Jack Frost Brightens the Shade Garden

But it can be done; and the 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year™, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, is a great example of a plant that’s up to the challenge, provided you can give it a good start. Each year since 1990, the Perennial Plant Association has named a “Perennial Plant of the Year” that meets the criteria for a standout perennial: adaptability to a wide range of conditions, low maintenance, good pest and disease resistance, more than one season of ornamental interest, and readily available in the trade. The organization’s website, www.perennialplant.org

, lists the past winners; you could create a fantastic garden using just these two dozen or so top-notch perennials.

The common names for Brunnera macrophylla

– heartleaf brunnera, Siberian forget-me-not, or Siberian bugloss – reveal several characteristics of this tough and long-lived, low-maintenance perennial: it has large, coarse, heart-shaped leaves and tiny, spring-blooming, sky blue flowers that look like forget-me-nots; and it is native to Asia.

The straight species has plain green leaves and will tolerate both shade and sun; it also seeds in and I’ve found it popping up in different places around the garden, but it never becomes an unwanted nuisance.  This is a good plant to use as a dense, slow-spreading, trouble-free groundcover in areas of dry shade, or full sun if more moisture is available. Its leaves, up to 6 inches across, are rough-textured and form an upright mounding clump about 18 inches wide and high. The roughly hairy leaves are resistant to insects, disease, rabbits, and deer browse.

The variegated varieties of Siberian bugloss, with leaves combining green and shades of cream, yellow, or white, definitely require shadier conditions, or their leaves tend to scorch. If the soil is richer in organic matter and moisture, they will tolerate morning sun but still benefit from afternoon shade. If you notice solid green shoots appearing on one of the variegated varieties, cut it out to prevent that reversion from crowding out the variegated leaves and eventually giving you an all-green plant.

Siberian bugloss is tolerant of heat and humidity, and, once established, is also drought tolerant. It helps to give the plant a good start by providing soil enriched with organic matter (aged compost or leaf mold) at planting time, mulching the ground with organic mulch, and giving it sufficient water to get a sturdy root system established. Then, you can pretty much leave bugloss to its own devices. It is recommended to wait until spring to cut back the old foliage; this gives the crown of the plant some additional winter protection.

‘Jack Frost’ brightens shady areas with silvery leaves outlined by a tracery of green veins that give the appearance of crackled porcelain. A sport, or mutation, of the variety ‘Langtrees’, it was discovered at Walters Gardens in Missouri and introduced into the market in 2000. Another cultivar, ‘Looking Glass’, is a sport of ‘Jack Frost’ that carries the silvering even further, with leaves that turn completely silver as the green veins gradually fade.

The silvery leaves of ‘Jack Frost’ combine well with pastel flower shades of blue, pink, and white, as well as contrasting beautifully with dark burgundy or purple foliage, such as ‘Obsidian’ or ‘Plum Pudding’ heuchera or black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). ‘Jack Frost’ makes a great container, border, or groundcover plant, and even after its dainty blue flowers fade in spring, its foliage continues to light up the shady garden all season long.