A Few of My Favorite Things, Part Two

The snow is finally leaving my small, shady backyard, but it is still too early for any sign of my coral bells, foam flowers and foamy bells. These are the favorites that I like to anticipate all winter like Maria thought about "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens". Last time, I talked about the coral bells (Heuchera) and now it is the foam flowers' (Tiarella) and foamy bells' (x Heucherella) turn.

As adaptable as the coral bells are, the foam flowers are the queens of the shade. They are much happier in light to moderate shade than full sun, and can make do with deep shade if the soil is not too dry. Their common name must describe the appearance of their flowering stalks from a distance to some people. To me, they look like little fairy bottlebrushes. The flowers are usually white or light pink. Leaves are somewhat hairy in many cultivars, but not all, and there is a wide variation in leaf shapes and markings.Tiarella cordifolia, has heart-shaped leaves that you immediately recognize as being related to Heucheras but with darker veins, particularly noticeable in the spring and fall. In the cultivars the leaves have deep clefts and their dark markings radiating from the center or along the veins have spread outward to include various amounts of leaf surface. These markings give rise to names like 'Dark Eyes', and 'Ink Blot'. The variety 'Winterglow' is even known to have good golden yellow fall color, though most Tiarella don't.

The best thing about Tiarella is that many, especially those derived from T. cordifolia, are stoloniferous. This means they will happily ramble about in the shade and make a lovely ground cover. Though they are no competition for Vinca or Pachysandra in sheer toughness, neither of those can produce the breath-taking bloom that can last up to six weeks. Two of my favorite spreaders are 'Slick Rock' and 'Running Tapestry'. 'Slick Rock' has smaller leaves than other Tiarellas and it is especially lovely weaving in and out in a small space where it can be seen close up. I use it as a ground cover around the feet of some sweet Cicely, Myrrhis odorata, and Trillium in a tiny patch where two woodland pathways meet. If you don't want your Tiarella to ramble get T. cordifolia var. collina (aka T. wherryi) or some of its hybrids that also lack stolons such as 'Dunvegan' or 'Oakleaf'.

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