Need help Gardening In Deep Shade

Well, I'm new here, but very impressed with responses I have seen on this forum. I think I'll like it here! I have a narrow side yard on the east side of my house that stays shaded most of the day between a maple tree & my house. I'm looking to fill it in with some ground cover, but not sure where to start. I do have some hostas & bleeding hearts in a bed that are doing well but need something to fill in the lack of grass outside the area. Color would be nice!

You can try Red Cardinal flower, Soloman's seal, and some ferns for plants. For colorful ferns Japanese Painted Ferns are great!! Soloman's Seal can come in solid green with little flowers or varaigated with the flowers also. I have the varaigated and it is really pretty. I also have a Downy Skull Cap in shade and it is a compainion plant to the cardinal.

My favorite shade plant is astilbe. There are many different cultivars and all of them are beautiful, in my opinion. If you are looking for a low ground cover that works in the shade, I know several, but the ones I know are all invasive to one degree or another....

http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=astilbe&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

That's a link to all the astilbe in the Plant Files here on Dave's Garden. If you go down the list you will get a good idea of how varied they can be and how lovely they are.

Kim

You'd have to treat them like an annual..or lift the bulbs each fall, but caladiums are wonderful for color in the shade. I'm never without any...the bulbs are cheap enough that you don't have to mess with lifting them if you don't want to.

I totally forgot about Astilbe!! Shame on me!! I even have some!! LOL. Another great plant is toad lily. They love shade.

Ghost fern really lights up the shade, and don't forget gold colored hostas. I mix impatiens in with my shady beds for spots of color.

An awesome groundcover for shade is Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow'
It has a varigated leaf with cream and pink tones. It has a 3to4 inch spike flower. There are also other varieties of Ajuga. Also called Bugle Weed. A newer variety I have never seen has really small leaves deep maroon in colour. Of course you can use Japanese spurge, (not so attractive.)

Wow! I have been scouring some of my books & found that many of your suggestions were listed there. I planted some astilbe & salvia in a bed in front of my porch with the hosta I already have there. I lined the front edge with impatians. (my favorite!) Oh, I forgot to mention that this is the North side of my house.
On to the east, This will be some work. The area is DEEP shade, with very compact soil. I will be out tomorrow to add some topsoil & probably peat moss. I have some english ivy & perwinkle to put in. I am worried about killing plants, so I'll probably lean towards the caladiums for some color.(Cheaper than perinnials too) What does a red cardinal flower look like? Sounds interesting!

The cardinal flower gets tall with red tubular flowers on it.

www.davesgarden.com/pf/go/379/index.html

The ajuga is a winner in my shade garden. I know that this is not a ground cover but it spreads like one. hehehe lung wart. I think I am calling it right loves my shade with it's happy white pockadot leaves and different colored flowers pink, dark pink, blue... very fun plants.

I really like Bishops weed too, but it dies back in the winter.... Same with Sweet woodruff....

do have a look at this forum, specially dedicated to gardening in the shade. There are some wonderful threads in there that will give you loads of inspiration!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/shady/all/

The Hellebores are fabuleus too for shade;
here is a thread about them;

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/691619/

Just got back to this thread...Are you sure about the ivy? You may never be able to control it if it does as it does here. Talk about running and clinging. Reminds me of my youngest the summer before she started kindergarten!!
Bev

I second the ajuga.

I'll also mention vinca minor (I have 'illumination') and maybe lamium.


Carl

Not too sure what Hearts and Flowers would do in your area but I have some that get 1 hour midday sun in my yard and they are running strong!! They get some pretty little pink/red flowers on them and the leaves are a strong succulant type! I just trim them away from other plants and then let it do it's thing.

Not sure if you have thought of becoming a member or not. You sound like you have quite a bit of knowledge already but jumping on the forum for your area can help a great deal!!

Best of luck and let us know what you decided to put in! I'm up for anything new!!!

Ajuga is awesome, also Hostas and Lung Wart (cool plant with white dots). I have a Tree Peony that love it in my shade too..

I don't think a single ray of sunsihne hits my Firespike and it has come back 3 years now.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1854/

Also, my ajuga is still doing quite well. Just finished a blomm/spread cycle.

I just planted some Moneywort. very cute and kinda bright..I also planted a Persian Shield, but it will get a tiny but of sun.



Carl

Golden creeping Jenny (moneywort) is a good choice. Mine spilled out of a planter last year and rooted itself right in my garden. It's thriving this year. I do hear that it changes colors depending on the amount of sun it gets, but it's still a pretty, bright yellow-green. Very low-growing and creeping. In some areas I understand it can be invasive, but it hasn't been for me. The root system is shallow and any runaways are easy to pull. I like this plant!

I'll also second (third, fourth?) ajuga. I have 'Bronze Beauty' in my garden and I really enjoy it. About the only issue I have with it is that it looks ugly in the spring as its recovering from winter. Big fat stolons lie on top of the soil and the leaves don't start returning until mid- to late-spring. Mine are just now starting to perk up after a long hard winter, although I suspect they're a bit late in returning. Here's a picture of the ajuga just behind some sweet woodruff. Incidentally, the sweet woodruff makes a nice ground cover for shade, too!

I'm in zone 9 so these might be annuals for you but here are my favorites: flowering tobacco, begonias, foxgloves, columbine, ligularia, money plant, lychnis coronaria, fuschia, also mints grow well in the shade but keep them in a pot lined with screen, abutilon and I have a really sweet ground gover that loves shade but I have to look up the name.