Our Master Gardener Clint loves his shady garden where he grows many interesting plants. He sent this post to share with you:
“Almost universally, gardeners think of shade as a problem.” (George Schenk, The Complete Shade Gardener, 1st Edition) In reality, shade in the ornamental garden is more an opportunity than a problem. Pick the right plants and you can make the most of your shady areas.
Starting early, wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) finishes the cold season with red foliage, greening during the year and then ending it with red teaberries. Include hellebores (Helleborus spp.), which are evergreens with radial spokes of strong, dark leaves that range from green to bronze/burgundy. Different varieties show blossoms of pink or white or light green or burgundy, with their timing inspiring one of their common names: Christmas Rose.
Snowdrops and crocuses announce spring, followed in April by ajugas, in radiating rosettes of bronze or green leaves, and diverse violets. When ajuga and violets bloom together, the blaze of blue is spectacular. At that same time, ferns unroll, hostas unfold, and Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum) rises, bends, and dangles its white blossoms. Your gaze is held by the filigree of the ferns, the expanses and ambiguous colors of the hostas, and the repeating arches of the Solomon’s seal. In late spring to mid-summer, Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) raises tall, erect to leaning spikes of fuzzy white flowers that earn it a second common name: Fairy Candles.
Usually in June the perennial hardy begonia (B. grandis – don’t let the afternoon summer sun burn it) starts to reveal its dark green, red backed leaves. Late in summer it puts up pink, pendant flowers. Yellow wax bells (Kirengeshoma palmata), with plamate leaves, accompany the begonia in bloom. Turtlehead (Chelone spp.) and toad lily (Tricyrtis spp.) finish the shady flowering season, the latter lasting near Thanksgiving with its rows of orchid-like blossoms on arching stems.
One oddity acts like it’s in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Fall, Italian arum (A. italicum) sprouts erect,
dark green, white-veined spear points of leaves that go limp in the deep cold and then resurrect when the temperature eases. In May/June, the leaves die away soon after appearance of a short-lived, pale “pulpit” (spathe) cupping a yellow “Jack” (spadix). This spadix grows into a cob of green berries in summer, progressing to bright orange until wildlife eats them.
Many shade loving garden plants can convince you to start noticing foliage as foreground, not just background. An old gardener’s principle is “Pick your garden plants first for foliage,” because it’s on display longer than the blossoms. Solomon’s seal not only arches, it turns a handsome yellow that lasts until winter weather beats it down. The heucheras (say HUGH kruh) are perhaps the poster models for foliage. Growing in shade to sun, these native plants have been hybridized into a rainbow of different leaf colors. Many of their varieties have non-descript blossoms, but the foliage is compelling.
We’ve looked only at bedding plants here, not shrubs or vigorous ground covers; the latter can overrun your bedding plants. Some of the selections mentioned above do spread, but with casual vigilance you can keep them in check. The bottom line is that there are many striking shade lovers and they’ll keep your personal gardening sap flowing much longer in the year than the fair weather friends do.
https://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/pb1585.pdf including more choices of shade tolerant plants for you to grow
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/g6911 more a discussion of shady gardening conditions
Darke, R. (2002). The American Woodland Garden. Portland OR, Timber Press
Schenk, G. (2002) The Complete Shade Gardener. Portland OR, Timber Press.