Bergenia (Pig Squeak)
If you’ve got a shady spot you want to brighten in your garden but you’re bored with hostas, then Bergenia might be just the plant you’re looking for. Bergenia is also known as pig squeak for the sound it makes when two leaves are rubbed together. In the early spring. Bergenia will grow a spike that will be covered with tiny, bell-shaped blooms. These flowers remain for a number of weeks, then begin to die off. Deadhead the spent blooms by snipping off the spikes. Remove any dead, brown leaves you find through the summer, but don’t chop off the plant in the fall. Bergenia needs these leaves as food to survive through the winter, and many of them are evergreen.