By Lynn Welp
Gardens writer | Posted: Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:00 am
When Joyce Eberhart and Dan Luoma first moved into their west Corvallis home 13 years ago, lawn dominated mostly everywhere.
Sure they had a rhody, climbing rose and Pondersosa pine tree, but shade was in short supply.
Oh how times have changed. It is now comprised of native and ornamental plants that love dappled shade, a virtual collector's paradise, leaving very little room for lawn.
In addition to gardening together, this couple is very active in the Corvallis chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. Dan has been involved in both the local and state level for 25 years - and is their current vice-president.
Joyce and Dan have also worked together at OSU's Department of Forest Science since 1985 doing research on forest mycology.
Strolling through their garden one can see where the joy of gardening and plant science are combined. Such as the painted fern Joyce started from a spore. Or the pitcher plant (named for its ability to water) with its long hooded tube that sport hairs growing downward. Insects become trapped and can't escape. The decaying bugs become the plant's source of nitrogen, Dan says.
Native plants take precedence in this garden, but its biggest legacy could be the sharing between gardening friends or families.
Family ties
"Lots of the native plants in my garden are actually native to my mom's garden in Wisconsin, where I grew up," says Joyce.
Joyce grows Geranium oreganum - our native Oregon cranes-bill, as well as horticultural varieties such as Geranium x magnificum from her mom's garden. Other favorite plants from her mother's garden include the single and double bloodroot, yellow Trillium, prairie Trillium, sessile Trillium, a couple species of wild ginger, and many varieties of primroses.
"The trellis over the front door has a 'New Dawn' climbing rose on it," Joyce says. "My mother has mentioned how her mother had one over her front door, so I thought it was fun to grow one."
A striking yucca with blue/green foliage, originally in Dan's mom's garden in Roseburg, stands out amongst the lime green, dark green and variegated leaves of a flowerbed out front.
An unnamed Siberian Iris, variegated red osier dogwood and many other plants came from a friend, Sarah Fairbank. The daylily (Hemerocallis flava), Su Alexander gave her, along with many beautiful garden lilies. Pat Cummins gave her a white-edged Hosta and many of the plants in the original first garden bed. These people took the Master Gardener class together in 1988.
"We had a group of seven women from the MG class who got together for many years as the 'flower girls' and we shared lots and lots of plants!" says Joyce.
Shade plant collection
Many of the plants in Dan and Joyce's garden came from Dancing Oaks nursery in exchange for Joyce playing her viola as part of a sting trio for their open house event. Willamette Gardens, White Oak Farms and Northwest Garden Nursery are other favorite sources of their plant material.
This couple has gathered quite a collection - five species of sidalcea (native hollyhock) and nine species of trillium - to name just two. The showstopper in their garden is a stunningly large purple Trillium that was given to Dan by a former neighbor. In striking comparison is the tiny streamside Trillium that grows only a couple inches high.
"Our favorite shade natives are the Oregon fawn lily, the pink fawn lily, shooting starts (Drodecatheon hednersonii) and several species of native Brodiaea," Joyce says.
Another of Joyce's favorites is the Martagon lily. Native to Europe, it may have up to 50 charming small recurved flowers on a single stem. Both the pink/purple and white varieties are special because they grow in shade - unlike most garden lilies that prefer the sun.
Although most Penstemon species like sun, there is a woodland Penstemon that enjoys shade too - yet still manages to produce clusters of brilliant blue flowers. For shade-loving grasses the sedge, Cerex phyllocephala Sparkler, stands out in the dark shade, with shiny white leaf edges.
Brunnera Jack Frost is a knockout plant in the shade, says Joyce, with lovely silvery leaves and green veins, as well as, bright blue forget-me-not like flower.
One of the most unusual plants in this garden is the Dracula arum - for its strange blood-red flower. However, the most photographed flower in their garden is the Sego lily (Calochortus tolmiei), Dan's favorite, because it has fuzzy petals with little hairs much like its nickname - Cat's ear.
Big-leafed (blue-green) Hosta (sieboldiana elegans) and Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) hold dew or raindrops on their leaves for a strikingly reflective effect. (Tip: Most hostas prefer the shade, but some will tolerate partial sun - particularly those having some yellow/white coloring to their leaves. Lady's mantle will take full sun too - if given enough water.)
Lady's mantle make great filler plants with their wavy leaves and yellow/green flower sprays, clumping, low-growing in front of borders and berms. (Tip: They seed easily.)
Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' (golden groundsel) pops out of the landscape with its eye-catching deep purple to brownish green, kidney-shaped foliage. Showy daisy flowers will appear later in the summer. (Tip: Leave plenty of room for this plant as it exceeds 4 feet in height and 2 feet in width. Apply plenty of slug bait too, as they love shade gardens!)
"I should have bought stock in Sluggo," Joyce says. "We apply it every three weeks with a broadcast spreader from late January through April," she says.
Sluggo is an organic gardening product containing iron phosphate that's not harmful to pets. Dan and Joyce garden using organic methods, particularly relying on lots of compost for mulch.
Their garden proudly displays the living mascot of the Corvallis Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon - the native Peacock larkspur (Delphinium pavonaceum) found only in the Willamette Valley - Benton and Polk counties more specifically. This plant is currently protected by the Oregon Department of Agriculture as an endangered species.
In the back
An area out back contains a flagstone patio around a pond and a bog area. Joyce's son, Robbie, used a mallet to whack a hole into an old driveway to dig the pond. The pond has a few native plants (rush and water plantain) as well as non-native water lilies, iris and sedges. On the side of the pond is a large native umbrella plant (Dramera peltata), which has leaves with a stem at the center and a unique Gunnera that sports a rough exterior and pineapple-like bloom spike. It reminds one of the age of dinosaurs.
A nearby bog microclimate contains ferns, native Camas, gentians and the aforementioned pitcher plant.
Along the fence/patio is another microclimate - hot! Great for rock garden plants that need very little water or shade. Native Penstemons (including the species that grows on top of Mary's Peak, Lewisii, mountain avens and a native yellow Fritillaria need the perfect drainage of a rock garden.
With so much shade, this gardening duo resorts to growing the majority of their vegetables in the community garden by Starker Arts Park.
Joyce says her favorite time in the garden is April, "when the shooting stars, native trillium and fawn lilies are blooming - and when sharing plants with friends.
"Aren't gardens friendly places!" Joyce says.