Uvularia grandiflora

Uvularia grandiflora, sometimes called Large-flowered Bellwort, is a graceful plant for cool shade that is rarely available to buy.  A rhizomatous perennial, this North American species blooms in spring, with pretty pendulous lemon-yellow bell-shaped flowers, and its foliage remains decorative throughout the summer. Very cold-resistant, Uvularia likes humus-rich, non-calcareous soils that stay damp even in summer. It will look beautiful paired with Himalayan blue poppies, Trilliums, or alongside ferns that appreciate the same conditions.

Uvularia grandiflora is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Colchicaceae family. It is native to North America, from Canada to the southeastern United States, where it is found in damp woodlands. Its deciduous growth emerges from the ground in spring and disappears in September. The plant, which has a rather slow growth, rarely exceeds 50 cm (20in) in height and its stump, which can reach 30 cm (12in) in width over time, is non-spreading and non-invasive. It has short rhizomes from which numerous thick, vertical roots emerge and deeply penetrate the soil. Flowers occur before the full appearance of foliage, from March to May depending on the climate and the year. Several slender cane-like stems emerge from the stump, slightly arching under the weight of the flowers. Solitary or grouped by 2 or 3, the flowers are pendulous, tubular at the base, formed by 6 long spiralled sepals, 5 to 6 cm (2in) long and bright yellow in colour. After pollination by bumblebees and bees, curious fruits in the shape of a bishop's cap form. The seeds are dispersed by ants. The foliage, reminiscent of Solomon's seal, fully develops after flowering. It is composed of elliptical leaves, 6 to 13 cm (2 to 5in) long, which are a very vibrant spring green colour on the upper side, and velvety on the underside.

Uvularia grandiflora is perfect under deciduous trees and bushes, paired with spring-flowering plants whose foliage disappears earlier: its most beautiful companions in the damp humus of an understory or in a shaded bed will be Trilliums, wood anemones, rather low ferns (Blechnum spicant, Asplenium scolopendrium), Meconopsis, hostas... Remember to mark its location so as not to trample the stump when the foliage has disappeared. Also, take care to protect this plant as slugs are fond of it.