Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Asarum Minor; It Happens Every Year...


With a few thousand varieties of plants in our garden, most of what appears in this blog is "fresh", but every year I seem to feel compelled to stick in at least one picture of Asarum minor. In latest fall/early winter, there is not another plant in the garden with such striking foliage; it's as if the leaves are bleeding ink. Even more amazing is that these leaves remain intact all winter, with the color getting inkier and inkier, until they are deep indigo and plum.
When I think about it, with its amazing, bizarre spring flowers and its evergreen, shiny and patterned leaves, and its amazing winter coloring, this is the single finest plant in our garden (and it's not even close).

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Comments:
This is a lovely plant, and you are right the leaves are striking. I wonder if this would grow in the Gulf South?

Jan
Always Growing
 
Don, You give a great review on this plant! I looked this up... wild ginger. Is yours 'Dixie Darling?' There are interesting accounts on it. 'Dixie Darling' has white-spotted, maroon flowers! :-)
I have the native variety, courtesy of my Aunt MEA. :-)
 
I just purchased some Chinese ginger and was searching for info on it on the web. I was brought to your blog more than one time, which I thought pretty neat. So of course I just had to say hi on this ginger. This is my first year growing them and I hope they do okay down here in dry Tennessee. You have a great Thanksgiving.
 
What a gorgeous color combination -- no wonder it is a favorite.
 
Jan... it's from the Carolinas, so shouldn't be a problem.
Shady... it is DD.

Tina... you should be able to grow a ton of different Asian gingers there(I'm jealous)!

Nancy... it is prettier than its picture.

Don
 
I'd be quite happy to see pictures of this as it progresses through the season. Looking at these leaves would never get old.
 
Happy Thanksgiving Don and thanks for the pictures. Finding interest in the winter in Iowa is a task. I have added this plant to my "acquisition" list.
 
Megan... I'll show it when it flowers in the spring!

Philip... it would look great tucked in your garden. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.
 
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