Sunday, June 29, 2008

Aegopodium podograria 'Variegatum'

It would be hard to find a prettier combination of icy white and bluish green than this Aegopodium. Unfortunately, it is also hard to find a more invasive perennial. I keep a patch of this growing because I love the unusual color. It truly stands out wherever it grows, but I also weed it out in any other place it shows up, almost exclusively by root runners, so that it doesn't take over, as it did before I realized its inclination to do so. It does bloom (tiny white flowers) and it stays about 8 inches tall. It likes shade and maybe a little sun in damp, 'normal' or even slightly dry places. It is a wonderful ground cover, filling in rather rapidly, if you have places where you need that sort of thing - maybe a slope you don't want to mow. Otherwise, you need to be ruthless in the weeding out of this lovely perennial, which I wouldn't be without, but which does need some control.
Jane

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