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Barrenwort (Epimedium)is a wonderful perennial ground cover which will stay put, thrive in dry shade, and contribute handsome heart-shaped foliage to a garden bed. An added bonus is small, delicate flowers (some describe their shape as resembling bishop's hats) which appear in springtime.
Is there a friendlier ground cover than barrenwort? If so, we’d like to meet it. A drought-tolerant, shade-loving family of woodland plants, epimediums also are a prized rock garden plant and provide good camouflage for faded foliage from summer bulbs.
Barrenwort grows from tuber-like rhizomes, making it easy to divide and transplant clumps—just dig them up and gently disentangle the root systems. Barrenwort cultivars bloom in springtime with delicate flowers on arched stems, in colors that range from white and pink to yellow, orange, and red. But the real show comes from their handsome, heart-shaped foliage, which can be either deciduous or evergreen depending on cultivar and growing conditions