Shade Lovers

True cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum, is a lush, aromatic member of the ginger family and the source of green cardamom, the ancient and costly spice traded for millennia along the Silk Road and across the Indian Ocean. Native to the humid, evergreen hill forests of southern India and Sri Lanka, the plant grows in the dappled shade of the understory, in deep, fertile, always-moist soil. Ranked historically among the most valuable spices in the world, cardamom carries a history as rich as the flavor.

Hardiness

Zones 8–10

Light

Part Shade / Full Shade

Height

6–12 ft.

Spread

3–6 ft.

Bloom

White

Plant type

Perennial

Traditional use

digestive health, respiratory support, general wellness

Rubus irenaeus is a raspberry that has forgotten how to be a bramble. Rather than the arching, thorny canes of the fruiting kinds, the plant trails flat along the ground on downy, weakly prickled stems, laying down a dense evergreen carpet of large, rounded, coltsfoot-like leaves, each six inches or more across, dark and glossy above and felted pale brown beneath. Few groundcovers of any kind bring foliage this bold to deep shade.

Hardiness

Zones 7–9

Light

Full Sun / Part Shade / Full Shade

Height

6–12 in.

Spread

5–6 ft.

Bloom

White

Plant type

Groundcover