Ligularia dentata, Elephant Ears

At this time of year we have a bright splash of orange/yellow Elephant Ears at the back of one garden patch, where it's shaded most of the day.  This is the interesting Ligularia dentata, a striking plant that does well in shade.

It has a kind of raggedy blossom, but it is a member of the Sunflower Family.  Wikipedia lists 148 horticultural varieties, and they seem to be of two main types; the other has a vertical spike of flowers.

The flower heads themsleves are fascinating in detail, and they change very quickly as they bloom.

It also has a very interesting seed head that develops out of these flowers, which I'll show you later in the fall when they develop.

This is the whole plant, with the large dark green leaves that give it its name.  They're dense enough that once these get established there's no weeding to be done under or around them.

They spread steadily, creating new plants by seed.  We started with one or two and now have 25, so I have to get rid of a bunch which I'll dig next spring and give to the plant sale.  I didn't feel guilty picking off a large leaf to show you the underside - it's a strong shade of purple, especially the veins.

In any case we have a bright patch of them at the back of the garden now, where they only get a brief bit of morning sun.  There aren't many shade-loving plants that provide this bright a bloom.

These flowers in bloom always tell me we're well into late summer and fall is about to arrive.  But they do seem early this year; last year I posted a photo on Sept. 15th.

These are the last garden photos for awhile, so I'll end with one more photo of those tall yellow Coneflowers that give the other part of our garden such a bright colour these days.  It's very hard to capture on camera compared to actually seeing it!

Linking to: