Shade Garden

I have about a 3' x 20' strip on the south side of my house that is directly under trees. During the spring, it recieves full sun, but by the time the leaves are on the trees, its in full shade all day. I have been trying to find things to put in it because it looks so sparse. I have a hosta, spring blooming bulbs, and some sort of ground cover(I think some sort of sedum?), and some mums. Once spring is over, its really quite boring. Are there any ideas on summer and fall blooming plants for shade? Also, it is very windy there, so something sturdy would be nice. I was thinking of just some sort of variegated ground cover to bring some color and filling it in during the summer and fall. But, I'm worried that having a ground cover over the entire thing will choke out the bulbs. Any ideas?

For full shade in summer I always think Impatience and Coleus for lovely color. Here in Florida I have trouble with even growing Impatience in the shade in the summer months because of the expreme heat, but they are my most beautiful Oct to May colors.
Pati

Thanks Pati for the ideas. I've thought of those, but I suppose I should have mentioned I was kinda looking for perennials. I'd like to plant it not have to worry about it much. I really like impatiens and coleus...so much I've thought they might be worth planting every year. Can coleus be wintered inside? Also, I was thinking about caladium. I was hoping to go with reds, oranges, and yellows for the summer and fall months.

Kristie

I can't believe I forgot Caladiums!! Mine stay in the ground all the time. All my plants are in containers (old and Arthritic, can't dig, LOL) and they just die back and come back up again. Coleus can be wintered inside and new cuttings can be started as they get leggy. By spring you have all your plants ready to go out.

We have a Coleus addiction bunch here on DG that has a lot of info on growing Coleus up north. I love them because there are sooooooo many varieties and colors and you don't have to wait on blooms for color. I call them my instant gratification plant. LOL
Pati

Coleus Forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/coleus/all/

Kristie,

I had a huge thread going in the Shade Forum... but you have to be a "paying" member to view those, and many of the other forums, including Coleus.

I have a bed, roughly - 55' x 2' that i need to fill in (some of the plants are on the way, and i will be planting next week) I have ferns in there right now, along with naturalizing lilies, that has been recommended that I pull out...

here is what i'm adding this year, with the possibility of coleus that i started by seed

I also have a lil "dwarf" bleeding heart.

Pati,
I'm with you on instant gratification! I think impatience is half my gardening woes! Thanks for the coleus link...I think that will help me decide if coleus is right for me.

tcs1366,
Thanks for sharing your pictures....they're lovely. Are some of those begonias of some sort? Also, what is the variegated thing that looks like a fern? I've also thought of astilbe, they would bring some of the color I want. But, on top of it all, behind my little garden plot is the crawl space to our house. I don't want anything too tall in there that makes it difficult to get into it(without killing my plants!). Unfortunately, at the time I put in this little patch of garden, I didn't know much about gardening....just that I wanted flowers there. I really love variegated plants, but I know if you get too many different ones going it isn't always aesthetically pleasing. I really love the caladium and coleus, but having to dig them up each year is a turn off. Not to mention another problem with my plot is that since it is under some trees, the tree roots keep growing up in it, making it hard to dig very deep. Next time I will choose more carefully where to put flowers!

Thank you so much for all of your comments, its very helpful.

Kristie

Kristie,

oh... sorry, i should have posted the names with them....

Here's the perennials i have coming:

North Side Shade Garden:
Brise d' Anjou Polemonium (2) **Variegated thing ** (this i am VERY excited about getting)
Deutschland Astilbe (3)
Woodland Phlox (montrose tricolor)
Heurchera, Plum Pudding (1)
Hosta, Patroit & Golden Tiara
*the ferns i have are Ostrich ferns

-- for in front of the entry to your crawlspace, you could get a ground cover that blooms... one that can handle a lil foot traffic.

hope this helps,

terese

Terese,
Thanks for the names of your plants. I'd never heard of Polemonium, I can see why you're very excited about it. Its pretty. I suppose I should have also mentioned that right in front of the crawl space is a small decorative fence. I need to draw a picture...or take a picture...if I get ahold of a digital camera, I will. But, The whole section with the crawl space is probably 6' x 20'. It used to be all rock enclosed with beams. I decided I wanted flowers there, so I made the front half(from the fence up) a gardening area and the back half is still rock with some stepping stones. The fence is maybe 3 ' long and maybe 3' high. It was placed right in front of the crawl space to hide it. I have started some sort of sedum where the rocks and the dirt meet. I think its sedum, its some sort of ground cover that looks just like green roses...its a succulent. I thought it was some sort of hen and chicks at first. I have thought about putting Chameleon plant there for a ground cover; but I've heard its intrusive. i wouldn't necessarily mind this, because I think the beams would help keep it enclosed, and I want the whole area covered....I just don't want the existing flowers and bulbs to be choked out.

Thanks again for all the help, and all the pictures!

Kristie

I would think about putting in more Hostas (so many different kinds and colors) and you can plant them right with the bulbs. Also Japanese painted ferns, Hellebores, Variegated Brunneras, Heucheras (alot of new fun colors), Hakonechloa aureo, Tiarellas, Salvia Mt. fugi (variegated). Variegated disporum, Saxifraga stolonifera.
Edited to say I have tried the Brize D'Anjou several times in the past and with no luck. It melts away in the summer and never returns. Good luck with yours.

This message was edited Apr 15, 2007 12:52 PM

Have you seen 'Snow and Sapphires' Polemonium caeruleum? It's supposed to be a stronger cultivar, with a more reliable habit.
I was lucky to find a couple Hakonechloas last fall, I do hope they made it through winter. I wish I had potted them up and brought them inside.
I could not find that salvia, did you mean 'Fuji Snow,' a variegated groundcover? The variegated disporum and Saxifraga stolonifera are new to me as well, thanks for suggesting them!:)
I have a similar plot to work on, under the dry shade of a Crimson King Norway maple. I'm looking for larger plants to complement my old Elegans hosta, so far I have smaller groundcovers like golden creeping jenny, geranium sanguineum, and plain green brunnera (looks good with all the varigated hostas), and dwarf pink astilbes, lots of other hostas.
tcs what is that heucherella? Heading over to look at your thread!

PrairieGirl,

the purple is Plum Pudding and the green with "veins" is Peppermint Spice
both are Heurchera.

Terese

oppps ... this thread is in Midwest Forum -- regarding coral bells
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/694591/#post_3232237

this was my "shade" thread -- there are great photos for shade, but not the ones above
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/692445/

Thanks for all the suggestions....I have thought about more hostas...but I don't know if I want a lot of hostas....I really like them, but I don't think I want a bunch. I will have to look up some of the ones you've mentioned, but its good to hear creeping jenny works in the shade, I had considered using that....I really want some sort of ground cover, I think right now it looks so sparse, it drives me nuts. I have also considered some sort of mulch, but I'm afraid when it gets really windy it will just blow it all out......

Kristie

The creeping jenny can even be invasive, so I didn't put too much in there, one small plant that was left from a hanging basket. It's dry shade I have, so I'm surprised when anything makes it!

terese - I checked out your threads, are you positive you can't widen that shade bed? Maybe eventually, as things fill, in you could add a few blocks to the sides and curve it outward? Peppermint Spice is going on the "must have" list. I really like that, even better than the popular heucherella 'Stoplight.'

Has anyone here in IL tried that 'Woodlander' hydrangea serrata that Sid's sells?

I'm also thinking of trying some dwarf dicentras, the new ones supposedly don't go dormant? 'Ivory Hearts' or 'Candy Hearts,' saw them in WFF catalog. TIA.

Never heard of the new dicentras that do not go dormant.....I wonder about that. Geranium Macrorrhizum is also another shade possiblilty. The Polemonium you mention will be better to deal with. It is like the corydalis...the blue ones don't seem to make it here but the yellow one reseeds all over the place...also consider the fern leaf Corydalis. And how about some Asarums.

Asarums don't like clay so much, they prefer a more acidic soil too. I have my eye on shiny flats of pachysandra. I know, I know, but this is a real problem child, (whispers) dry shade. Haha, I don't want the ground to hear me and mock my efforts.

Wood chips and paving stones are looking pretty good right about now, LOL.

i once tried Pachysandra at my old house... no luck.

i noticed at our RV park, I have a lot of it (we are totally shaded, so there is no grass.... plants and wood chips... but a good amount of pachysandra.) -- we just bought in Sept, so i'm not familiar with all the plants yet.

for an area like Kristie has, by the crawl space.... a nice low ground cover and stepping stones would look great.... and a few ferns.

Brise d' Anjou Polemonium can often disappear after the first year or two. It doesn't seem to be very stable. You may want to look at Stairway to Heaven. I've been very happy with it.

A colorful groundcover you may like is Lamium Purple Dragon. I planted two 4" pots of them fall of '05 and this pic was taken last year in October. It was still blooming a bit then. This spot gets some late afternoon sun after 3.

plantaholic,

I like the lamium....can you get it in red?

Kristie

Just don't get Lamiastrum...the yellow archangel..it will be all over you. Ground cancer. I don't think Lamium comes in red...but who knows what is happening in the plant world now. lamium can be rather invasive also.

Well, I don't know if I'm all turned off by invasive ground cover. The area I have is enclosed with beams and is maybe 5 foot from the road and is under two trees with really bad roots. Behind it, like I said is the gravel, house and crawl space. To the east is the patio and to the left is rock and then the lawn(the previous owners put gravel around the entire house). I really want something that will cover it well so Idon't see the bare spots....I really, really like the chameleon plant, but have heard its very invasive also. I wouldn't mind it going rampid, as long as it didn't choke out my spring bulbs......

Kristie

Well, you can see from my photo that 2 small pots became that size in 2 seasons. But the good thing about Lamium is that it is very easy to control if it is growing too quickly. It will depend on soil and sun too. I have Lamium 'Nancy' in another area and it barely grows at all. I want it to fill out an area and I've been waiting 10 years and it barely gets bigger. I may have to move some of this Lamium to that area.

Lamium 'Purple Dragon' comes in um ... 'Purple' :-)

I was hoping for a red dragon.....lol.

Ok, so I've finally started looking up all of the plants suggested. I think I already have some sort of saxifrage. This is the stuff I keep referring to as sedum. I really like the brunneras and heucheras. I think I am just going to have to take a picture of my little "bed" so you can see it....I'm having total artistic block when it comes to this. That, and I'm afraid I love all the colorful, variegated plants...and I could see it looking more like a sick circus than a pretty garden......But, I do think I'm gonna do some serious consideration on the brunneras and heucheras....do they last all summer long?(since I need something to cover summer through fall). Oops....also forgot to ask if the heuchera and brunnera can be started from seed?

This message was edited Apr 16, 2007 8:50 PM

i searched for "red", "shade" and "groundcover"
and there came up empty.

but PART shade

http://springhillnursery.com/search.asp?t=pf&pf_c=2&pf_z=any&pf_se=Partial_Shade&pf_fc=Red&pf_u=Ground_Covers&x=13&y=10

at first i was thinking dragon's blood red sedum.... i recall i had some sedum with red flowers at my old house, that was part shade, and it did fine.

the phlox, i can't see full shade... the other one, i know nothing about.

i also searched for red sedum, and didnt come up with much else.

it may be tough to find a red shade groundcover.

heuchera and brunnera can be started from seed?

found this.... scroll all the way down to where it talks about growing from seeds.
http://www.perennials.com/seehowto.html?item=11

tcs,

lol....thanks. Heucheras I suppose I'd have a chance with if I were an andvanced seed starter....but I'm not. D@#$%!

Also, I've seen the dragon's blood red sedum, but I was a little worried with it being partial shade. Its full sun in the spring until the leaves sprout on the trees....but by summer its full shade....I really, really like the heucheras, maybe I'll just get a lot of those. I do really like the chameleon plant too, but I don't think it would be as colorful in full shade......and, still worried about it choking out my bulbs.

Thanks for all the searching.....I think I've spent the last hour looking up all the suggestions on here!

Kristie

Kristie

at my old house (I refer to it A LOT because i had a beautiful southern flower bed, total perennials... took me years to accomplish it, only to have the new homeowner yank 90% of it..... the yuccas are left **rolls eyes**)


but... i had A LOT of sedum and creeping phlox and I had bulbs.... and never a problem witghthe bulbs coming up.
granted, some ground covers have a tighter "weave" than others... but i dont think you'd ever have a problem with sedum.

kristie,

go to the forums page http://davesgarden.com/forums/
and any forum where there ISN"T an asterisk, you can access it without being a "member"
so you can go into the Heuchera forum.

also, see if you can find a "region" where you live... others can be helpful with what they have in their gardens too.

terese

ohhh...thanks, I didn't see the heuchera link! Also, you're close to my region....I'm not exactly sure where Itasca is, but I've heard of it. I'm south of Champaign-Urbana... Which brings me to a zoning question...what's the difference between 5a and 5b? I put 5b down as a lucky guess...I knew I was in zone 5....didn't know it broke down any farther....

Kristie

yay!! Just found out heucheras are evergreen! I wanted something evergreen there! I think I'm in love....thanks for introducing me to this plant!! *salivating*

Kristie

You can go here and find some links to maps that will help you look up your zone
http://davesgarden.com/zone/
I don't remember my Illinois geography too much, but if you're south of Champaign-Urbana you're probably in 5b, maybe even 6a. If you use the first link to the USDA map, you'll see that Illinois is divided sort of in thirds, the top 3rd is 5a, middle 3rd is 5b, and bottom 3rd is 6a.

Ok, yep, I'm in 5b...possibly border line 5a. I guessed right...amazing. Thanks...

Guess Champaign-Urbana is a bit farther north than I remembered! I went to grad school at Indiana U. in Bloomington, and I thought C-U was about straight west of there. Told you I didn't remember my Illinois geography!

Kristie~'Snow Angel' heuchera is white and green, kind of blotchy, but it is also evergreen. The really good part is the blooms are red! And it gets a pinkish tinge in autumn, that lasts all winter. I used it in a hanging basket and plopped it in the garden in fall, what a surprise that was! I think you're on the right track, it would be better to plant something en masse, than to plant a variety of plants right off the bat. That would have the most impact.

Only "red" groundcover I can think of would be (not perennial) but red impatiens..red forms of coleus. I had that Snow Angel and loved it but it disappeared after a few years...I think it was in a place that was too wet. then covered with leaves in winter and rotted away. BTW the bulbs will not be bothered by any of these.

Kristie,

i'm straight west of O'Hare, 5 miles. about 30 from downtown.

I'd say you are a 5b, as you aren't that far south.

Terese

Ecrane,
Since your were in Indy, we won't hold your geography against you. I'm considered central Illinois....I'm about 30 minutes SW of Danville, if that helps....I know Danville's right on the Indy border. I should know much more than I do.....my hubby's a truck driver. He cringes every time I say that I'm going down to someplace when its really "up", etc....

Prairiegirl,
Snow Angel sounds nice. I'm gonna have to look it up. I saw a very deep red one that I liked, but I don't remember what it was called....I also saw Stoplight, which has the colors I want, but a little too bright for me. The red flowers with the Snow Angel would be nice, and I dig a pinkish tinge.....I'll have to check it out. Will my one lone hosta look funny in with a mass of heucheras?

Lyla,
I have really thought about impatiens, coleus, or caladium, I just don't want to have to dig the coleus or caladium up all the time and I want to try to avoid replanting every year in this area. The area is pretty dry unless I water it, so maybe if I take really good care of the Snow Angel, it will make it through! Thanks for the advice!

tcs,
I thought Itasca was in that area! Hubby will be proud. Yeah, I thought I was a 5b...see, I don't know my own Illinois geography, and I've lived here my whole life.....sad. lol

Thanks so much for everyone's input! It's really helped!
Kristie

I don't think one hosta will look bad, but a few (maybe three?) different ones always looks nice, and who can stop at just one? naughty, naughty. :0)

You could always move the hosta, now would be the time, as it emerges. They combine well in pots, with finer leaved plants like ferns, so you could always pot it up, maybe add a torenia for a hit of color, and stick it in a shady spot.

Yes, I don't think I could stop at just one. It is starting to emerge, there are 7 different sprouts...its been there for 2-3 years, should I separate it out ? Also, I suppose on the color of heucheras I picked as to whether or not it would like bad...I suppose if they complemented the hosta, it'd be ok, right? Torenia? Never heard of that either, so I'm off to look it up......

Thanks,

Kristie
(do I need to put "edited to say:"?) Anyway, looked up the Torenia...very pretty...I can see how it would go with a hosta quite well....good call!


This message was edited Apr 17, 2007 10:51 AM