Planted Two Shade Lovers

– Posted in: Garden Tweets, What's up/blooming
4 comments

Just planted Invincibelle hydrangea and Burning Hearts dicentra, beating the rain by minutes. Both are trial plants and quite small. Invincibelle is from Proven Winners and Burning Hearts is from Skagit Gardens. I removed a huge clump of Siberian iris to make room for these, replanting the irises in front of the single white lilac, where another plant failed to make it through the winter. Sometimes gardening reminds me of furniture rearranging more than anything else.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

In the end, this may be the most important thing about frost: Frost slows us down. In spring, it tempers our eagerness. In fall, it brings closure and rest. In our gotta-go world–where every nanosecond seems to count–slowness can be a great gift. So rather than see Jack Frost as an adversary, you could choose to greet him as a friend.

~Philip Harnden in A Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons

Comments on this entry are closed.

Bloomin' Blogger June 20, 2009, 7:34 am

Both plants sound great and I am adding them to my wish list. I currently have ‘King of Hearts’ dicentra and love it. I was going to divide it this spring, but got cold feet. I would hate to kill it, but do want to have more plants to play with. I like its compact growth and non-stop flowering. I have ‘Luxuriant’ in another spot, but it is more unkempt, and the flowers are not as bright.

How much sun does the ‘Invincibelle’ need? I currently have ‘Annabelle’ in a rather shady area, and though it lived through the winter is not as vigorous as I had hoped. I like the hydrangeas and would like to plant more. ‘Tardiva’ is on my list for next year. I planted a climbing hydrangea on a sturdy trellis several years ago, and it is growing a bit each year, so I am hoping it will fill up the trellis in my lifetime.

Bloomin’ Blogger’s last blog post..

Garden Junkie June 18, 2009, 10:36 am

I’ve seen Invincibelle in magazines and am dying to get my hands on it. So frustrating to see/read about these interesting plants but not be able to buy them! Very curious to hear about how it does for you.

Garden Junkie’s last blog post..Happy GBBD to all!

Leslie June 18, 2009, 7:29 am

I have been waiting for Invincibelle to arrive in garden centers. Did you get yours as a trial plant or are they now in the stores? Please let us know how it does.

Kathy Purdy June 18, 2009, 9:02 am

Yes, Invincibelle is a trial plant from Proven Winners. It is quite small so I am not expecting much from it this year, but I am looking forward to a hydrangea that is solidly cold hardy here.