Epimedium

These rhizomatous perennials are great value with very colourful, many-flowered sprays, of spider-like blooms. These are generally held above the foliage, during spring. Flowers range in size, with this exaggerated by long, curving spurs, often a contrasting colour to other parts of flowers. Plants can be either deciduous or evergreen, but regardless the foliage, can be colourful in autumn, or even more so in spring. Good for a shady spot, with some tolerating dry conditions. There are around 30 different species, many in China, with an ever increasing range of excellent hybrids being developed.

Valuable early season forage for bumblebees, the different forms of Epimedium are very prone to hybridization as the bees are not fussy about which ones they visit. If you grow more than one type, the bees may therefore deliver you not only minor variants but potentially a brand-new garden-worthy form. The leaves are useful ground-cover for invertebrates and amphibians, especially the forms that retain their leaves through the winter, but little seems to eat them, probably a result of the chemicals they contain, some of which are being investigated for their medicinal properties.