MHS-Epimediums: Jewels of the Shade

Join us for a presentation by Karen Perkins, owner of Garden Vision Epimediums.

Garden Vision Epimediums is a small, retail mail-order nursery located in rural central Massachusetts selling Epimediums since 1997. The plants they offer represent the work of Epimedium expert, Darrell Probst, over the last two decades, through numerous collecting expeditions to China, Japan, and Korea along with the travels and collecting efforts of Joanna Zhang, his interpreter in China. He also networked with many other Epimedium collectors, nurserymen and experts worldwide to amass an impressive array of species and varieties. Many are selected seedlings from the garden of the late Epimedium enthusiast Harold Epstein from his travels to Japan, as well as his own breeding efforts.

Most Garden Vision Epimedium sales are through their catalog, which usually comes out in Feb.-Mar., and is available on their website www.epimediums.com.  They also sell at various plant sales throughout the Northeast.

Epimediums make the perfect addition to your woodland shade garden. Many gardeners know these plants simply as workhorse ground covers for dry shade, but recent hybrids and new species discoveries have added many new dimensions to this intriguing genus. Their delicate, fragile beauty belies their tough, long-lasting nature. They are easy to grow, early spring-blooming, deer-resistant, shade plants. Their flowers also come in a wide range of shapes and colors. Many also have amazing spring (and sometimes fall) foliage colors. Foliage size and shape varies from heart-shaped to spiny and arrow-shaped. Some leaflets can grow to be as large as your hand, others as small as your thumbnail. A number of varieties sport evergreen foliage for long-term landscape value. Please join us to learn more about this indispensable plant for your shade garden!