Heuchera Dark Secret

Heuchera Dark Secret was created from unknown parents on a beautiful day in 2007, in the garden of Gérard and Josiane Darques-Billet, in Lorgies in Pas-de-Calais, France. Nature has endowed this mysterious seedling with many qualities, combining the very dark colour of Heuchera 'Obsidian', the intense undulations of Heuchera 'Crimson Curls', and the vigour and abundant flowering of Heuchera 'Frosted Violet'. In summer, this shadowy vegetation is adorned with abundant white flowers borne on purple stems, forming a striking contrast. This variety tolerates sunlight fairly well, but dreads drought. In the garden, it will form a remarkable ground cover and, like all heucheras, it is a fantastic plant for terraces and balconies.

Heuchera Dark Secret belongs to the saxifrage family. The plant will reach 25 cm (10 in) in height (for the foliage) and 35-40 cm (14-16 in) in width in 4 to 5 years. This Heuchera forms a beautiful spreading cushion. Its evergreen foliage is the major asset of this plant: its undulating, glossy leaves have fairly deep and almost frizzled lobes along the edges; their colour is a very dark purple-bronze on top and reddish purple on the underside – a colour all the more remarkable as it is very long-lasting throughout the seasons. The generous, light and airy flowering occurs in June-July. The flowers, in small white bell-shaped blooms, are arranged along a slender purple stem. This plant has a shallow root system.

Heuchera Dark Secret makes an excellent ground cover for partially shaded areas of the garden, especially in perennial borders. Its foliage remains decorative throughout the year and its flowering brings a lot of lightness to any setting. For example, combine it with the blue blooms of forget-me-nots, brunneras, bugleweeds, columbines or bellflowers, or with the lush foliage of hostas, protected from the heat of the sun. It grows very well in pots, in the company of grasses like Carex testacea and Agropyron magellanicum. In a small shaded rockery, it will accompany small ferns like maidenhair fern, or the beautiful marbled foliage of Asarum splendens. When planted en masse, it will form a superb ground cover along an east-facing path.