Barbara Cain has shared various aspects of her garden with us before. Some of her tropical favorites are here, and her favorite plants for spicing up the winter in her sunroom are here, but today she’s sharing her favorite plants of spring in her garden on the South Shore of Boston.

Barbara says that the shade area is the highlight of her garden, and it is easy to see why! From front to back: Hosta ‘June’ (Zones 3–8), Pulmonaria (lungwort, Zones 4–9), and sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum, Zones 5–8).

A generous, lacy sweep of Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern, Zones 3–8), with the glossy leaves of Asarum europaeum (European ginger, Zones 4–7) in the foreground and the pink flowers of Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart, Zones 3–9) in the back.

More of the shade garden, with Hosta ‘June’, Pulmanaria, variegated Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’ Zones 3–8), and Dicentra spectabilis.

Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar, Zones 2–9) is a native tree over a wide swath of North America. The evergreen foliage is a nice accent in any garden, but what is really magical is what happens when this species gets old and the trunk begins to morph into a gnarled, twisted specimen like this, which looks like something out of a fairy tale. Under it are growing ligularia (Ligularia dentata Zones 4–8), Rhododendron ‘Scintillation’ (Zones 5–8), Hosta ‘Great Expectations’ (Zones 3–8), and Galium oderatum (sweet woodruff).

Another view of that gorgeous Eastern red cedar, flanked by Rhododendron ‘Scintillation’ with Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum, Zones 3–8) and sweet woodruff beneath.

Spring bloom from two trees. To the left is a weeping flowering cherry (Prunus ‘Snow Fountains’, Zones 5–8); to the right is a deciduous magnolia (Magnolia ‘Dr. Merrill’, Zones 5–9).

Japanese burnet (Sanguisorba obtusa, Zones 4–9) will have spikes of fuzzy pink flowers later in the year, but right now it is a mound of lush foliage next to a cloud of forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica, Zones 3–8), with the dark foliage of bugbane (Actaea simplex ‘Hillside Black Beauty’, Zones 4–8) behind.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

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