My next project, a shade garden

I just started my first thread on the Shady Garden forum, and now I am sending in my second!

I have a bunch of bamboo to shred up, work still to go on the kids play structure (including spreading the mulch and top soil that was to delivered yesterday), but I am getting anxious to get started on this project. I have not done anything with this corner of my backyard in the four years that I have lived here.

This area has a lot of potential to be a very nice shade garden. It appears that this area was landscaped at one point because somewhere in there are a couple hostas, at least one azalea, and a yucca plant (why?). Much of the area is covered in overgrown Forsythia bushes that I hope to thin out and or relocate. There is also a dogwood that is too close to the large yellow poplar tree and a couple other small trees that I hope I can relocate. There is also a lot of English Ivy and some Poison Ivy (fun!) to deal with.

The immediate plan is to clear out the vines, trim up the bushes and assess what I have. I will probably move the bed line out a few feet and wrap it along the fence line. I would love to start dropping in shade loving perennials, but that will have to wait till fall and next spring. If you have any suggestions, pass them along.

- Brent

Wow! If that underbrush were cleared, it appears as if it would be a nice place for ferns, hostas, etc. Lovely yard!

Brent - welcome to DG!!!

It will be interesting to see the progress on this area over the next months and year. I just wrapped up initial phases of a new shade bed and find myself continually buying new shade perennials. It's quite addicting as all my other spots are nearly full sun.

Thanks for the kind words and the welcome!

This weekend was dominated by finishing up the kids play structure. It is one of those big wooden sets with swings, a fort and a slide. It was not in our plans and definitely not in our budget, but it is one step towards making the backyard a place that one would want to go to. I only got about 15 minutes towards clearing this area but that was enough to learn that the English Ivy is going to be a real PITA.

- Brent

Brent--If you bring out the garden a bit further, you can have an area of sun to part shade plants to which will flow into fuller shade plants.

And welcome! ;~D

LimeyLisa Kay

This past weekend I was monitoring the area closer. The house shades the area in the morning, but the front few feet get 4-5 hours of sun in the afternoon. The area along the fence gets a few more hours of sun. Seems like I have lots of possibilities for plants! The kids like to go back in that corner of the yard and play in the "fort" created by the Forsythia bushes, so I have to be careful there.

I have to keep myself from looking at plant catalogs and browsing plant web sites otherwise a shipment of 100 plants will arrive at my door and I won't have any beds ready to plant them in. Plus, the big bare spot to the left of this area where I lost a beautiful oak tree and cut down a bunch of bamboo really needs more work than this corner.

- Brent

It’s a start. I managed to clear out a lot of the English Ivy and a Forsythia bush or two. The three of four hostas and the azalea bush all looked a little weak after being hidden by bushes and ivy for the last couple years.

- Brent

Brent - that will be a lot of fun to plant and arrange. What a super spot for a shade garden!

This message was edited Jun 21, 2004 8:07 PM

Job well done! Now comes the fun part =)

Cheri'

My shade garden (Z5) is also a combination of full to partial shade with the outer edges in full sun. The best source I found for the shady portions was Munchkin Nursery & Gardens which specializes in shade perennials. Everything I purchased from them has been healthy and vibrant.

Looking better! I am excited to see how this fills in over the next few years. I look down on this spot from my bedroom window and it is sure a nice way to start off the day.

- Brent

Looking great!

Your shade garden has such great potential!! And what a lovely view to be able to look on when you first greet the day!

I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses; be sure to keep us posted.

Beth

Wow, love seeing your progress Brent. Looking lovely. Thats a really nice area to work with.

Thanks for the kind words! This is the first garden layout that I actually designed. I made a layout of the garden on graph paper and cutout little mature size versions of each of the hostas. This really helped with the layout. I ordered some Sweetshrubs and Oakleaf Hydranges from the Tree and Shrub Coop that I hope will soften the fence line (it might take a few years before the little 1 gallon shrubs hide the fence).

I left a little room between the Hostas for some perennials I would add next spring. Of course the day after I planted the Hostas I was at Home Depot and saw some nice looking Astilbe plants on the clearance rack so I picked up three and stuck them in there. I also had some Japanese Painted Ferns that have been sitting around in pots since spring so I added them along with a Sedum that said it took partial sun and a Yucca that had been growing in that area.

- Brent

Well here is my shade garden as of this morning. It does not look that impressive in the picture, but I am real happy with the way that it is turning out. I am looking forward to a good mix of foliage and color with year round interest.

Compared with my previous picture, I "finished" off the bed by adding a Fosters Holly in the back corner, an Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Alice' located to the left and I added a Rhododendron to the right. Just off the right edge of the picture is a Shasta Viburnum.

- Brent

My gardens look a lot like this too right now. Spring will be so exciting when the little bits of green start to show. Good job on your project!

Brent - your shade garden looks just great, and exactly right for naturalizing daffodils and other spring bulbs. You could actually plant them now for a show in 6 months! Unfortunately I don't have a picture yet, but I just finished planting my last 50 of about 400 daffodils in clumps in my shade garden and they really give a great morale boost in late March. I just got a digital camera and hope to post a picture or two in the spring.
Barb

Brent--did you put any daffs in your shade garden? Anything coming up? just wondering...t.

Thanks for asking! I drop in on this thread once and a while just to see the pictures. Last year seemed so busy, so looking a "before" pictures reminds me that I did actually get something done! I am really excited about spring, but it looks like I will have to wait a few more weeks.

I did not plant any bulbs in this bed, but it would be a great spot. Much of the shade is from deciduous trees, so the bulbs would get a good amount of light this time of year. Maybe this fall. I did plant 50 or so bulb in my front yard last fall.

I did see what looked like a bulb that must have been planted here sometime in the past coming up. I got excited thinking that it might be a hosta. I also noticed some green growth on the azaleas and the oakleaf hydrangea, but nothing from the perennials yet.

- Brent

pictures coming?

-Lurker

Eagerly waiting here as well. :-)

Me too!! The Oakleaf Hydrangea looks cool putting out new leaves and the emerging leaves of the Viburnum are really neat. I see random hosta eyes looking at me but it still looks pretty bare. A few more weeks and this bed should start filling in. Hopefully the Rhodie and Azaleas will bloom this year.

- Brent

I have not watched this thread much as my trees are just now getting large enough to make shade. Brent it was very interesting to follow your thread. You have made great progress and am sure you are enjoying that lovely corner now. My daughter lives in Fairfax Va, and has way too much shade. And after having grown up here in N.Central Wa, she hates here clayey soil. DonnaS

I'm really looking forward to seeing your pictures this spring and summer. I am clearing an area (very slowly) that is much like your first picture, but smaller. Just now getting the last of the debris from last year's hurricanes cleared out, and found that ferns had spread into the area under all that mess. Hurrah!
Pati

P.S. Until I finish pulling weed vines, etc., I'm going to put containers of Caladiums, Coleus and Impatience around the area.

This message was edited Apr 20, 2005 9:08 AM

Okay, here is a sneak peak. Most of the hostas are still in the process of leafing out so I suspect that the bed will look fuller in a month or two. I purchased the astilbe during Home Depot's fall clearance and I was not sure if they would survive, but now they are huge.

- Brent

It's really looking nice, Brent. It should be a very lovely and cooling area this summer. I couple of comfortable chairs, a small table to hold a cool drink and a good book ......wonderful! Dotti

Looking good Brent! I'm watching your progress and envying you your hostas. My shade garden is turning out to have more ferns (which I love), white caladiums, and my coleus for color. I still have a large portion still to clear, but basically it has the same shape as yours.

I'm still a little "gun shy" about the hurricanes, so everything is still in containters that can be rescued if need be. I have used dark green pots and have some in plant stands of varied heights to give a little interest.
Pati

Pati,

Just a suggestion, to keep the pots from falling over, until you are more comfortable putting them directly into the ground, maybe you should plant the pots, say, halfway into the ground. It would stablize them, make them easier to pull up if you needed to and it would look a little more natural.

Just a thought.

:^)))

What a GREAT thought, Molly!!! That side of the house acts like a wind tunnel and I do have worries about things turning over. The good part of that though, is even on the hottest days there always seems to be a breeze there. Thanks for the suggestion.
Pati

It's looking good, Brent. Looking forward to more pics!
Terrie

More pics! More pics!

I will try to take a few closer up pictures in the next week or two. Most of the hostas are pretty well leafed out. There is a noticeable void between the hostas and the shrubs. The $2 azaleas seemed like a good idea but it may take a while for them to fill in. I have been debating about how to fill in this area. I might purchase some larger azaleas, but I think I would prefer some Pieris japonica. Maybe I will add a few more hostas and wait for the azaleas to fill in. I would also love to add some ferns. I have also been debating about integrating a small bench. Even if I never actually sat there it would look inviting.

- Brent

I put together a panorama. Let's see how the uploaded picture turns out.

edit: not bad, but if you want a larger (~200K) image try this:
http://langdonweb.home.mindspring.com/posts/shade_garden_2005_05.jpg

- Brent


This message was edited May 19, 2005 10:33 PM

That looks fantastic! Really! :) It is hard waiting for it all to fill out isn't it??? Especially the trees and shrubs. LOL -- I'm so good at visualizing what it all WILL someday look like that sometimes I'm actually surprised to see a photo and how pitifully small all of my plants are! LOL :) But what can I do??? I just decide to let a planted bed do it's thing all in it's sweet time and move on to another spot. Maybe an annual here or there to fill out a bit, but there's sooooo much that needs to be done. I want it all yesterday, but have to just keep on visualizing the finished product and let my baby plants have a little time. I tell my hubby, "In about 8 years, it will all look sooo different!" and I actually sound pleased! EIGHT YEARS??!! He thinks I'm crazy, I just know it :)

Your hostas look like they are loving it there. They are really coming out nicely...must be really good 'dirt'. We're waiting for the close ups of the plants...

any little bluebell blulbs in there from the co-op for some early spring color?

Looking for more pics anytime. ;-) t.

Yea...the waiting game. That is a big reason why I splurged on the 8-gallon Oakleaf Hydrangea. I have a pretty big area to fill in. 'Alice' can grow up to 12' x 12'. It is hard to picture a shrub of that size, but I figured that a 1-gallon plant was not going to get me there very fast. I love the looks of 4+ year old hostas, but cannot complain with how these ones planted last year are filling in.

I should total up my costs for this bed. I would estimate somewhere around $250 in plants, with the Fosters Holly and the Oakleaf Hydrangea accounting for over $100 of that. I count 10 hostas and most of them are very common ones. The Shasta Viburnum was a great buy for $7.50 on fall clearance. Only a few flowers this year, but I love the leaf texture and look forward to the fall color.

Funny...back in 2002 I dropped $50 on a purple rhododendron from a local nursery as a Mother's Day present for my wife. I spent the extra because it was the best purple color and she likes purple. It did not bloom in 2003 or 2004, but is blooming this year. The $14 one that I picked up from Lowes last year is as big as the $50 one and it is blooming this year as well.

The hostas here are (left to right):
- Zager's White Edge
- Halcyon
- Wide Brim
- Green? Was in the bed
- Gold Standard
- Francee
- Krossa Regal (behind Francee)
- Guacamole (between the trees)
- fortunei Aureomarginata (front row)
- August Moon
(I might have Halcyon and Krossa Regal switched)

The other perennials are:
- Sedum 'Vera Jameson' (seems happy...looks cool)
- Astilbe x 3 (pink..need to look up the name)
- Japanese Painted Fern x 2
- Heuchera 'Palace Purple'

The shrubs:
- Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice' (Oakleaf Hydrangea)
- Ilex x attenuata ‘Fosteri’ (Fosters Holly)
- Rhodendron (w/ purple flowers)
- Azalea 'Girard Pink' x 5 (though small...one about dead)
- Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum 'Shasta'

- Brent

I think it's really coming together nicely, Brent :) Much bigger than even my biggest plant! LOL :)

awww... little babies are growing, growing...

Lookin' Good, Brent!