Your Home, Garden and Travel

Dainty pink and purple bells of blooms grace the frosted foliage of a new pulmonaria. A mass planting of this lovely perennial makes a perfect deer and rabbit resistant ground cover for a shaded or woodland garden.

Pulmonaria 'Silver Bouquet' is a 2010 introduction from Terra Nova Nurseries. I received four small plants in September 2009 to trial in my gardens. My plants have not been pampered and are blooming the first season! In fact, these are the first spring flowers in my garden this year.

The beautiful foliage remained evergreen throughout the winter here in my zone 7b garden. Planted on the east side of my house under a sweetbay magnolia, the silver foliage shines brilliantly in the understory. My plants receive dappled morning sunlight and are growing in average, well-drained soil. Grooming is simple—I removed a few of the older leaves beneath the fresh spring growth.

In addition to the lovely blooms, the foliage forms a nice, clumping bouquet that will be twenty inches wide at maturity. I can already see that the foliage growth rate will be fast. 'Silver Bouquet' is suitable for zones 4-9 and is heat and humidity tolerant.

While I would grow this pulmonaria for the foliage alone, I adore the spring blooms of pink and purple—perfect colors for my garden!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Plants courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.