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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One of the Biggest Scams on Lawns: Aerating

 

I always thought - and proofed it after I watched them for years - that these so-called ¨lawn-caring¨ lawnmower companies are overcharging.  But there is a subspecies that is even worse: Aerators - men who are offering to aerate your lawn for only $60 - $90.  Sounds not much, doesn’t it?  Well, it is a job mostly done in 15 minutes, which means an hourly fee of $240.  

Even subtracting the tools or the machine costs they use (often less than $100, usable at least 50 or 100 times) it is totally over-priced work. And everyone can do it, it doesn’t need any education - contrary to horticulturists, arborists, or garden designers. 

If garden owners think they ¨need¨ a lawn (aka dead land, or a moles and skunks heaven) and if they start it professionally, they use valuable lawn soil (NOT top soil) before they even sow grass seeds or roll their sod.  This humus-rich soil keeps the lawn healthy and might not get easily compacted. 

Weed-Picking Instead of Aerating

If weeds, especially dandelions, appear in the future, they can easily picked out - including their roots - with a special tool that lets you do it while standing.  The benefit:  your lawn will be automatically aerated through the little holes where the weed was before.  Don’t worry, these holes close after one or two weeks, especially when it rains. 

What Your Lawn Really Needs

In one word: Water.  Water your lawn twice a week for half an hour during hot summer weeks.

Start in early spring to clean up your lawn: Free it from split and other winter debris. Remove all the acorns, fir cones, and pine needles on the ground if you have oak trees or pines next to the lawn. Rake your lawn thoroughly to remove all dead grass pieces, twigs, and moss.

Over time, the grass gets old and needs to be replaced. Worn-out lawns invite weeds. Overseeding is a fast, inexpensive way to help bring your lawn back to its lush, green self.  Make a soil test (kits are available at nurseries or professional garden centers) and if the soil test indicates a low pH level fertilize first.  Starter fertilizers usually contain higher amounts of phosphorous.  Phosphorous helps with root growth whereas nitrogen will help with greening and top growth.

The best time to over-seed your lawn is in early fall when the soil is still warm but the air is cooler, and there are fewer weeds for new grass to compete against.  Also, diseases that attack seedlings are less active.  If you cannot over-seed in the fall, your next best time is the spring.  

Mow the lawn low.  Before over-seeding, you'll want to cut your grass shorter than normal. Don’t leave the clippings on the ground, rather bag them.  Carefully dig out all the weeds.  Never use any pesticides.  They are making dogs and cats sick, even worse for your children.  After mowing, rake the lawn to help loosen the top layer of soil and remove any dead grass and debris. This will give the grass seed easy access to the soil so it roots more easily after germinating. 

Rake in a thin layer of enriched soil over your lawn to help the seed settle in. Before you start your seeding or re-seeding project fertilize it.  Which type of grass seed you choose depends on your existing grass type. 

Fill up your spreader, adjust the setting according to the label directions, and apply.  The best time is short after a rain.  But still water the lawn thoroughly regularly, to keep the ground always moist for the first 2-3 weeks.  Later you can spread an iron product over your grass.  Without a reasonable amount of iron in the soil, your lawn becomes more basic in its pH, making it difficult for grass to take root. A lawn without the proper amount of iron can start to turn yellow and die off.  Iron helps also to keep weeds out of your lawn.

Depending on the soil test - or when moss is growing - lime your lawn in early or late winter when the grass is not growing.  Lime can also cleanse the soil, removing toxicities and infusing the ground with essential nutrients.  This often clears up common grass and turf issues, leading to a healthier and better-looking yard.  Made of limestone or chalk, lime's main component is calcium carbonate.

As you can see, all these lawn chores can be easily done DIY.  Sure, you can hire a lawn mower company, but they are just rushing through your yard.  Don´t expect that they are raking the lawn, or that they are digging out dandelions.  

I would change the lawn into beautiful blooming flower beds, or shrink its size at least.  This way you have less work, more pleasure, and save lots of money!  I have never met anyone happy with their green turf - but why then have a lawn in the first place?

Read also:

https://www.cbc.ca/life/home/the-case-for-leaving-the-perfectly-manicured-lawn-behind-1.6449477

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Create New Perennial Plants for Free

¨Do it yourself¨ are the magic words for a lush blooming garden through dividing. Experienced gardeners will barely ever purchase new flowers.  For them, it is sheer pleasure to make two or four plants out of one by dividing a mature plant.

After two or three years for some perennials, it is time to lift and divide flowers - not only to gain new plants but also to let the original one stay healthy and beautiful.  Sedums, Hostas, or Yarrows for example start to grow outwards instead of upright and build a bare spot in the middle of the plant. 

Not only to Save Money and Time

Not only do you get plants for nothing, but you also get new plants that you know will thrive in your soil. It also makes a great impression to have groups of the same flowers with the same color as just a single lone plant.  You even save time as you don´t have to browse through nurseries and garden centers.

Eco-friendly Gardening

Another benefit of plant-dividing is eco-friendly gardening: It helps to avoid new plant-growing issues such as saving energy, avoiding plastic pots and stickers, trucking the plants hundreds of miles, etc. 

Steps on How to Divide

The best time for dividing is in early spring before the leaves grow two inches high. Start with a plan where the new ones go and dig out planting holes.  Fill them with water and add a dash of fertilizer or even better: a handful of compost.  Prepare either a tarp or use a wheelbarrow to avoid excess soil on your garden path, lawn, or flower beds.

Dig out the mother plant and divide it with a sharp spade (or two forks, placing them back to back) into two or more pieces.  Plant the flowers, fertilize them, water them again, and add mulch around the new planting.  

Soon you will enjoy more healthy, blooming flowers and a lush garden. 

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Replacing Ugly Lawns with Pachysandra

 

In a friend’s garden - like everywhere in Eastern Canada - lawns were still brown and ugly, even in mid-April.  However, next to it, my friend had planted lots of Pachysandra. Their leaves looked healthy and were dark green.  They even showed lush and green foliage in January and February during a dry Winter with little snow.  And in Summer? They are perfect for deep shade as barely anything else would thrive under the shade that their twelve Maple and Birch trees provide in this part of the property.

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The 2 Complaints of Most Garden Owners: #1 is the Lawn, #2 Shade Gardens.

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Lawns

I have never heard of anyone being happy with their lawn.  And it is easy to understand why: Lawns need lots of water and fertilizer, plus frequent overseeding and required time for constant mowing.  Installing the turf, purchasing a lawnmower (including gas or electricity usage), or paying a landscape company - it all adds up.  

Most important are the environmental issues.  Pollinators dislike lawns as there is nothing they can feed on.  The unpleasant noise that lawnmowers make, disturbs on weekends the whole neighborhood.  On top of that is the unnecessary use of gasoline or electricity when keeping the grass short.

Lawns are dead pieces of land, created by (not-thinking) grass-obsessed men, just mimicking what others do in their garden.  There is more: skunks, raccoons, rabbits, chipmunks, voles, and moles might dig up the lawn, looking for grubs and other insects that feed on lawn roots.

All in all: There is no good reason to have a lawn.  Ground covers, such as Pachysandra are a better choice - especially in tree-covered areas that tend to be shaded.  

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Shade Gardens

Creating a beautiful garden in a half-shade part of the garden is not easy and requires a lot of research.  However, finding plants that thrive in deep shade is even much harder.  Pachysandra is a highly regarded evergreen ground cover, that performs exceptionally in deep shade.  It dislikes hot sun, one of the few plants that does well beneath mature shade trees.  As an evergreen perennial, Pachysandras will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.  These ground covers act like living mulch, preserving moisture and protecting soil.

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The Perfect Ground Cover

Perfect for garden owners who want to enjoy their piece of land without mowing, fertilizing, or even watering - unless there is more than a month without rain.  Its height is about 10 inches at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches.  Pachysandra grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.  It works perfectly as a mulch substitute under the canopies of large shade trees, where not much else will grow.  

Deer don't care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. 

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Pachysandra

Pachysandra terminalis, the Japanese pachysandra, also known as Japanese spurge, is native to eastern Asia.  It was brought to North America as an ornamental ground cover.  

Glossy, low-growing foliage (with teeny white flowers) will spread to cover problem areas, such as beneath trees.  It thrives in zones 4 to 9 - in partial to full shade.

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