In some ways I should like bergenia more than I do.   It has good traits that usually rank high in my books.

Evergreen
Winter flowering
Drought tolerant
Low maintenance
Inexpensive
Hardy to zone 4
Shade tolerant

I do celebrate the blooms when they arrive.

This year I realised that the deer celebrate those blooms, too.   Hmmmm.  No wonder the bloom time seemed so short. Deer don’t seem to snack on the fleshy leafs, so the patches survive.

Elephant ears is a common name for this plant.   Kinda makes sense because of the large, rounded plant material.

Pig Squeak is another nick name.  Apparently it makes a noise when rubbing the turgid leafs, but I’ve never noticed.

In other gardens I’ve been impressed with a occasional lovely display of colourful foliage, or strikingly large blooms.  Perhaps those were other cultivars than the one in our yard.

In mid-summer the patches look kind of ratty, and I don’t really care for that.  C doesn’t like them much either, so we don’t pay them much attention.

I reckon bergenia does a fair job as a ground cover in really tough spots of the yard.  For now they’re safe.  There are higher priority areas around the garden.    That is until I somehow find some horticultural treasure that would suit that space better.

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© SVSeekins and Garden Variety Life, 2012.

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