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| Ligularia dentata 'Britt-Marie Crawford' is suitable for zones 4-9 (we're in 7). Photo courtesy perennials.com |
I was contemplating a few Heucheras at the nursery last weekend when I spotted a section of Ligularias staring up at me. I had discovered them awhile back and filed them away in the "must have" section of my brain. But as is often the case these days because there are too many things in my brain, it fell out.
The unusual shade-loving masterpiece of a plant has gorgeous glossy chocolate-purple foliage. Bigger than Heuchera, these leaves spread 3-4 feet and grow 2-3 feet tall. But that's not all. In late summer, flowers that resemble black-eyed Susans, without the black eyes, emerge from the center.
Deer aren't a concern for me on the western north shore of Nassau county, but if they were, they wouldn't touch it.
I bought three of them, and I'm putting them in front of a row of ostrich ferns, mixed in with some guacamole hostas.
