny frogs that live in our water feature seem to love what grows around them as they make enough noise for an outdoor symphony. Just part of our wildlife garden.
Fatsia Japonica
Family araliaceae
Also called glossy-leaf paper plant, fatsi, paperplant, false castor oil plant, or Japanese aralia, is a species of flowering plant native to southern Japan and southern Korea. This shade-loving evergreen plant comes in dark green and variegated varieties and is a wonderful screening plant for a pool or patio. Unfortunately, the deer are very fond of them. We love them so much that we planted both the green and variegated versions of these lovely evergreen screen plants.