Sharp-lobed hepatica is a wonderful spring ground cover for the part-shade or shade garden. These dainty plants remind me of a cross between trillium and wood anemone. The flowers pop up very early, many in white rather than the expected lavender. Flowers disappear in April leaving behind attractive, bright green waxy leaves.

Hepatica is great for areas next to footpaths and at woodland garden borders. The downside is they are slow to establish – it’s taken 3 years to establish a square-foot-sized clump from the 5-ish rhizomes I planted. However, I’ve found them to be nearly bulletproof. Sources say to watch for slugs or snails, but these are either sited out outside of our local slug population freeway, or they are actually somewhat slug resistant. Native to the Eastern USA