Today is the first warm and sunny day in nearly a month – no kidding!  The Easter Bunny finally remembered to come visit, leaving eggs, candy and coins for my grandson.  I haven’t seen him since before Christmas because of the pandemic, but Wonderful Husband and I have received all our shots and I’m excited to see my beautiful boy.

Work at Hasting Plants has settled into a routine and I’m still enjoying it immensely, although I continue to be sore and exhausted by the end of the day.  I’ve learned so much during the short time I’ve been working and have seen many plants I’d never seen before.

Most of my gardens are shade to part sun, so I’m not familiar with many sun-loving plants.  Even some of the shade plants are new to me, since Nancy tries to offer plants not usually found around here.

Jacob’s Ladder

A perennial, Polemonium caeruleum, also known as “Jacob’s Ladder”, “Greek valerian” or “Charity” definitely caught my eye with its fern-like foliage and beautiful blue flowers.  Native to north and central Europe, it is hardy to Zone 3 to 8.   Preferring shade and moist soil, it blooms around April or May, depending on your location.

It forms a neat foliage mound about 8” tall and wide.  The blooms can be used for cut flowers, which may be a good idea, since it tends to self-seed (maybe more than you would like it to!).  The photos are of “Bressingham Purple” which is a compact cultivar with purple-tinted leaves and fragrant, bright blue flowers on taller (approximately 15”) burgundy stems.

It’s prone to downy mildew and leaf spot in humid conditions, but deer resistant and tolerant of deep shade.  I think Jacob’s Ladder is worth a try in my shade garden, although I will try to remember to dead-head the flowers to keep self-seeding to a reasonable level.

Until next time, Stay Green, Good Friends!