Lamiastrum galeobdolon

     If you want a ground cover for dry shade that will establish and spread quickly, none is better than Lamiastrum galeobdolon, commonly known as Yellow Archangel.  Of course, that means one must keep after it to keep it within bounds, usually requiring shearing every month or two.  It gets about a foot high, so weeds are never able to get established in it.  It has attractive yellow flowers in late spring.  Photos 4 and 5 show it accompanied by one of my Leonardo da Vinci structures.
     There is a very unusual cultivar or variety of it, 'Herman's Pride.'  First, it does not spread with runners as does the species.  Second, its leaves are triangular, rather than round or oblong as the species.  And third, it does not do well in deep shade, as does the species.  I have about 70 plants of this variety, and I have had to move it as the trees growing overhead got older and bigger.  The last five photos show this variety.  In photo 7 it appears in a grouping on center right, and in photo 8 it is on top of the RR wall next to the walk with the railing.