Barren strawberries

I took a couple of days off recently and actually spent some time in my garden. What a wonderful feeling! Nothing can compare with the freshness and surprises of a spring garden.

Not being one who keeps anything close to accurate records on my plants, I'm always poking around this time of year - scratching my head wondering what things are or doing the dance of joy when I recognize something I'd forgotten that I even had.

Waldsteinia ternata, or barren strawberry, was one of my pleasant surprises this season. I think I planted it two years ago. I know that I wasn't very impressed with its performance last year, but this year is a different story. (When will I ever stop being surprised by the whole "first year they sleep, second year they creep, and third year they leap' thing?) The bright yellow flowers are most welcome, and next to the tiny blue blossoms of their bedmate 'Brunnera,' they are knockouts. I actually much prefer them to the epimedium that I planted at the same time.

Waldsteinia grows just 6 inches high and will spread slowly by runners, but nothing like their edible cousins. I bought it especially because I was told that it would grow in dry shade and it seems to be living up to that reputation. In my experience, it is not evergreen here, though, like many of the catalogs say.