<em>Bergenia</em>: 5 ideas for pairing it with other plants in the garden

Bergenia in woodland understorey

Bergenia thrives in woodland. Be careful, it prefers partial shade rather than deep shade, otherwise flowering may be negligible. Plant several specimens among hostas, heucheras, ferns, bright ornamental grasses, Rodgersia, hardy geraniums, candelabra primroses, comfrey or at the foot of hydrangeas. Feel free to play with shapes and colours of foliage to bring dynamism to the border. And to break the somewhat clumsy look often criticised of Bergenias’ large leathery leaves, rely on the fineness and lightness of fern fronds and grasses However, there are varieties with finer foliage for the genus. It’s up to you to choose what you prefer, but in woodland you can really achieve a lovely effect with Bergenia’s large leaves in good company.

An example of a woodland planting: Bergenia cordifolia or similar, Hosta tardiana ‘Halcyon’, Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ or ‘All Gold’, ferns such as Polystichum setiferum ‘Proliferum’, Euphorbia amygdaloïdes var. robbiae and Hosta tardiana ‘El Niño’

Also consider small periwinkles which will slip among Bergenias’ leaves when they have finished flowering.

If you want to brighten a shady rockery, Bergenia is ideal! In that case, surround it with bugles, dwarf cypress euphorbias, yews clipped into balls, wallflowers and lady’s mantle.

Bergenia in a wintry scene

Some Bergenias have leaves that turn a sometimes very dark purple in autumn/winter due to cold. This applies to species B. purpurascens and varieties ‘Eden’s Dark Margin’, ‘Dragonfly Sakura’, ‘Flirt’, ‘Rotblum’, ‘Bressingham Ruby’ and many more. Note that colouring is more intense in sun. Create a large bed punctuated with dogwoods with coloured wood (red and/or yellow) and ornamental brambles with silvery-white bark. Around them, plant snowdrops, winter heathers and hellebores that will flower amid reddening leaves of Bergenias. The perfect winter tableau, like the magnificent winter gardens immortalised by Cédric Pollet !

An example of a combination in a winter garden: Bergenia ‘Dragonfly Sakura’, Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’, Rubus thibetanus ‘Silver Fern’ and heathers such as ‘Kramer’s Rote’, ‘Spring Surprise’ and ‘Eva Gold’ for example

Why not add a few clumps of Libertia ‘Gold Finger’? This plant (moderately hardy) forms a light, evergreen clump and its beautiful foliage with yellow-orange tones catches sun’s rays.

Bergenia as groundcover

Bergenia is an excellent groundcover! It fulfils its role perfectly at the foot of bushes such as euonymus (Euonymus alatus or europaeus for example), magnolias, ornamental cherry and apple trees, viburnums, flowering dogwoods, daphne, etc. And the base of conifers doesn’t faze it!

An example of a groundcover grouping: Magnolia, Bergenia ‘Flirt’, Tiarella, Myosotis and Prunus cerasifera ‘Atropupurea’

It is also a good companion in Japanese-style gardens. They form pretty tapeta at the foot of trees pruned as clouds (Niwaki), Japanese maples and bamboos. Not forgetting grasses, ferns and Japanese irises to provide a contrast of form.

Finally, it is also at ease on the edge of a water feature alongside Darmera, ligularias, astilbes and irises.

→ My advice: Avoid planting only Bergenias over too large an area or risk achieving a particularly monotonous effect. Prefer a patchwork of different groundcovers with several specimens of each plant.

Bergenia for borders

Avoid planting Bergenias in onion ranks, alone in a border… depressed effect guaranteed! By contrast, they make a superb foil for spring bulbs such as Chionodoxa, Muscari, daffodils, tulips, Camassia… with a touch of forget-me-nots.

To further diversify your border, consider low-growing perennials. In a sunny border, add cypress-spurge euphorbias with delicate, fine bluish-green foliage. Conversely, in a shady border, turn to pulmonarias, bugle, ferns, Geranium macrorrhizum, nodosum, the charming Geranium ‘Bob’s Blunder’, heucheras or Persicaria affinis, which flower in summer. For a beautiful autumn scene, consider Asters dumosus, sedums and grasses such as Carex.

An example of an autumnal planting: Bergenia ‘Ouvertüre’, Aster dumosus ‘Augenweide’, Heuchera ‘Obsidian’, Persicaria affinis ‘Donald Lowndes’, Carex buchananii, Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’ and Aster dumosus ‘Lady in Blue’

Potted Bergenia

Bergenia is so undemanding that it is well suited to pot cultivation! Prefer small varieties and those with small leaves such as ‘Baby Doll’, ‘Dragonfly Sakura’ or ‘Flirt’. You can plant Bergenias to cover substrate at the base of a bush in a pot (winged spindle, ornamental cherry, Japanese maple, eucalyptus…). It is also very pretty alongside small columbines, ranunculi, heathers or grasses.

An example of pairing: Bergenia ‘Dragonfly Sakura’ accompanied by Saxifraga stolonifera ‘Cuscutiformis’ with very decorative foliage and which will flower later in summer, Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ with superb bluish foliage

It is also decorative on its own in a pot, which you can move as you please.

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