Russian Arborvitae - (Microbiota decussata)
Russian arborvitae offers many qualities that make it an excellent groundcover.
It reaches a height of 12” and matures to a width of 12’ and more. Its gracefully layered branches are bright green in summer and purplish in winter. Russian arborvitae develops dense growth that outcompetes weeds and provides beautiful contrast to deciduous shrubs and herbaceous perennials. At the base of a stone wall, planted in the “rotten rock” so common in Maine, it provides unrivaled beauty while requiring minimal care.

Fringed Bleedingheart - (Dicentra eximia)
Fringed bleedingheart is a native American plant, found in the woodlands of Appalachia from New York to Georgia. While not native to Maine, it is hardy throughout the state. Each pink or white flower’s inner petals extend below the pair of outer petals that form the shape of a heart. Individual flowers are small, but they appear in showy clusters above the foliage. A mass of several plants can be the focal point of the shade garden for many weeks. The 9-15” mounds of gray-green fern-like foliage offer good contrast when planted among bolder shade garden plants such as hostas.

Coleus - (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
More than 300 cultivars of coleus offer tremendous variety of plant size and form, leaf size and shape, and color variety and pattern. They are useful in mixed containers as well as in their traditional place in the shade garden, because their foliage provides a rainbow of color all season long. At the end of the season, plants can be taken indoors for winter enjoyment. Coleus ranges in height from 8” to 3’, with similar spread. Leaf colors include green, chartreuse, yellow, red, mahogany, pink, white and violet. Colors appear as streaks, spots, speckles and in other patterns that defy description.