Care-free perennials: lamb's ears

Velvety to the touch, lamb's ears is a ground cover or edging plant that can be counted on to fill in wherever it is needed. Here are a few tips for growing lamb's ears:

The silvery gray leaves are a calming influence on hot-coloured flowers, including everything from ruby red poppies to orange zinnias.

• Lamb's ears is one of the few plants that can keep company with hard-to-match magenta flowers, such as those of rose campion or hot-pink dianthus.
• It casts a soft glow in the company of pastel flowers.
• Maybe it's the soft texture of the leaves, or the plant's informal habit, but lamb's ears naturally make a garden look comfortable.
• Grown along a walkway or driveway, or skirting a line of shrubs or roses, this plant blurs hard lines.
• Because it establishes itself quickly, it makes a newly planted garden look less stiff and bare.
• Before you rush out to buy a flat, however, bear in mind the plant's size and habit.
• Individual plants reach 30 centimetres (12 inches) or more in height and width, and they do spread and sprawl, so allow some room for future expansion when planting.
• If you encourage lamb's ears to follow its natural growth pattern, a single plant will form a pool of luminous silvery leaves in only one season.

While lamb's ears is prized for its foliage, it does have flowers.

• In late spring, woolly stalks carrying small, lavender blossoms emerge from the clump and shoot up to twice the plant's height.
• If you want an informal cottage-garden effect, or if nearby plants that bear clashing flowers are not yet in bloom, you may welcome these understated flowers, which attract bees in droves.
• However, some gardeners feel the flower stalks detract from the foliage and look unkempt, so they clip them off.
• To eliminate the chore of removing flower stalks, you can plant non-flowering cultivars 'Silver Carpet' and 'Helene von Stein'.

Lamb's ears grows best in average, well-drained soil.

• Full sun is preferable, but the plants also adapt to partial shade.
• In areas with long, hot summers, plant them where they'll receive afternoon shade.
• Even with shade, the foliage may decline after a long spate of humid nights. In hot climates, grow heat-tolerant cultivars, such as 'Big Ears', which has leaves twice the size of the species.
• Avoid heavy watering and fertilizing, which can lead to lanky growth that is unattractive and vulnerable to rot.
• Also avoid getting the leaves wet when watering.
• In early spring, you can dig new plantlets that pop up between older plants and move them to where you want them to grow.
• Use a sharp knife to cut out a small circle of soil and roots around the new plantlet and lift it from beneath without pulling on the plant itself.
• When planting, set it at the same depth at which the parent plant grew and keep the soil moist for several weeks to encourage fast rooting.
• Lamb's ears are remarkably pest free and are even unappealing to deer.

If you want a plant that will make your garden look full right away, lamb's ear is your best bet. It grows fast and fills out a garden with ease, but the flowers also add a beautiful and soothing touch. It's a perfect way to start any garden!