Anything like that in a native - also any lower groundcover types?

wild ginger makes a nice ground cover and should do well in those conditions.

Asarum what? I tried shuttleworthii but it really doesn't like dry conditions. I don't think it's coming back. A. europeum wilts and looks sad but it doesn't die on me.

I keep planting columbines - vulgaris is persistant and perennial in my conditions, canadensis doesn't seem to like heavy soil.

Pachysandra - can the native take dryness?

I find the columbine, although it doesnt bloom all year, the foliage stays until fall.

Also virginia water leaf stays through fall - the leafs are variagated in spring and then loose their varigation through summer are just leaves in the fall.

Several asters are shade tolerant and fall blooming. NE aster tolerates quite a bit of shade.

Which is one reason why most native plantings are mixed plantings in order to get some color through the year.

The wild ginger known as hexastylis arifolia is also evergreen. They changed the name from asarum for some of the gingers, the evergreen ones, I think.

Some websites might tell you that it needs water. I have a patch in the woods on the top of the slope down to the road that has ever only had nature's water and it does fine, although during a prolonged dryspell it might become somewhat thin.

I've managed to tuck a few natives in there - goatsbeard, spring beauty, dutchmans breeches, mayapple (would that that lasted all summer), ferns, but let's face it - the foreigners carry that bed.

And for the really eeeevil dry shade there's lamiastrum -again policed and kept in bounds.

Esh, partridgeberry might be fun to try but I've read it likes cool ground and summers. Does it work for you in Georgia? That would be great. Please don't tell me you live on a mountain up in the NE corner. What was your source?

I think if I'm going to make this a beautiful garden, as opposed to primarily a collection, it's got to have the foreigners. With all the natives I can tuck in, sure. Most of which aren't really native to my particular patch of earth, anyway.

Christmas fern I have and could try to propagate - but it always looks stepped on. Ostrich fern never reaches its potential height without lots of water but it does stand up.

Above ground level, hmm. Some decidous native azaleas in warm shades, spice bush, magnolia virginia, maybe some fargesia bamboo.

Lisa

A show stopping ground cover is lycopodium digitatum (I think it has a different name now?). Running ground cedar is the one I have (also from rescues). It always evokes comments. Evergreen here. It doesn't grow very fast, but does spread.

Yep, we are Georgia red clay here with some "woods" dirt in the first few inches. Woods dirt being that good, several years worth of natural leaf mold worked in, kind of dirt. But once you get down about 2-3 inches, it's clay. This is a pretty shallow rooted plant, so I guess it's liking those first few inches, but I have found it on sites in pretty lean looking soil.

Other good ones are Galax, shortia, dog hobble, Sweet Fern, bay berry, Comptonia peregrina and partrige berry.

Actually, sonce you are in NJ, there are a whole host of really nifty heather-like plants native to the barrens, like sandwort and strange dwarf and succulent type plants. Some of them almost remind me of alpine vegitation. If I lived there, then I'd want to grow as many of those as possible. I'm sure a quick search on the internet about the NJ pine barrens could should you what I'm talking about.

George

FYI, The native is a wetland species which likes alkaline soil. Also, I've been trying to acquire this plant for a while. What was your source?

Lonnie

Also regarding previous messages above about Lycopodiums, I've noticed that in many ways these species are given a blanket "hands off" from most native plant enthusiasts and relatively hard to find in the nursery trade. I've even heard that some states have put blanket prohibitions against selling them. Just as views on growing native orchids are finally changing, I do wonder if there could be a similar revolution here. There are so many lovely Lycopodium and it shouldn't be hard for someone to do the garden science to figure out how to responsibly propagate and grow them. Unfortunately, I suspect that anyone who tries will catch the same amount of criticism that the first people who debunked the whole "all orchids need a special mychorihza" myth.

Seriously, I put some jewelweed in dry shade, and deer aside, they did grow but they have this weird habit of making fertile seed pods without flowers when they are under stress.

The seed pods are lots of fun, and jewelweed is certainly worth a try here and there - easy to get rid of if it doesn't work. A bit tall for a groundcover.

i found some in my nature area last fall, so this year i'm coaxing it to grow up my hickory tree. It sould be ready to shoot up by next year-- i just make sure it doesn't get stepped on, pulled out or grow the wrong direction when i coax.
diggerb