Your Woodland Shade Favorites 3

Mcccaine, you are welcome. And nutsabout nature, thanks for the kind words.

Lilylove, that native azalea is really lovely. It never occurred to me that there was such a thing. It has a really refreshing, delicate beauty.

Lilylove, OH what a wonderful Azalea!! DonnaMack described it perfectly, "refreshing, delicate beauty", AMEN to that! What are the little blue blooms in the background to the left? Those are really pretty as well! =)

Mccaine, I have what I think is deutzia Codsall Pink, but I don't remember for sure.
Mine is in a wooded setting so mostly shade, but still blooms pretty nicely.
I'm sure not as much as in more sun.
But I think the shady situation blanched the pink out of the flowers.
You can see a little pink on the outside of the buds only.
It grows rambunctiously, as you can see from the picture.
I have hacked at it from the front to keep it from swallowing up the path.
But maybe I'll prune it more aggressively this year.
It's getting out of control!
I also have deutzias Nikko and Magicien, both of which bloom fine in shady situations.

WOW Wee, how spectacular!!!! Now I want some!!!! =)

Whoa! Weerobin, I had no idea deutzias are so varied, and diversified! Some beauty. When I moved here, the previous owner had those in the front yard, I promptly moved them in the backyard for I wanted a more colorful front of the border. Mine, are diminutive in forms and has tiny white blooms.

Speediebean, the blue bell-like flowers are some sort of seberian squill I do think. I planted them in my small shade garden to the sideyard, and I've found them scattered in various places, which I love for those unlikely place where they pop up has poor soil condition. I think but not sure; squirrels may have stolen the bulbs and hid them where the plant germinated and flourished. I love those kind of "invasiveness" lol

Donna, here is an example of the native Azaleas. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/136324/ They're extensively hybridized and available in the market. I felt in love with this type of flowers years ago. Has a neighbor that has a hedge of them in the backyard. Only she "whacked" them off in wrong time of the year, and some spring I wanted to cry for all the flowers were inadvertently sheered off.

Another neighbor has this lovely pink blooming one;

I'd be so tickled that I personally introduce these lovely Azaleas to some of you. ~grin.

Wee, now you're talking! I do think you have Codsall Pink. I had never HEARD of it. My Chardonnay was a gift but I think I love yours even more.

Speedie, we have to get together and do a raid of Lilylove's and Weerobins gardens. We can split the native azaleas and deutzias, and see what else we can pick up!

Changed because I wrote hydrangeas when I meant azaleas! Still want to swipe them!

This message was edited Apr 3, 2012 7:57 AM

Y'all common down. lol

Here is the mentioned shady garden. It's small, but it's like hidden Gems. Here the Seberian squills that are waxing and wanning. Giving rooms to other shady blooms such as False Solomon Seals and Tricirtas (?sp) and hostas and such. I planned on adding some more colorful impatiens (annuals) to this area, let's hear/see some thought about this? Columbines will do well here too. I've a double blooming columbine awaiting bloom soon in the bed.

Close up view;

Alright all you shade nuts, take a look at this and tell me what it is.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1248296/


Doug

Weerobin, that white viola with birdsfoot-like leaves is a volunteer?

| #2. A volunteer viola which has reseeded throughout the woodland.

And its progeny look the same? What can I offer you in return for some seeds when they form?

The Cradle of Aviation museum here on Long Island makes a point of including the V. pedata of the Hempstead Plains, which throve in the same miniature prairie landscape that nurtured airplane development. I have a link to a recent picture: http://nyfablog.org/2010/04/23/birds-foot-violet-on-long-island/ I don't know if this white violet is the same species (there are other violets with that kind of foliage, aren't there?) but it's sumptuous.

Donna, I'm donning my black garb and cat-burglar face mask as we speak, will be ready to raid in just a second. =)

Lily, my opinion on your lovely shady garden area is a "no" to the brightly coloured impatiens. The whole setting is serene and peaceful and hushed; it veritably whispers to one, so calming and peaceful. Adding anything too brightly coloured would be like
HIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ya don't really wanna get YELLED AT when you stroll through there, do ya? ;) Just my opinion. Maybe some gentle subdued pastel yellows and pinks and blues? Again, just one little Pollack's opinion. =)

Ok, so y'all know that I've had this plan to buy/make some stair-step thingies for my soon-to-be backyard shady garden area, right? So, I get home from work yesterday and I immediately smell the Heavenly aroma of LUMBER(!!) wafting up from downstairs. "Huh??", I say to myself. I hear DH (emphasis on the "D") holler up to me from the basement, "Hey Dear!"... down I ran. What greeted me was him just finishing putting this together! The first of two, he surprised me by stopping at Home Despot to buy the lumber and nails and get started on it since I worked late yesterday. Is he a DARLING or what!?!?!? < =D Gonna start on the sanding tomorrow, then it's gonna get a natural stain (to match the deck) coating, then a clear weather-proof/UV protection coating. Then it'll be ready for the great outdoors! =)

speediebean, I sincerely appreciate your input on my little garden. Whoa! Now what should I do with a flat of bright red, double blooming inpatiens that I just purchased yesterday? Just kidding. I'll manage, for I am 100% with your wonderful thought. I'll need to give the place a little manicure work, tweak it a bit, and sit back and enjoy the small hidden garden. And about the bench! Bravo!

Lily - My Deutzias all have buds but they haven't opened yet. It did turn cooler today so I hope that slows things down a bit. Your garden setting reminds me a bit of my own from the photos. Azaleas here haven't bloomed yet but that's okay.

Ooo, lucky you, speedie!! Congrats!

Thank you thank you, yes, he truly is a double-triple Darling. :) Need to get outta here very shortly to get downstairs and get to work... errr, get to FUN on that. :) Got a few things down there to get to, some new seeds to pot up and my attempts at lettuces from store-bought ends need to be tossed, they never did root. =/ Oh well, it was fun to try. :)

I've GOT to remember to wander the beds and check out the Deutzias at work, to see if they're budding yet. I bet they are! =)

Oh, Speedie, what a lovely man! He's a keeper.

And Lily, dear, speedie has forthrightly said what I am thinking. Impatiens would perhaps not go well with the quiet beauty of your yard.

OK, I'll admit it - I hate them. Lots of people in my old neighborhood had them. Red and hot pink. And in your beautifully natralized setting, they look comparatively artificial.

Always listen to speedie - great instincts there.

^_^ Thanks Donna.

Aaaaaw shucks Donna, gee thanks! ^_^ Please, don't **always** listen to me, I have PLENTY of Polish moments where it's better to just ignore me, trust me! =) But I agree, the Impatiens would not look quite right in Lily's beautiful peaceful setting there. While I rather like them (a lot), and they'll certainly look right at home in lots of places, Lily's naturalized woodland setting is not one of those places.

Lily, we'll just talk about you, hope you don't mind, heehee. When I saw that last pic you posted, "Aaaaaw how SWEET!!" was my first instinctive response. What a LOVELY picture!!! Your whole "secret garden" setting makes me want to show up with a blankie and a book and spend the afternoon reading and napping, aaaaah! =)

Oh, and yes, I agree, my little Triple-DH certainly is a keeper! =) He's got this habit... see, I LOVE tea, the iced variety. Every Friday, he stops off on the way home from work and scours the shelves of the 7-11's or whatever grocery store that catches his eye, to find me a new and exciting tea flavour, or sometimes it's just my favourite old faithful Peach flavour. There's always some sort of treat waiting for me every Friday afternoon when I come home from work. Well, this time he decided to up the ante on my "Friday Treat"! (along with the Snapple Peach tea that was waiting in the fridge!) ^_^

..... heh heh, my 6' 81/2"-tall 250-pound "little" DH. HAHAHAHAAA!!

Having purchased hundreds of flats of impatiens over the years with different color schemes in mind, I have to admit that when it comes to the second half of summer when most of my shade-lovers are done blooming, the bright colors of the reds, hot pinks, orange and fuchsia really pop out from all of the greens. Normally, I don't "do" such bright colors but it can be a nice change from the lighter pastel colors.

I tend to use impatiens balsamina, mirabilis jalapa, verbena bonariensis and nicotiana alata for the same effect. Effortless color.

I should be getting a little more sun back into the shaded area this year after having two big oaks removed at the front of the house (dropping acorns on vehicles like crazy). I've used lots of impatiens in the past (they do reseed a bit but don't flower until late in the season), different coleus and Browallia (which I have to start from seed since they're hard to find). I do tend to have a lot of yellow foliage for brightening but, by July, it's just too much all-green for me. Some years I will go with more of a pastel look but I think it depends on my mood when I'm purchasing the annuals.
Donna - you must have a bit more sun than I do. I did start some nicotiana last year but they just sat there once I planted them out and didn't grow. Maybe too hot last summer. Had them in half-day sun with supplemental watering.

Spot on Cindy, I think you think correctly that Donna may have more sun although in the termed shaded. For impatiens balsamina is known to be the sun-patiens. :) Though her combo is attractive. I like it all the same. It's difficult to define "shade" This seemingly shade area? Well, it's dappled sun. One of the most challenging area to plant. I have several woody hydrangeas that I thought they required shade planted here. As it turned out, after years of waiting, and waiting. I'm changing my way of thinking. lol

I showed a pic of impatiens balsamina in sun but I also have it in part shade. I just don't take as many pictures of it in shady locations because it doesn't "pop". I had a section of the yard that started all sun and transitions to mostly shade. I was amazed at some of the results. The alchemilla mollis was much happier with less light. Heuchera Firefly seemed pretty happy in either. So was polemonium, much to my surprise. But I was most surprised by alchemilla mollis and the peony Burma Joy. Burma Joy, early and single, blooms quite well in shade. I have moved it to the shady side of my yard and it is budding up very well.

I have sections that are quite shady with sunny sections only feet away. I may be (and probably am) underestimating the reflected light.

I never envisioned A.m. liking the shade. I think I remember always seeing it planted with roses and so thought "sun". I know after they bloom and into August, the leaves start browning up quite a bit to the point that I trim them off and there's not much left. Is the shade kinder to them?
Gorgeous peony! What a popper!

In spring my ac was always very happy, but by mid-summer it was pretty dry, needed water, and seemed stressed. I plant it with heuchera and ferns, and it likes that much better. And they did much better as the shade in that area increased.

Burma Joy was a gift. It's so cool! All my other peonies were in bright sun on the south side of my house. This one was the only one on the north side, and it gets shaded out by smokebushes and crabapples. The fact that it is early, and a single, allows it to thrive in the shade.

This message was edited Mar 27, 2012 7:04 AM

Two of Donna's inspirational plants for me were Lilies and Baptisias. Here is my 'Purple smoke' that are coming up in my shady corner. Donna, how are yours coming along this time of year?

Donna, your peony is beautiful! I love the singles.
I have been growing species peonies because they tolerate shade better.
In fact, some require partial shade or woodland conditions.
But I didn't know you could grow some of the cultivars in partial shade.
It looks very happy!

This is one of my peonies species blooming this past weekend.
This is paeonia wittmanniana.

I've got a couple other species all budded up ready to pop.

Here are a few other flowers blooming in the woods this past weekend.

#1. Take a look at these wild asarum flowers! I'm embarrassed to admit I've never noticed them before. They're huge! I lost the tag, but pictures on line look like asarum maximum. But it's not supposed to be quite hardy for me, so I'm not really sure. But the flowers are wild.

#2. My double bloodroot. Always spectacular.
#3. The nearly black hood on arisaema mayebarae looks eerie when backlit by the sun.

#1. This is an odd-looking hepatica. My first year with it, so I didn't know what to expect. I think it's cute.
#2. Chloranthus japonica. A small woodland perennial with cute white flowers in spring.
#3. Pasque flower. This isn't in the woods - it's in one of the few patches of sun I have.

Finally, a few more common shade-loving plants.
#1. A pretty hellebore. Seems like it blooms forever.
#2. Epimedium x rubrum Sweetheart. The back of the flowers is prettier than the fronts.
#3. Pulmonaria.

That's it for this weekend.

Cindy, is this the brunnera you mentioned? This is Dawson White.
Just started blooming.

Lilly,

I was forced to give up my huge baps because I could not get any of the 5 I have out of the ground - they were too mature. BUT - I was trading heuchera Firefly with someone who had baps in pots and gave me two. One is now in the ground, happily sprouted. The second is still in its pot, but I will find a place for it. Will baps grow in shade?! The first one is in a sunny location on the south side of my house. I have given it company with Rose Heritage, which I purchased last year from Pickering, put in a self watering pot, moved to the ground a few days ago (all five feet of it!) plus a japanese variegated Kerria, Mt. Hood daffodils, and two peonies. If I can grow the second bap in some shade, my problem will be solved.

Weerobin,
The peony was a gift from Steve/FortWorth now Steve/Indy. I had never grown singles, but I fell in love. It has gone from shade at the old house to shade at the new. It is budded out and will perform better than ever. It taught me about the level of abuse a peony can take. I dug it up in April of 2011 and put it in a pot. It bloomed. Then, in December (a mild one) I put the contents of the pot into the ground. No, you are not supposed to move peonies in the spring or plant hem in December, but I actually did that with about half a dozen of them and they are all leafing out.

And double bloodroot. It's been on my wish list for years!

Donna, by experience. I've seen Baps. perform excellent in full sun. In my dappled shade garden. They are somewhat, okay, with the exception of the cultivar 'Purple Smoke'. These outshine my species babs anyday in my small, shady garden.

Weerobin, those woodlands you listed are gorgeous!!!! I tried a several brunneras in the garden, none have survived!

Lily - That photo of yours shows such a sweet spot to lounge anytime of day!
Donna - I'll have to try a piece of my Alchemilla in a shadier spot here.
Weerobin - As always, your photos are inspirational. Checking photos, I think I killed 'Dawson's White' but instead have 'Variegata'. My variegation isn't quite so pronounced. Those Asarum flowers are huge! Love the Hepatica but then I'm partial to them. And darn it - meant to order some Pasque flowers this year. Still can't bring myself to buy the double bloodroot as I'm afraid I'll kill it. Wow - are those the hellebores that you posted a month ago???
My Munchkin order is enroute and I'm excited to get the Spigella marilandica. Do I have a spot picked out for it? Heck, no. Also coming is Corydalis 'Berry Exciting' and Phlox 'Manita'.

Thanks, Cindy. Here is my mentioned cultivar baps. last spring, Donna.
Kim

Donna, have you tried Munchkin for Double Bloodroot? I know Gene carries them some years.