Lime Rickeys in the Shade

Finding boldly colored plants that thrive in shade is not easy. Indeed, those among us addicted to vivid colors would be well advised to steer clear of shade gardening as its sedate shades of green, interesting textures and subdued floral colors tend to be a bit of a disappointment. Even though it would be a fib to say I don't like color, I do tend to prefer the less assertive pleasures of the shade garden. There's something about walking out into a dew-drenched patch of ferns first thing in the morning that makes the heart open up. All that being said, I was thrilled beyond measure last week when I stumbled upon something truly bold for part shade---Heuchera "Lime Rickey."

Oh what a delight this little fellow is with its vivid lime green to yellow foliage! Looking at my back yard from the second story, Lime Rickey shines out like a beacon in the midst of some fairly unremarkable spring foliage. It does the heart good to look upon such a cheerful color this early in the season. How pleasing it will look when it is out to compete with the abundance of fall flowers remains to be seen, but I look forward to the experiment.

Now for those of you who are  interested in some of the more technical aspects of the care and feeding of Heuchera "Lime Rickey", I can heartily endorse the following resources: For those of you living in the Sycamore/DeKalb area, I recommend the good people at Blumen Gardens. Their staff are amazingly knowledgeable, and you can often run into Joel and Joan Barzac (apologies if I have misspelled the name) while shopping, and do they ever know their stuff. For those of you reading outside my area, I like Growing Perennials in Col Climates by Mike Heger, Debbie Lonnee, and John Whitman, a book chock-a-block with practical tips and information.