Re: needs list of plants for z 5 and deep shade was:InterestedIn Shade Gardens

Hi....I had a shade garden in zone 6, and here are some of the things
that worked really well.....

* goose-neck loosestrife....this is not the purple loosestrife that is
choking the waterways all over the place.  Although I have heard that
this can also be a bit invasive, I never had any trouble with it, and it
was beautiful.  Its blooms were white, about six or seven inches long,
bent so that it resembles a goose neck, thus the name.  I grew this in a
bed under the stairs of a deck, so it was almost complete shade, plus
quite dry.

*alchemilla mollis- is a wonderful chartreusy green, and dew drops
collect on the edges of the leaves and in the center, looking like
silver

*frittilaria meleagris- this is one of my favorite plants........a bulb,
comes up on a short, thin stalk with a wonderful flower at the tip,
either white or black and purple checkerboard.  The cutest little thing!

*iris cristata- a very small iris that spreads over the ground to form a
groundcover.... a beautiful white and yellow flower which blooms in
early spring....also flourished under the deck stairs.

*iris reticulata- another small iris, this one with a blue, white, and
yellow flower...blooms a bit later- I think it was later- than the
cristata....very sweet

*hellebores-lenten roses....another favorite....these have mauve, cream,
and green saucer-shaped blooms which come up very early, and last most
of the summer.....super plant

*monkshood- mine grew very tall.....with incredible purple blooms in the
late summer, looked like the inside of a clam shell...

*astilbes of many varieties....I love how the tall blooms bend in the
breeze...these also last for quite a long time and are nice in the back
of the garden.....also the astilbe pumila chinois, which is a small
groundcover....spreads quite nicely

*physostegia- false dragonhead- Mine had beautiful pink blooms in an
upside down cone shape.....late bloomers, about two feet tall

Well, I guess that is enough from me!  Hope this helps.

marilyn

Marge Talt wrote:

> Well, off the top of my head, these come to mind:
>
> Arisaema triphyllum - native jack in the pulpit
>
> Asarum canadense - wild ginger as well as other species, like A.
> europaeum (evergreen) and A. shuttleworthii ( lovely marbled leaves)
>
> Brunnera macrophylla - Siberian Bugloss -  grows in dense shade for
> me, tho' it will take sun or part shade...might need more light where
> you are than it does where I am, but it's hardy as a rock.
>
> Pulmonaria s. 'Mrs. Moon' does well in deep shade for me - but it
> does tend toward powdery mildew if it gets too dry - there are others
> around that don't get it as bad...and some incredible Pulmonaria like
> 'Excalibur' with really silver leaves - lots of new ones available
> with more all the time....
>
> Symphytum grandiflorum grows quite well for me in pretty deep shade
> tho' it's said to prefer sun to part shade - grows about anywhere for
> me.
>
> Corydalis lutea is an easy one and I think hardy to zone 5
>
> Stylophorum diphyllum, the Celandine or wood poppy grows in part sun
> to really deep shade for me.
>
> Know there are more, but need some of the northerners on this list to
> chime in here...come on guys!
>
> Oh...now you don't say what kind of soil you have - acid or alkaline.
>  Mine is acid clay, so if yours is alkaline this list may not work at
> all....
>
> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> mtalt@clark.net
> Editor:  Gardening in Shade
> current article :What's in a Name? Taxonomy
> http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/222
> All garden topics welcome page:
> http://suite101.com/category.cfm/gardening
>
> ----------
> > From: Kathy Garvey <KLGarvey@AOL.COM>
> > Date: Thursday, January 27, 2000 1:11 PM
> >
> > Am new at this list and have questions about good plants for fairly
> deep
> > shaded garden area. No direct light. Have Hosta, Astilbe,
> Lily-of-the-Valley,
> > ferns though I would like more.
> > What ideas can you give me?
> > Kathy Garvey
> > Nebraska/Zone 5
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