Shade gardens can be the focal point of the yard

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • March 8, 2013
  • 370
                        
Summary: In the heat of summer the shady areas of the yard can become a place to unwind and relax. Dress them up with plants that thrive in low light. Plant lovers with shady yards can still enjoy a lush landscape when they choose shade-loving plants for places that get little or no direct sun. There are a variety of plants that thrive in low light and can brighten up a dull spot in the yard. Ferns are a shade garden favorite. The long, lacy leaves can serve as a decorative groundcover but come in taller varieties as well. Ferns prefer moist soil with a lot of organic matter. Foxgloves add old-fashioned charm to any garden. While they are short lived they self-seed and will reappear year after year. In varieties from 18 inches to six feet, foxgloves can add bursts of color to a shade garden with tubular flowers in shades of pink, red, apricot and purple. No shade garden is complete without the hardy hosta. With thousands of varieties in a multitude of colors and leaf shapes, hostas add interest to the shadiest corner of the yard. Flowers in pink, white or purple rise above dense leafy clumps that come in various shades of green, white and yellow that also comes in variegated varieties. Caladium loves the shade and thrives in humid conditions. Native to Brazil the large-leafed plants grow from tuberous roots that can be dug up and replanted each spring once the danger of frost has passed. Impatiens are the go-to summer annual and come in every color imaginable. Easy to grow and virtually maintenance-free, impatiens bloom all summer long even without deadheading. Strikingly beautiful in beds, borders or mass plantings, impatiens need plenty of water. New Guinea varieties tolerate some sun but like other impatiens, they prefer shade. One of the sweetest smelling shade plants is sweet woodruff. In spring tiny white flowers linger for weeks atop the apple-scented leaves of this shade-loving ground cover that is hardy even in the coldest climates. Hellebore makes a great groundcover and deer leave it alone. Green all year long the plant has beautiful flowers in a variety of different colors and blooms in late winter. Often overlooked as a choice for the shade garden are ornamental grasses. Grasses can grow quite tall and look best at the back of flower beds. They provide four seasons of interest and act as a winter shelter for birds and other wildlife. Larger plants like hydrangea do well in shade and produce gorgeous white or pink blooms. Depending on the soil some pink blooms turn blue or purple and are stunning in the shaded garden. Some herbs do just fine in the shade garden. Lemon balm and many varieties of mint spread quickly and can be used as a ground cover. Easily invasive, both herbs can get out of control and should be planted in a container if this is not desired. Another herb for the shade garden has culinary and medicinal uses. Flat leaf parsley has always been described as a full sun plant but will do just fine in the dappled light of the partially shaded garden. A shaded yard does not mean you can’t grow a delightful garden. This is just a short list of shade-tolerant plants. There are plenty more that can turn a bare spot into the focal point of the yard.


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