Today’s Garden Ideas | Like Me…You Can Have A Shady Border Filled With Interesting And Unusual Plants

Like Me…You Can Have A Shady Border Filled With Interesting And Unusual Plants

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

For those of us with homes a bit on the shady side it is nice to know there are many fascinating and colorful plants that will grow in this type of climate. Shade gardens can provide a calm quiet interlude of beauty and serenity with their cool colors and soft textures.

Garden Planning & Design

Before planting a shade garden it is best to decide how you want the layout to look and what type of plants will work best for your area. Shade garden plans must first take into consideration what type of shade the planting area gets daily as well as throughout the changing of the seasons. In addition pay attention to the soil. Is the earth damp or dry? What type of soil preparation might be required to achieve the best flowering shade garden? Humus or some other type of enrichment will help all types of soil and should be added during cultivation.

It is also import where you plan to put your shade garden as a north or east exposure is harder to care for than a shade garden facing south or west. In addition drafts created by buildings can cause problems so you may want to shelter your shade garden using shrubs, trees or even a fence or wall.

Plants for the Shade

If your shaded area is a result of tree overhang take advantage of the time just before spring and plant bulbs like daffodils or tulips. These are very colorful & extremely easy to cultivate. These bulbs should be planted in the fall. Other bulbs that can be planted include Giant Snowdrop, Glory of the snow & Grape Hyacinth.

For lightly shaded areas that get some sun there are many types of shade loving garden shrubbery and plants that will work very well. If you are looking for low lying groundcover try Pachysandra. With its cream and green leaves and white spring flowers it makes a lovely addition to any shade garden. Carpet Bugle with it blue spiky flowers is an excellent plant for damp shade gardens as is Phlox. Blue Phlox makes an excellent shady border if kept groomed properly or it can be allowed to spread out over your shaded garden area.

If you are looking for something a little taller, Astilbe with its white or pink flowers or Bergenia with its red green leaves works well in damp shaded area. Some of the best plants for shade gardens with dry soil include the Virginia Bluebell or Fringecups that are bell shaped in whites & creams.

Lilies will also grow very well in lightly shaded areas. The day lily is a favorite plant for many shade gardens. They come in shades of mostly orange and yellow. Due to their dense growth they do very well at preventing weeds from growing. Lilies do well as part of a shaded garden border too.

Taller flowers for the shade garden include Bear’s Breeches, excellent for warmer climates or Anemones, which work well in dry soil. These cup like flowers come in all shades ranging from blue to pink.

Shrubs can also do well in a shade garden. Hydrangea can grow up to 10 feet and have beautiful white, blue or cream flowers in the summer. Spotted Laurel does well in cold climates and is beautiful in fall with its bright red berries. Azaleas sprout pink, white and red flowers in February in the south and springtime up north and do very well in partial shade. These shrubs in particular are popular in shade garden landscapes at the front of the home.

PLANTS FOR A SHADY BORDER

TYPE	PLANT	DESCRIPTION
	Smoke Tree	H: 15 ft., S: 15 ft; deciduous or evergreen; ball shaped flowers in late summer; zones 5-9
	Foxglove	H: 30 in.- 5ft., S: 1-2ft.; pink spikes in summer; self-seeding biennial; zones 4-10
	Bugleweed	H: 15 in., S: 24 in.; groundcover; small purple flowers in spring; zones 2-8
	Rosa Rugosa	H and S: 3-6ft.; hardy plant; pink flowers in fall; zones 2-8
	Crocosmia	H: 2-4 ft, S: 6-8 in; prefers sun; orange, red or gold flowers in late summer; protect in winter in cold areas; zones 5-8
	Hebe	H: 6-12in S 2-3 ft., flowers early summer; good groundcover; protect in winter in cold areas; zones 4-8
	Hosta	H: 1-3 ft, S: 3-4ft; white or lilac flowers in summer; zones 3-9
	Hydrangea	H: 3-15ft, S: 6-10 ft; blue or pink flower heads in summer; zones 6-9
	Ligularia	H: 4ft, S: 2ft; orange flowers in late summer; zones 4-9

Plants for extremely shaded areas with almost no sun are numerous and include Bleeding Heart with its white and pink flowers and Trillium Grandiflorum that has white flowers shading to pink over time.

Perhaps the best, and easiest to find of the shade garden plants in the Hosta. There are several different species and most produce stalks of blue flowers in the summer. They are also useful for border planting.

Ferns are another excellent plant for a shade garden. While they do not flower, their unusual textures make a superb background for shade garden flowers.

Finally when planning your shade garden whether it is a shady border or woodland garden remember to choose plants, shrubs, and trees that are best suited to the amount of shade generated, the dampness of the soil, and the climate of your area. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy your shade garden as it grows and blooms with the seasons.