Plants That are Thriving in Shade

 

Even if your garden is mostly shady, you still can fill it with color. Many spring bulbs are ideal for planting in shady areas at the base of shrubs, beneath large shade trees, and along woodland paths. At this time of the year, the trees have no leaves yet.  They are the earliest bulbs to bloom and the first food for bees: Snowdrops, Anemones, Fritillaria, Crocus, Narcissus, or Scilla are the first blooms in your garden.  But don't forget to plant them in the fall!  Other spring flowers such as Primula, Pulmonaria, Bleeding Heart, Foamflower, Spiderwort, Aquilegia, or Obelia.

Quite a few plants are thriving in shade gardens from early summer into fall.  Some are colorful, some are white-blooming, and some have attractive silver leaves.  However, flowering shrubs bloom best with some sun (preferably in the morning because the hot afternoon sun isn't a friend to shade lovers). And if you're planting shrubs or perennials, which come back every year, make sure they are suited to your hardiness zone. 

Here is a selection of flowers that don't mind shade to plant this early fall or next spring - beside begonias, pansies, or impatiens:

Astranti: the Most Beautiful Shade Perennial You’ve Never Heard Of 

https://laidbackgardener.blog/2017/08/01/astrantia-the-most-beautiful-perennial-youve-never-heard-of/

https://seedterra.com/astrantia-masterwort-purple-seeds-astrantia-major/

Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)

https://savvygardening.com/shade-loving-perennial-flowers/

Brunnera Macrophylla: Silver Leaf Plant for Shade 

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/brunnera-macrophylla-looking-glass-siberian-bugloss

https://www.fromhousetohome.com/garden/compact-shade-plants/

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-variety/brunnera-macrophylla-siberian-bugloss

Switch Grass

https://www.bluestem.ca/panicum-rotstrahlbusch.htm

Japanese Painted Fern

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-grow-and-care-for-japanese-painted-ferns-4691739

Goatsbeard

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/goats-beard/goats-beard-plant-info.htm

Astilbe

https://www.gardendesign.com/plants/astilbe.html

Variegated Solomon’s Seal

https://www.gardenista.com/posts/gardening-101-solomons-seal/

Hardy Cyclamen: My Favored Fall Shade Plants

https://garden-dream.blogspot.com/2021/09/hardy-cyclamen-becoming-my-favored-fall.html

Ligularia

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/ligularia-dentata-desdemona

Heuchera in all Colors: yellow, copper, or maroon

https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/heuchera

Hostas in blue-green, grey, or yellow - avoid the boring green ones...

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/hosta/growing-hosta-plants.htm

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As you can see, there are dozens and dozens of flowering blooms that gardeners can plant in the shade. Many people think that if they have a shady garden they can’t grow flowers. Nothing could be further from the truth! If you have a garden space with less than full sun, you can still have a beautiful flower garden.

What to Grow in Full-sun Areas

 

Sunny spots can host a wide array of plants.  With the right mix of sun-loving perennials, you can savor seasonal color from summer to fall frost.  Treat yourself to a yard full of color.   Designing a garden is easy when you are able to work with full sun perennials.

When choosing plants for areas with full sun, it’s generally better to stick with native plantings whenever possible.  Many full sun plants are also tolerant of drought and arid conditions, making them ideal for potted environments too.

Buying new perennials in a drought and planting them in the garden makes little sense, as they need milder temperatures to become established first.  So, you should wait until the heat wave is over, or your new purchases will die right before your eyes.  Buy plants in the fall or spring that are hardy and have plenty of time to grow strong by summer next year.

Winter-hardy succulents like sedum, stonecrop, and houseleek are optimal for dry, sunny gardens. Houseleek is even called "sempervivum," meaning "always lives," in Latin.  Succulents have the special advantage that it's almost ridiculously easy to grow from cuttings.  This way you have three times as many plants in two to three years without spending a penny extra.

Woody Mediterranean perennials and herbs such as lavender, rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano are also excellent and very bee-friendly.  In dry gardens, all kinds of iris, yarrow, and purple coneflowers feel at home.  They tolerate dry soils well and have beautiful colorful flowers.  The sunniest flower of all, sunflowers, need 6 - 8 hours of full sun.

Happy Gardening

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