Shade-Loving Perennials for Your Garden

What I love about shade perennials: Their ability to provide long-term beauty and aesthetic value to darker garden spaces.  Shade perennials are also contributing to a more sustainable, low-maintenance, and worry-free garden. Here are my suggestions for tried plants that are thriving in my shaded part of the garden. 

Ligularia

This attractive perennial thrives in wet and shady environments, so it’s perfect for dark and medium to moist areas (or where you water regularly).  The underside of the leaves is magenta and the blooms are either yellow spikes or sunflower-like. 

Hostas

They tolerate heavy shade, especially the blue-green variety, but grow best in partial shade with some morning sun. The trick to keeping this leafy plant healthy is to keep the soil consistently moist.  Mix different colors and types for the best impressions.

Bleeding Heart

No matter if you choose the pink or white variety, Bleeding Hearts always lightens up shade spots in your garden and butterflies love these perennials. They grow well in half or full shade and well-drained moist soil.

Columbine

This flower performs best in half-shade and brings color to your yard. Hummingbirds are attracted to them too. Columbines don’t need especially moist soil and self-seed. 

Japanese Painted Fern
Attractive with their grey-green, maroon hue leaves 

Contrary to ordinary ferns this plant is not invasive, and it grows in full and partial shade. They love well-drained soil and don’t plant it directly under trees for the plant to flourish.

Heuchera / Coral Bells

Yellow, orange, copper, green, magenta… They like partial shade and medium watering. Remove faded pedals to help new flowers bloom - as you should do it with every blooming flower in your garden.

These are just a few suggestions, but many more plants that don’t mind - and even thrive - in shade areas, such as Salomon´s Seal, Daffodils, Jack Frost Siberian Bugloss, Hydrangeas, Lungwort, Pachysandra, Brunnera, Hellebores, and many more.

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Plants to Repel Mosquitos Around Your House

 

These pesky critters tend to come around during warm weather and aren't afraid to bite.

However, you have to plant lots of them!  Not a single plant, but rather five, six, or nine.

Let’s start with GARLIC which is one of the most protective plants against mosquitoes. Plant garlic in late summer in groups all around your house and the patio. It does not only repel mosquitos, but 18 months later you can harvest the cloves for your kitchen.

Cut garlic cloves into slivers and scatter them around your outdoor living areas, or combine them with oils and other liquid ingredients to make a repellent spray for your yard. Furthermore, you can blend garlic with essential oils to make a mosquito-repellent spray for your body. Mosquitoes won’t be able to stand the unappealing smell. 

HERBS

The next best thing are herbs, such as OREGANO, BASIL, ROSEMARY, LEMON THYME, SAGE, FENNEL, PEPPERMINT, or LEMON BALM,  Herbs usually like sunny spots in your garden, and can be planted in pots that you might place around your patio or garden sitting areas.

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CITRONELLA 

It thrives when it is in full to partial sun, but it does need protection from the midday sun. It is also a plant that does well in planters.  Citronella candles can also provide up to 50 percent extra protection.

CATNIP 

In recent years, this has become a very popular method of repelling mosquitoes. A study in Science Daily even suggests that Nepetalactone, the plant’s essential oil, is approximately ten times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes. Therefore, much less of this oil is needed to be effective. Plant catnip in your garden as a backyard defense, or crush the leaves and rub them directly on your skin.

PEPPERMINT

Minty fragrances are unpleasant to a mosquito's keen senses. The mere presence of peppermint plants can ward off these pesky flying insects to some degree. You can also turn peppermint into a personal repellent by crushing the leaves and rubbing them on your skin.  Plant peppermint in containers or pots that you sink into the garden soil - after covering the wholes with thick cardboard.  This way you will avoid that they spread throughout your garden beds. 

LAVENDER

It may be a favorite scent of many people, mosquitoes would disagree. They detest the pungent scent of the purple flower, and stay away at all costs. Like most of the plants on this list, lavender can be used by extracting the oils and applying to the skin directly or making a body spray. You can also simply plant it in your garden. Best of all, the beautiful purple flowers are sure to liven up your landscape.

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LEMON GERANIUMS

One of the best types of plants to use when trying to repel mosquitoes is the lemon geranium. The strong lemony scent is great for getting them out of the area.  They need to grow in full to partial sun.

ALLIUM FLOWERS

They are your first defense in spring and a relative to the onion. Similar to onions, the allium has the power to repel mosquitoes. Plant the bulbs in the fall and enjoy their beauty after the winter. As they grow tall, place them behind other plants in the flower bed, or close to house walls or fences.

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