Elephant's ears / Bergenia cordifolia

This photo was taken at the Reader Rock Garden almost two weeks ago, on 6 May 2015, when I called in after a volunteer shift. It felt so good to see a reasonable number of different flower species. Even though we had a wonderfully mild winter, it still was a joy to see vibrant colours once again.

Bergenia, also called elephant-eared saxifrage or elephant's ears, is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to central Asia, from Afghanistan to China and the Himalayan region.

“Bergenia are incredibly hardy, and reliably evergreen throughout nearly the entire continent. Plants form a low clump of bold, leathery green leaves, which often turn bronze during winter. Short stems of magenta-pink flowers rise above the shiny foliage in mid spring. The winter leaves are a valuable addition to cut flower bouquets. Most effective when mass planted or used as an edging along a walkway.” From perennials.com.

www.perennials.com/plants/bergenia-cordifolia.html