#Allegheny Foamflower

[faguscarolinensis]

Tiarella cordifolia / Heart-Leaved Foamflower at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[vandaliatraveler]

Heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), also known as false miterwort, is a captivating, clump-forming perennial whose massed, graceful spikes of white, star-shaped flowers possess a hypnotic allure in the damp, shady woods where they appear in mid-spring. Even after the flowers have died away, the plant’s heart-shaped, three to five-lobed leaves hold fast through the fall, lighting up the forest floor with their mesmerizing, velvety-green glow. Tiarella is closely related to alumroot (Heuchera), but while the latter will tolerate sunlight and thin, rocky soil, foamflower needs shade and moist, rich humus to thrive. The photos above were taken on the Mon River Trail.

[kevinscottgardens]

30 April through 4 May 2018

This week’s medicinal plant is Valeriana officinalis. I really like how it puts me into a very restful and deep sleep. I took a teabag to work so everyone could smell the unique aroma. My favourite is Dr. Stuart’s.

This was a fun and varied week. Monday, with incessant drizzle, I cut a new edge to some grass, making it look much better. There is a dip in the level, which gives the appearance of an indent, which I measured several times to ensure it is in fact parallel to a nearby edge.

Tuesday I had my first go at building supports for some of the larger plants, to prevent them toppling over under their own weight and ensure the best show possible of the impending blooms.

Wednesday was my office day. In the morning, during my glasshouse time, I planted some Marsilea quadrifolia, an aquatic fern, along the edge of one of the ponds in the fernery. I’m hoping it takes off quickly. I think it will look great.

This week Joe announced he will be leaving the garden at the end of June to do some travelling and working in Australia for a year. Whilst this will be an amazing opportunity for him, we will miss him.

Thursday I constructed more supports with hazel canes, almost finishing the job. Friday, after helping Ruari and Joe extricate the citrus trees from their winter home in the orangery, I applied new gold-lettering to the medicinal information boxes.

There is no new ident this week because it is Ruari’s last week and the new trainee, Charlotte, will start on 14 May.

I made my way to Heathrow directly from work for my flight to Delhi and a week’s holiday in Uttarakhand, the area regarded as the seat of the Hindu god Shiva.

Plant of the week

Saxifragaceae Tiarella cordifolia L.

common name(s) - “foam flower”,  “coolwort”,  “false mitrewort”, “white coolwort”, “heartleaf foamflower”, “heartleaved foamflower”,  “Allegheny foamflower” synonym(s) - Tiarella cordifolia var. cordifolia; Tiarella cordifolia f. cordifolia conservation rating - none native to - eastern North America location - world wood North America; accession _____ leaves - three to five-lobed, broadly ovate leaves becoming bronze-tinged in autumn flowers - erect stems bearing open racemes; small, creamy-white habit - clump-forming, deciduous, stoloniferous herbaceous perennial to 300mm in height habitat - native to damp, wet woodland of eastern North America pests - generally pest-free disease - generally disease-free hardiness - to -15ºC (H5) soil - cool, humus-rich, moist and either well or poorly-drained; protect from excessive winter wet sun - full sun to part shade propagation - seed in pots in a cold frame as soon as seed is ripe or in spring; division in spring pruning - remove spent flowers and leaves as required nomenclature - Saxifragaceae - saxifraga - stone-breaker, saxum-frango, living in rock cracks, had the signature for medicinal use in treating gall-, bladder- and kidney-stones; Tiarella - little turban, τιαρα, for the shape of the seed capsules; cordifolia - heart-shaped leaves NB - lacks invasive tendencies of many more-common ground-covers; listed in herbology as a tonic and a diuretic. It has been used for kidney problems, liver problems, and congestion of the lungs