shade loving plants
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: shade loving plants
- From: A* L*
- Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 10:24:19 -0800
More on flowering plants in shade (long post --):
Astilbes are the shade flowering plant par excellence and I have 6 or 7
varieties in the main shade bed -- white, pale pink, medium pink, reds,
and tall purplish pinks that bloom later. Some older daylilies will
bloom in shade (though not as much as in sun) and I have a few clumps
that look great with ferns & hostas, all in pale yellow. The yellow
variegated foliage of hostas and spears of iris pseudacorus that are
yellow-striped look great with the daylily flowers (the iris hasn't
bloomed in shade, but I like the upright foliage form). Along with
bleeding hearts, woodland phlox (phlox divaricatus?) in blue looks
good for a month, then it becomes mildewed in the summer heat, so I
whack it back. Kiringeshoma is a big (4x4) clump of maple-shaped leaves
that blooms late with yellow bells. All through this bed are dozens
of self-seeded clumps of corydalis lutea, that bloom with small yellow
flowers from May to October - beautiful ferny foliage. Unwanted clumps
are easily pulled out if the self-seeders are too enthusiastic. There
are two clumps of lobelia cardinalis that bloom in August in red --
the wild blue lobelias are in another shady corner and look great in
August as well. Occasionally, I remember to add some oxgloves, (pinks,
whites, or apricot) that are beautiful but don't persist for me.
Monkshoods should also perform well, though my napellus blooms in June
and the foliage then browns & fades away, and a tall late-blooming kind
often doesn't bloom until October, a time when we're winding down in the
garden. In decent soil with some peat, a clump of the shrub Leucothoe
fontanesiana 'Rainbow' will provide almost evergreen foliage in green
splashed with cream and pink -- a very nice accent.
There are a whole bunch of spring-flowering shade plants as Kris P
listed, but our Springs are so erratic and often cold that I tend to
concentrate on plants that perform in summer when we can enjoy them.
My bed is in a wide plot between two buildings, not under trees. The
soil is rich and kept moist and there are no tree roots to compete with
the plants. The bed looks good through summer heat and the few things
that fade away are masked by the big foliage of hostas, ferns,
rodgersias, and all those astilbes. Gardening under trees is a whole
'nother challenge, where the astilbes, ferns, etc. are less successful
for me (we have mostly maples).
Anne - Chicago
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