Part of the
You Can Learn Landscaping and Gardening series.
By Ken Brown
Editor, YouCanLearnSeries.com
Updated: March 5, 2008
Are you looking for a shade loving plant? Try out the Lamium in your
shady or partial shade portion of your yard. The lamium will provide great
ground cover throughout the spring, summer and fall.
The lamium comes in a couple of different varieties, the White Nancy and the
Beacon Silver. The lamium maculatum is a creeping perennial and has
heart shaped leaves. The flowers bloom in little clusters and come in white for
the White Nancy and pink (purple?) for the Silver Beacon.
Silver Beacon Lamium
The Silver Beacon leaves are a silver heart ringed with green trim. Plant the
lamium in moist garden soil. It is a slow creeper and prefers partial shade. If
you plant the Silver Beacon and the White Nancy together, you may find that the
Silver Beacon Lamium will take over the White Nancy Lamium.
Do you need a shade perennial less than 6 inches tall? Then the lamium will
meet your needs. The plant itself stands at about 4 inches tall with the
flowers peaking out at 6 inches. The perennial has a spread of 2 feet. You may
want to divide every three years.
Lamium is Easy Care
You can trim the flower stems after the flower blooms. I have found the flowers
of the lamium last all summer long with minimal care. Your shady areas of your
garden usually require less watering than the hot sunny areas. The lamium will
look great next to a garden path or in front of taller shade plants.
All flower gardens have sections that can be in shade or partial shade. The
lamium will make a perfect addition to that partial shade area.
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