Looking for ideas for shade garden
by
Canadianlady
+3
The border area around my fence on two sides is mainly shade, and I've had a great amount of difficulty getting plants that will work there. My biggest problem is I would like to have some tall, some medium and some small height plants to have proportion. Ferns and hostas do very well, as well as coleus (an annual here) and impatiens (also annuals here) but I always feel that something is missing. I envision an entire bed of ferns along one strip of fence and along the other side, I want a little more variety to add with my hostas. I have hanging baskets on all the fence posts that include three sprays of english ivy and three or four red impatiens. They always look lovely and they bring some height into the scene. I also have a hydrangea shrub right in the corner, in the middle of the two sides that also seems to do well. Suggestions are welcome.
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Hi - I have a large shade garden that includes a lot of bulbs which come out before the tree that shades the garden gets leaves. I have a row of dayliles along the back - they get about 3 feet high and have blossoms in June-July and don't mind the shade. I also have lungwort, which is very short and has interesting foliage and pretty, delicate flowers, as well as african violets which are also short - both love the shade. I also have white violets, and some plants you'd find in the forest - trillium and lily of the valley. I have mostly perennials but don't be afraid to add some plants or seeds that are rated for "partial shade". I have heard that cabbage and lettuce do fine in partial shade as they do not like the high heat. Good luck.
Thanks for the great ideas. Day lilies and flowering cabbage sound interesting, and I just may add those to my mix.
Good Morning, can you hang some planters from a fence? or a branch from the corner tree, to get more sunshine? If the trees are too long, then prune them back, and make more room, for the sunshine. This is so necessary for all plants. Since the area, is being used, from the bushes, that they have had for some time, you may have to plant them into a planter, of FRESH SOIL, and DEEP, to get a fresh start. Make sure you use leaves from last yr., and this is truly a added fertilizer, and they will love these also. Be sure to water early, before the sun hits that area, have a lovely day, J.
I like your suggestion to prune back some of the tree branches to allow more sunlight. We've been hesitant because they belong to our neighbour. It would allow in a little more light, which even shade plants would love. Yes, I have hanging baskets from all the fence posts and always plant three or four sprays of english ivy and four red impatiens in each one, and they add some of the height, and definitely the colour, that I'm looking for. We are planning to expand the entire area, changing it from an L-shaped border garden along the side and back fences to a large triangular shaped garden that encompasses three times the original space. That will give us more room to get the shrubs that we need as a backdrop for shade-loving perennials. We will be bringing in topsoil and adding whatever we need to the soil to make it fertile. Thanks for your ideas.
You could also plant Bleeding hearts and the shade kind of Columbines. Coral Bells have done well for me. Also if you want taller with lovely white flowers in late Spring--early Summer, try Solaman Seal--but it has a tendency to spread over time. so you may want to box it in. Same with Evening Primrose and Spider Wort--yellow and blue-purple respectively. Sorry I cannot spell Solaman correctly. almost all of these are also good for the butterflies and bees--and you can apparently get a shade variety of butterfly weed.
Wonderful! Thanks for the ideas.