Shade Gardening

[buster]

Am I the only one who likes to do shade gardens? Come on guys let's get this group going again.My first garden I started here was my shade garden. It's almost finished. Just need a couple more plantsand more moss. I want a couple more of the new hydrangeas, Endless Summer.I'm waiting for a sale on them.Then all the shade plants and herbs will just have to grow and fill in and hopefuuly the rabbits will leave them alone. Buster.

[mla2ofus]

I only have 2 small shade area's. One I redesigned last year (with some advise from fellow BS'ers -Thanks) I have bleeding hearts, hosta, astilbe, coral bells,silver beacon lamium and columbine in it. My other one has jacobs ladder, polemnaria (sp), hosta and viola. Both have various spring bulbs in them. No room for any shrubs.

[Audwoman]

I love shade plants. :wub: Most people love only flowers. They are so fleeting a flower today gone tomorrow.

[buster]

Great pix. I can't wait until my plants grow some,but this is only there first year. I planted my shade garden on the north side of my house. I call it my shady nook. I'll take pix when it's finished.Buster

[SilenceOfTheClams]

OOOOOOOO AUD! VERY pretty!!!!!! What hosta is that and what is that frilly stuff growin' behind it???????? I'm confused why the squirrels are hangin out in MY shade garden when they could be in YOURS!!!!!!! MUCH better place I'd say! :wub:

[Audwoman]

I do not have a lot of choices my property is 80% under shade. I learned to like it as I killed off flower after flower trying to grow sun lovers in my shady yard.

[yellow22]

Shade gardening is much healthier for a person. Kept me out of full sun for years. I have two nice cut leave Maples that I recently up limbed and as sonn as I can get down...I mean get up better with a cast on my leg I plan to adding plants, but have to look at the weeds growing for now.

I already have a few garden friends that are allowing me to raid their gardens. I'll be looking for low growing plants...I rather have a mixture than just ground covers but one I would like to see growing under is Chrysogonum at the edges.

[mla2ofus]

Even with sun plants I look at the shape and texture of the leaves and over-all plant. The flowers don't last that long so the plant itself has to be attractive. I like the way you have combined the textures and different shades of green in your garden, Aud.
I think that I may have a problem in the near future though. I bought my hosta at a retail store so I don't know the names or the size and a few are getting really large. I may have ended up with some that grow 4 foot across and I planted them in a 2 1/2 foot area! Do they mind being a bit crowded???

[Audwoman]

Silience the fluffy stuff is Tansy. I use it alot in the garden for filler. The yellow and blue hosta is June, the tall blue is Kossa Regal, white and green is Patriot.

mla2ofus, I do a lot of crowding. I am at a point where I am going to need to do some moving. But I like the crowding to avoid the weeding. :D

[grindle]

Like that plant Yellow, maybe you'd like kirengishoma too

[yellow22]

There's not much information on the web about Kirengishoma and guess what I have grown it..There's not many plants in general that start with K. I can't say I know how it's done over the years. I did bloom and being mail oreder you know how small the plants can be...I had in next to Acanthus mollis which would leaf out but never got around to really blooming...must have been too much shade and cool start in spring...I was surprised it even made it up several years being kind of tender.

I'm ready to plant some of a large potted Hakonechloa under the Maples. I think it'll really stand out.

[yellow22]

I never was able to grow Smilacina racemosa from seeds or find plants. I may have to mail order..that's one I always wanted to try.

[terese]

I'm ready to plant some of a large potted Hakonechloa under the Maples. I think it'll really stand out.

That sounds like a nice combo Yellow. :) Which one are you planning on planting under your maples?

[yellow22]

H. macra 'Aureola' I already have a Euonymus 'Emeral and Gold' on the sunny side and thought I have enough roon for a few small plants..This is the extent of my shade garden right now. I have a matching Maple on the other side of a walk way and not sure if I want them to look formal...there's enough plant to have them different.

[yellow22]

Wanted to show you more of the space I have to work with.

[yellow22]

And that's Austrian Ivy and will not make it through the winter...I don't think I'll ever plant ivy. I needed to put into the ground or a large pot for cutting...just think about next year.

[terese]

I have Hakonechloa 'Aureola' in my garden...I LOVE the little green pin stripes. :wub: It'll look great under the maple.

Never seen Rodin's 'The Kiss' used as garden art before. :P I've always been fond of The Gates of Hell myself. :ph34r:

[yellow22]

The first one I had I gave to a friend and her husband, then because when the guys at work clean out home one was sitting around and I joked I should use it as a hood orniement for my garden cart...I took it home. It's chipped.

I don't know all of his works.

[grindle]

Yellow I can get hold of smilacena seeds if you're interested :rolleyes:

[yellow22]

Thanks, but I remembered there's some growing at work in the woods. I'll try the seeds from those plants. It's not growing in a thick clump like what I would need, and I don't think it normal does? How the plant doing where you have it?

[digiflower]

Hey Buster Elephant Ears like shade of course they don't winter over above zone 6 or so you do have to lift them in fall. I put mine in a pot and then store the bulb in winter. I put mine by my house so the deer won't eat it. :rolleyes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rhjff/clipart/flowers/DSCN3704_edited1.jpg

[buster]

Thanks for the idea Digi.I'll have to try to get some elephant ears next year. I think next year I'll grow several bulbs that need lifted-in pots.Buster

[Phia]

I love my Shade garden beds. It may seem as I don't have room for more plants, but there are always areas where a plant or two can be placed. Take a look at my photos page under my signature. I have plent of hosta and ferns, as well as some coral bells, jacob's ladder, japanese maples and several others. Next year, I plan to add some more ferns as well as coral bells and tiarella.

[buster]

Phia, Great Job! I love your flowers and gardens. Just beautiful!!! Buster

[Rich]

My house faces north so the bed in front of it gets no sunlight at all.

This bed is DW's and she want's to grow a cottage garden there. She keeps coming up with plants she likes and I keep telling her it won't grow there. I suggested she plants hostas and ferns. "I want a splash of colour" she keeps insisting.

At the edge we have a hardy Fuchsia which is doing really well, and another which is doing OK but not great. She now wants to remove all the plants and replace them with a mass of fuchsias.

It is really difficult to explain to her that whilst they'll grow they won't be happy, and I don't want to spend ?100 on plants for them to wither away.

[Rowan]

Shade gardens can be more than hosta and fern
What about Bleeding Heart that's a huge bunch of color in my shade garden and Phlox as well.... Spiderwort (Tradescantia) does provide slightly less obvious color but some of the varieties have surprisingly large flowers for a shade plant... and I love Tiarella (aka foamflower) or Sweet Woorduff (Asperula odorata) as an underplanting for my shrubs
I also use:
Ajuga
Jacobs Ladder
Solomon's Seal
Moneywort (aka Honesty)
Forget-me-not
and Columbines which love shade.

Here are just a few of those from my gardens:

[buster]

Great pix Rowan. I really love my shade garden. It's so calm and peaceful. You should take a picture of the whole garden for us to see. Sounds beautiful. Buster

[grindle]

one rose that will grow in North facing shade is Madam Alfred Carriere I have it growing on my fence in the shade

[gardenlady]

i love shade gardening ---especially how the foliage can be used to light up the area.
i have sweet kate tradescantia, sum and substance hosta , golden hakone grass and i pair them up with plum pudding and purple petticoats heuchera. i also have a lime rickey heuchera which is extemely lime green--it is gorgeous and hasn't even bloomed yet.
i like the sun perennials but i alway drool the most :mellow: :mellow: over the new shade perennials that come out each year.
i am in the process of collecting hostas, heucheras and tiarellas.
i am truly a shade fanatic B)

[SilenceOfTheClams]

These are a few of the shade lovers that are tucked beside the kitchen stairs...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SilenceOfTheClams/BSPosts/132_3243.jpg

I'm trying to get my "other" shadey area reconstructed as the squirrels are having a heyday relocating my plants!!!! ARGHHHHHH!

[SilenceOfTheClams]

Here's another one of my shady spots... the bengal tiger cannas really lighten up that dreary corner against my neighbors rusty ol shed......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SilenceOfTheClams/BSPosts/IMG_3266.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SilenceOfTheClams/BSPosts/IMG_3286.jpg

[buster]

That's awesome looking Clams. Love them shade areas. Buster

[terese]

lovely garden clams. :wub:

[SilenceOfTheClams]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww THANKS BUSTER! :wub:

[Rich]

Shade gardens can be more than hosta and fern

But Rowan, I don't want it to be "more" than that. I am trying to steer her towards the hosta and fern bed. I like the idea of having a collection of these, and I could move my hostas there where they wouldn't be so crowded.

They are in the sun for half a day now, since my neighbour chopped down that tree, and I could put something brighter where they currently are.

OK it's a bit sneaky I know, but I'm sure fuchsias are not the answer.

[buster]

Rich, If your wife wants a splash of color maybe you can put out some annuals in pots. You can move those around where ever you want them. Impatiens are very colorful and do great in the shade.I'm sure there are many more, that was just the first one that came to mind. I have many other plants in my shade garden than ferns and hostas. I have an Endless Summer hydrangea, Jack in the pulpit,iris, columbines, Rhododendron, dead nettle,ferns,hostas,catnip,Jacob's ladder,spiderwort,asiatic lillies,forget me nots,Johnny Jump-ups,white bleeding heart. So you could both have what you want, if you add some of these with your Hostas and Ferns. Hope that helps! Happy Gardening. Buster

[Rich]

No I don't.

Whilst your lists are useful to DW and I thank you for that. I really really only want hostas and ferns. If I can find some good mossy logs, then those as well. The last thing I want is colour. It will detract from the whole effect.

:lol:

[buster]

Rich , I understand. You want what you want.Cooooolll! Buster

[boo]

I can understand Rich's point (although i love color!!) there is something very relaxing about the hosta & fern look. They blend well where some of the brighter colors are eye popping and distract.

Neighbors have a shade garden with trees, shrubs, hostas & ferns. Nothing too loud and its one of my favorite gardens to visit. Then i go home to the B) colorful crayon box. :P

[bjmots]

I didn't know cannas would do that well in the shade. How much sun do they get.

[SilenceOfTheClams]

I didn't know cannas would do that well in the shade. How much sun do they get.
Brenda.... I get a streak of sunlight that falls on the left half of the barrel garden and the balance is in the shade most of the time due to a pergola that stands in front of it. Cannas WILL grow in shade but you'll be hard pressed to get them to bloom. But hey............. who HAS TO HAVE the blooms??? :D

[yellow22]

I think I'm going for Cypress or Cedar mulch for under my Maples
...that really looks nice in your garden.

[flutterby]

Aha! Look what I found! You guys have left your shade garden thread untouched for two years?? Okay, who's responsible?? :mad:

[boo]

We were waiting for you? :unsure: :lol: It's like buried treasure. :p

[flutterby]

I suppose it will fall on me to keep bumping it up. Okay, I accept! :)

[Larry the Lamb]

Well, I have a section at the bottom of the gardern, behind the plum tree, that is all shady and so I was thinking of weeding it, improving the soil some and putting some ferns and stuff in there.
Ferns are my new obsession!

[Garden Bear]

I'm redoing my shade garden after last years rain washed all most every thing out, my ferns came back as well as my chocolate joe pye weed a few of my toad lillies are coming back too but still lots of work to do still waiting to see if any thing else pops up

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garden Bear

[grindle]

I hope my trees grow quickly so I have a shade garden:(

[Ginny42]

Here's part of the shady garden I've been fixing up this spring. The ferns are all opening up nicely, there's some hostas, astilbes, ligularia and a few others mixed in. I will also put a few impatiens in between for a color punch. I'll show an after picture after all has opened up nicely.:grin:

[boo]

That looks great. Are the ferns the ones that you bought last fall? :unsure: They look huge already.

I have to move mine to a better location where I can baby them. Except for today :heart: its been extremely dry.

[Ginny42]

Yes, some are from last year. I also relocated a couple from the woods across the street and a couple I've had for 2 years also. I did treat myself to a huge planter of lady in red fern which I actually split into four seperate plants last week. I really wish I can do something about those horrible wild rose sticks hanging down, they're my neighbors hanging over my side, but if they were removed there would be no more shade either.:rolleyes:

[Audwoman]

It looks really pretty Ginny. I can see that Lady in Red she really pops! :drool:

[Larry the Lamb]

Looks good Ginny. Is that a painted fern(Aythyrium) I see on the right,the grey looking one about 5 o'clock?

[PRH]

Looks to be pretty addictive now as well as later on in years!:p :grin:

[Ginny42]

Thanks guys! There are more ferns on the other side of the arbor going down about another 5 ft. There's a mix of sensitive fern, lady fern, male fern, and a few unknowns too.

Yes Larry, that's a painted fern. Further down the row there's a ghost fern and an autumn fern too.

[jennie]

I love ferns, I just can't seem to keep them more than one season:( . Whats the trick?

[grindle]

they all look so good together,

[MrSeedy]

Speaking of my love of ferns I'd add once again, that failing in general to get most varieties to survive long in my very dry shade, the one very agressive one is taking over nowdays, and is proving to become a major problem at some point with it's very fast spreading habit. Meanwhile the other not so fast growing varieties of shade plants are ending up in the dense shade of those ferns and not liking that !

[jennie]

I'm gonna give the ferns another try. I bought 2 ostich ferns and a japanese painted. Fingers crossed!

[Ginny42]

Jennie, I just keep them in a shady damp spot and they do the rest themselves. They don't need fertilizer, they get their nutrients from leaf litter. So when you do your fall cleanup, leave some leaves for them, cover them up nicely and remove any big ones in later spring.

[mla2ofus]

If they don't need fertilizer, I have to ask if it will harm them? I've only had mine, 1 for 2 years and 1 for one year. I'm sure I spread manure one year and fert. the next as they are in with hosta etc.

[jennie]

I don't have damp shade:( its dry shade. Do I need to give them extra water then?:unsure:

[Ginny42]

Linda, I don't think ferts will harm them. Manure is probably very good.;)

Jenny, yes, most varieties need extra moisture, and acidic soil. There are a couple out there that like drier conditions, if I can find the fern site I was browsing last week, I'll post the names.

[buster]

I'm taking out one of my shade gardens. It was under my choke cherry tree and was a pain in the patute. I've moved Hostasand Heucheras to other places in the yard. I'm changing the side shade garden to have only ferns. They are big ferns, I think cinnamon stick is what they are called. I've moved some columbines, astilbes, and bleeding hearts to my backyard shade garden. I'm hoping it will look better since I'm putting the house up for sale soon. Connie

[jennie]

Jenny, yes, most varieties need extra moisture, and acidic soil. There are a couple out there that like drier conditions, if I can find the fern site I was browsing last week, I'll post the names.


Thanks Ginny. I water my hanging baskets every morning so if I give the ferns a drink then too do you think itwill be enough?

[buster]

Here is a photo of the choke cherry tree. My DDIL cut back the runners and I moved some plants. Now I am having some topsoil brought in tomorrow,then planting grass seed. She worked on it all day, until her back hurt. She's like the energizer bunny, keeps going, going, going. We both hate the D*** thing.Hopefully now all I have to do is mow, when the grass grows of course. Connie

[flutterby]

Buster, I think we'll have to call your project shade un-gardening! :p

[jennie]

:o planting grass???!!!
Oh the horror:p:lol:

[buster]

I still have 3 shade gardens. LOL. They are all being reworked a bit. Today I got 6 yards of top soil for underneath the choke cherry tree and to fill in some low places in the front yard. We have been moving dirt most of the day. I'll post pix after we plant the grass seed, so you can see how much of the yard I'm reseeding. My yard is looking soooooooooo much better. Connie

[Phia]

Connie,
I, too, am planning on re-working my backyard to create some more grassy areas for the girls to run around in when they are bigger. So DH and I have a lot of transplanting to do as well as planting some durable ground cover in other troublesome shade areas.

[jasmine-79]

I'm redoing my shade garden after last years rain washed all most every thing out, my ferns came back as well as my chocolate joe pye weed a few of my toad lillies are coming back too but still lots of work to do still waiting to see if any thing else pops up

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garden Bear

I've never heard of chocolate joe pye weed!! What's the big diff?!

I've got a shade bed full of hostas and a few impatients. I never considered ferns....:rolleyes: good idea!! I have a fairly shady bed in front of the house with iris, million bells and camelia. It's not really shady, but perhaps too shady for my camelia to do really well. It's full and lush, but no blooms.:( Is there anything in particular that would be good there where the birds dig through the mulch under the feeders?

[Catmint]

A newbie jumping in here, with what I have in my shade garden..........Lungwort, Coral Bells, Hosta plus two that are minature, Bee Balm (its at the end getting a tad more sunshine),Toad Lily, Japanese Fern, Jacob's Ladder, Solomon's Seal, Bleeding Heart, which bloom's from spring to late summer...........plus a white Bleeding Heart.........my "fill in's" I put Waxed Begonia's.............everything is really coming along now....:)

[jennie]

OOOOhhh! I want a white bleeding heart!!
I have heuchera (palace purple, creme brulee, and key lime pie) astilbe, ferns (ostrich and japanese painted) columbine, hostas, bleeding heart, and impatience.

[springsprunginmy<3]

I have a fern that I believe is in an area, getting a little too much sun...it has just started to leaf out...is it too late to relocate it to my shadier area, or do you all think it will be ok ? I water each morning, and the other area has a lot more moisture.

I think I should of done it when it was still dormant, but dh didnt have the time.

Last summer it died back, that is why I think it is getting too much sun.

thanks for any advice, I am not sure what kind, maybe a christmas fern ( hope I am remembering right:lol:, I suffer from CRS)

[TransplantShock]

no shade garden yet, but with the addition of 10 trees i hope to have a shade garden in...oh 40 years or so...:unsure: I really want one though, as i've grown to love shade plants

[Ginny42]

Springs, I think it would be okay to move it now. I've moved ferns in the middle of the summer.:blush: Just make sure you water it in good and do it during a cool part of the day. Preferably during the evening.;)

[Garden Bear]

my shade garden is starting to look like some thing now ferns are up and looks like it might be a good year in the shade

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garden Bear

[springsprunginmy<3]

Ginny thanks for the advice, I shall move it tomorrow in the evening:grin:

Gbear.garden looks really nice !

I have a new, empty area that is mostly shade, gets a touch of morning sun...oh, dear..Dh gave me a new place to plant, and I have no plants:drool:

(maybe a shopping trip is in order ?..or Ill work it next spring ?):ph34r:

[Phia]

Just jumping in...over the weekend I was able to finally get out there and do some gardening. There is one area of my back yard, under a Silver Maple, where nothing competes well with the roots, except for a few hostas and a lonely. I plan on moving those soon and create a mini-seating area or focal point (i.e. garden art) under that tree. I will post pics when I can. Now I just need someone to watch the twins while I play in the garden...LOL

[Hooked on gardening]

OOOOhhh! I want a white bleeding heart!!
I have heuchera (palace purple, creme brulee, and key lime pie) astilbe, ferns (ostrich and japanese painted) columbine, hostas, bleeding heart, and impatience.


I have a white bleeding heart that was supposed to be pink. I am not sure how "striking" it is going to be against my white house. :mad: It doesn't have enough flowers this year to tell.

I also have some hosta, columbines, pulmonaria, an astilble, heuchera, cardinal flower and hydrangea.

[mla2ofus]

Everyones shade gardens look great.
Garden Bear, what is the purple leafed plant in the middle of the center picture? It sure is pretty.