Shade Garden Inspiration - Show off your garden!

These border lilies only get two hours of sun in the morning but then bright shade the rest of the day. (Picture is second year.) I tried roses there hoping that it would be enough light, a failure. The daliahs didn't please me either, now I'm going with cannas.
Wish I had seen that beautiful Nelly Moser before I ordered my clematis this year. It's really wonderful...and shade tested too.

I am going to plant Tiny Snowflake and Sweet surrender in between the Hostas here.
T Snowflake will go at the walkway and Sweet Surrender will be behind the JM.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2010 7:06 AM

Here I've found that lilies in the shade are either shorter or stretching for the sun and for every flower I may miss out on, due to the shade, I have the others that last longer.

Very nice display, Pigweed.

There are specifics for what constitutes part shade, full shade, etc. but the biggest help is the gardener seeing what works. A neighbor, who is a Master Gardener, planted her Joseph's Coat roses (3 of them) in shade. If they got an hour of direct sun it was a lot. As you'd expect they're gone now since they were disappointing to her: the roses must have been disappointed in her!

Last year I did try dahlias in front of the area with the lilies in part shade - it was close to 100% failure - all my own fault.

For any lilies that anyone wants to try in any type of shade I would recommend planting in pots, which can easily be moved if it doesn't work out to your satisfaction.

always good advise from pirl.

It's called learning by mistakes: experience.

Kaylyred - What is the large blue flower(s) in the picture you posted on June 1, 2009 -post #6629540. It is gorgeous! Looks to me like some kind of balloon flower, but I cannot find any so big! I would love to know! Thanks!!

You mean the ones in the background here?

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6629540

They do look like balloon flowers, but they're not. They're campanula persicifolia 'Ceorulea'

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/89717/

And I suspect the camera angle makes the blooms look bigger than they actually are. They're really not overly large--maybe 1" across at the very most (and I suspect less; I just can't remember precisely.) I don't recall them being much bigger than the bloom on a balloon flower, but since I don't have any in my garden I really don't have any way to compare them.

Still, they seem to have bloomed just fine in dappled shade last year, which I consider a plus! They really never got any direct sun and they handled the conditions with style. (They're under the branches of a mature maple.) We'll see how they do this year and how prolifically they reseed under the conditions I stuck them in. :)

Kaylyred - Yes, those- they look HUGE in the picture!! Very pretty, no matter the size! Thanks for responding!! Samantha

I'm eager to try some of Evison's clematises in hanging baskets.



This message was edited Aug 23, 2010 11:33 AM

I got Diana's delight this year. And Guernsey Cream was my first clematis and is a consistent favorite. A hanging basket sounds fantastic!!

I'm going to use a couple of mature elderberry bushes that I'm trying to kill as supports for clems this year.

I used to have Asiatic Lilies in the shade here, they got some morning sun but the rest of the time it was all shaded by trees and the shadow of the house and they did so well, but I was surprised. They even had sort of bad drainage there. I forgot about Lilies until you guys all started talking about them. I had several Candy lilies from seed that never bloomed in the pure sun here, and they got eaten by a gopher that year, I think because they never came back up the next year. They were from seed so I thought maybe it was a biannual or something. I never looked them up, but should do it again. They look so nice in your garden.

I met Jasper Dale at the RU's here.

Thanks for the Evison video.
I need more clems now.
Enablers all.Where will it end.

I'm looking forward to all the new faces in the garden this year.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2010 11:35 AM

Drowning in clem pics and redoing files for 2 Ceramic tubs.New combo pics and everything.
I just have to decide which clems to choose.

I've been working on a project of selecting which ones to order for months now and I'm still not done.

I added Fleurie and a white one ?Halls

Halls?

Hyde Hall

Thank you. I thought maybe I had missed one.

I have to slow down on the net.Too many balls in the air. Confused and disabled.
My lily bulbs in the garage are in good shape. That has me psyched.
Lilies are so forgiving.

Agreed.

I've received lilies with mold that went on to bloom beautifully. It's the dried out ones or the totally mushy ones that can be problems.

Ohh yes.The mushy ones. First year here I planted a tub of First Crown.Only 1 grew .I emptied the tub and planted the stalk in Sarahs garden. It took 2 years to bloom. The rest of the bulbs went to compost,they were nearly there anyway.

Zuzu is way too addictive.

One of the nicest parts of growing clematis is that after the first flush of blooms there are the surprise blooms throughout the rest of the year.

I am slowly add ing Clems to my gardens. I think a walk to the creek after the snow melts is in order.
Pirl suggested dead branches for trelises .In this tract tany tree removal is done by contractors and they chip everything they cut down.
Trimming saw and a rope should get me what I want.

Just so everyone understands, I thought dead branches, about an inch wide, could be spray painted to match Jo Ann's cobalt blue container and they could lead the clematis towards the rose bush where she wants them to bloom.

Ohhh, very cool idea! I love seeing unexpected jolts of color in the garden. That's something that is very inviting about JD's garden... it's got a fun randomness to it with the great mixtures of hues, textures and items used in unexpected ways. Great imagination, Pirlie!

Rooguchi does grow well in the shade here. However it's a very small clem and not a climber and the flowers are small and dark so they are a little hard to see in a shade garden. I love it because I know that it's there though!

New combo for new part shade garden.
The Gold Heart will be planted with Astilbes and Hosta.This garden is visited by deer from time to time so I will have to spray the lilies and hostas there.

Good morning JoAnn. I keep meaning to ask you how you do your collages - is it Picassa, or something else? They are so nice, and I look forward to them. Terri

Terri! Its Picasa. Its so easy when you learn the software. Choose the pics and picasa arranges them for you. Its embarassing that people think I am that clever.

That's a great color combo! The 'Gold Heart' dicentra will really pop. Have you maybe considered adding a gold-leafed hosta somewhere in the combo to fill in for the 'Gold Heart' after it goes dormant in the summer? Or something like one of the bright green heucheras could fill the bill, too.

I've had some pretty good luck keeping my dicentras from going dormant by cutting them back by about 1/2 to 2/3rds after they finish flowering. (Don't wait too long, though, or they start to go dormant.) I've even had some rebloom, which people tell me is almost unheard of with dicentras. The one I had the best luck with got full morning sun, then full shade all afternoon (it was on a north-facing foundation.) You do have to keep them moist, though, if you want to avoid the dormancy.

Of course, I've only tried this with plain ol' dicentra spectabilis, not 'Gold Heart.' But I love the color of the gold against the pinkish red hearts. Kind of reminds me of a corydalis I saw at our local nursery last year...'Cherry Berry,' I think it was called. That one almost followed me home, and just might this year. :)

Thats great advise. I am trying to develop that area into a easy care place. I will consider some of the light green Heucheras as the gold leaf Hostas are slug bait here not to mention the deer.
I will plant Palace purple heuc. but there are heucherellas with green gold leaves that will work too.

I think the spot will look beautiful regardless. It looks very stunning in your collage. :)

I'm not sure, but I think 'Maui Buttercups' isn't a terribly big hosta and may be pretty slug resistant with it's heavy corrugated leaves. I could be wrong, though--I don't have it in my garden...yet. hehe

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/4726/

This message was edited Feb 28, 2010 12:14 PM

I had heard slugs dont like heavy leaves.

Slugs don't but deer aren't as discriminating.

SPRAY SPRAY SPRAY

You're hired!

I had this freak freeze so now I am afraid to start some of my direct sow shade plants that I was hoping to toss in the ground. Too early so maybe I will have to do more in water bottles, it is a pain but worth it.