Lamium 'Orchid Frost' PP#11,122

I love Lamium, and 'Orchid Frost' is the absolute best I've ever grown in my hot, humid South Carolina garden! Most Lamiums melt out in brutal southern summers, but this beautiful variety is vigorous without being invasive, ultra-colorful, and quite free of pests and diseases! If you're looking for a groundcover with a little extra eye appeal, 'Orchid Frost' is the one you want!

This charming little plant reaches just 6 inches high but is ready to spread up to 3 feet in the garden! From late spring into summer its showy silver leaves (smartly edged in deep green!) form an elegant backdrop for clusters of 1-inch orchid-pink blooms, arranged in a circular pattern like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Very showy, especially among all the green-leafed plants of the bed and border!

But what really sets 'Orchid Frost' apart from others is its ability to thrive in heat and humidity. Below zone 6, give it a bit of shade and it will reward you with spring-through-fall foliage color and a big bloom show. Above zone 7, it prefers more sunlight, although it can always handle dappled shade. You can even grow it in poor soil, though your most impressive flowering and quickest spreading will always be in enriched soil.

'Orchid Frost' makes a fine companion plant to Heuchera, Hosta, Astilbe, and Fern in the partly shaded garden. And if you're looking for other attractive, out-of-the-ordinary groundcovers, take a gander at Hardy Geranium 'Tiny Monster'! There's no need for Vinca and Verbena to monopolize your garden carpet!

Quite cold hardy, this robust little plant is great for edging and overplanting bulbs, as well as blanketing the border. You won't find a more colorful, carefree, and attractive groundcover! Space plants 2½ feet apart. Zones 3-8.