Shade Gardening: Tell me about "Hepaticas"., 1 by Weerobin

Weerobin wrote:
I've been itching to get back in town so I can post some pictures of my hepaticas! I really love them, one of my very favorite plants. But their only value is their beautiful early spring bloom. Don't expect anything from them the rest of the year. And I think they also need a wooded setting - I can't see them in a formal border. It's always a thrill to see them poking thru the dead leaves announcing the end to dreary winter! Mine have reseeded over the years - not really spreading - I think I have about the same number of plants as before, but colors vary, location varies, so I think they reseed and die out at about an equal rate. Blues, purples & whites and all shades in between. I even bought a double form (pic #4) which is really beautiful. I have to be careful to keep his position marked. I always worry about them being smothered by fallen leaves, but they seem to push their blooms thru just fine. Pic #5 is a curiosity called hepatica japonica (the others are usually either h. nobilis or h. acutiloba, though I've got a couple h. henryii and h. transylvannica, too). The h. japonica flowers seem to have an almost 'striped' appearance; it's a young plant, so I'm eager to see what flowers look like next year on a more mature plant. I could post hundreds of hepatica pictures; I think they're so beautiful and they bloom at a time of year when you're starved for the yard to show signs of life again; it's hard to stop taking pictures!