A Bit of Light in the Shadows

There is nothing like a nice clear pale yellow to light up a shady spot in the garden or add a little contrast to a sea of green. In semi-shady areas there is nothing like a lily to brighten the space. In hosta beds, variegated leaves and pale yellow leaves serve this purpose.

Both these hosta pictures were taken during the Waupaca County Master
Gardeners Garden Walk and Art Stroll in the New London area.

 

 

A golden barberry adds a shot of adrenaline to my Long Border.

 

This is one of two well-grown clumps of daylily 'Mary Todd' waiting to dispel the darkness along the alley's shrub border. To give it a tad competition between the forces of darkness and light, I added 'Burgess Blackamoor' between the two clumps. In coming years, I anticipate quite a bit of drama, there!

Creamy and golden yellows can go a long way. They can mellow the drama of bright colors.

Daylily 'Happy Days Are Here Again', rose 'Pink Knockout, self-seeded lavender, and purplr winecup.

The pale yellow here is daylily 'Happy Days Are Here Again'. It soften the statement made by the magenta winecup, or poppy mallow, a plant deserving to be more widely planted.

This from Plant for a Future:

"Callirhoe Involucrata is a perennial growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in) at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). Suitable for light (sandy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought."

When I first got this plant I was not sure it would be hardy, but thought anything that prefers sandy poor soils and tolerates drought should work for me.