If you’re considering growing some perennials in your shade garden, you may be wondering which plants are best. Here’s a look at four great choices: Toad lily, Bigroot geranium, and Rodgersia. If you want to add a pop of color to your garden, try a fernleaf bleeding heart. These beauties bloom all summer and have verdant foliage.
Hostas
When choosing hostas for your shade garden, consider the amount of sun they get in the morning. While hostas in the shade can tolerate some sun, they do better with a little less. The most tolerant hostas get morning sun, while those that prefer full sun need it in the afternoon. In the South, hostas that receive afternoon sun may suffer leaf burn, and they lose their blue hues.
The first plants to think of when designing a shade garden are hostas. They are perfect plants for a shade garden because they grow best in shady areas. In the afternoon sun, hostas languish. The shady landscape provides the perfect conditions for their blooms. In the shade, their broad, fibrous roots can hold the soil in place even when it rains.
The brightest hostas are best planted in clusters. They should be spaced so they don’t stand out in a mass planting. Instead, group them with larger, muted hostas. Repeating colors in your shade garden will also help to draw the eye through the garden. A good choice is the Afterglow Hosta. Its heart-shaped foliage makes it attractive to hummingbirds.
Toad lily
A toad lily is the ideal plant for a shade garden, where its flowers can be appreciated close up. They make excellent accent plants and are especially effective when planted in mass. These plants will combine well with other shade-loving perennials and shrubs. For fresh flower arrangements, you can plant a hairy variety. Toad lilies grow best in full shade and tolerate frost.
You can divide and plant Toad lilies individually in spring, or divide them. Be sure to plant the new growth bud on the underground rhizome before planting. Then, water them as needed. Make sure that they get plenty of water during long droughts, or else they may not grow properly. The best time to plant them is when there is some light. If you’re unsure whether this is the best plant for a shade garden, check the following tips:
Toad lilies are clump-forming perennials that produce showy, fragrant flowers. Their white flowers have six showy tepals that are heavily sprinkled with purple freckles. Those bumps are nectaries, and they can make catching frogs much easier. This was all a part of the Tasaday hoax, perpetrated by Manuel Elizalde, advisor to the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He did it to promote eco-tourism to the Philippines by bilking philanthropists.
Bigroot geranium
If you want a lush groundcover that will thrive in partial shade, Bigroot geranium is the plant for you. The plants grow quickly and spread easily by spreading their rhizomes. These plants are very hardy and can thrive in zones five and lower. They have purple blooms with a dark red sepal, lobed foliage, and are easy to admire. These plants are not only good for shade gardens, but they also repel deer.
A geranium is a beautiful, low-growing plant with large flowers that are not overlapping. Its leaves mature to a rich green color during June-to-August flowering. While its vigour is limited in the shade, it still has a great deal to offer. Its large, lavender-blue flowers have white eye slits and are surrounded by a rich purple vein. The flowers last for three to five weeks and are surrounded by fragrant foliage. A geranium is a wonderful addition to a garden or a container, but you should be sure to remove the flowers when they are finished blooming.
Geraniums come in a variety of cultivars and varieties. Bigroot Geranium is an excellent shade garden plant for several reasons. Not only does it grow beautifully, it is low-maintenance and requires minimal maintenance. Its foliage has scalloped edges and is four to eight inches long. The foliage turns deep red rust in fall. The flowers are five-petaled with dark red sepals.
Rodgersia
The foliage of Rodgersia is unique, with deeply-serrated veins that contrast with the smooth, spongy leaves of other plants. The rodgers plant can grow anywhere from three to six feet in height, and will bulk up in three to four years. It will bloom late spring to early summer and its flower spikes will reach up to two feet. Rodgersias are excellent choices for shade gardens because they are extremely drought-tolerant and exhibit minimal disease problems.
In general, a semi-shady location with well-drained soil is best for this plant. However, if the soil is sufficiently moist, this plant can survive in full sun. If the soil is too dry, the leaf edges will turn brown. In less-than-ideal conditions, Rodgersias will grow smaller and slower, but they can still form impressive specimens.
The species that grows the best in a shade garden is Rodgersia pinnata. This species is a hybrid of two other rodgersias. Rodgersia pinnata has more leaflets than any other species. It is a semi-shaded perennial that requires moist soil. The rodgersia needs protection from drying winds and good drainage. Its leaves are pinnate, with up to thirteen leaflets.
Solomon’s seal
The most beautiful shade garden plant is the Solomon’s seal, a rhizomatous perennial with erect, arching stems and narrow, egg-shaped leaves offset along the stem. It is ideal for deep shade and prefers cool soil. The small, dwarf variety grows less than 6 inches tall and contains 1-3 flowers per axil. Its small size makes it a good choice for smaller gardens.
A large tree or shrub can create a nice canopy, but the foliage is equally attractive. It requires little maintenance, but you should be prepared to prune it occasionally. Solomon’s seal doesn’t require deadheading because the flowers are small. The foliage is attractive all year round, and the stems disconnect from the rhizomes after the fall frost. Solomon’s seal plants will grow in partial to full shade, although they can tolerate more sun if they grow under a large shade tree.
Variegated Solomon’s seal has been named Perennial Plant of the Year 2013. It’s a graceful shade lover, with handsome variegated foliage that blooms with green flowers in spring. It also spreads by rhizomes. Variegated Solomon’s Seal grows upright in an arching form, with white-green leaves and green tips. It is highly fragrant and is beautiful in flower arrangements.
Sweet Kate
‘Sweet Kate’ tradescantia forms clumps of dense, strap-like foliage. It blooms with three-petaled flowers that are deep blue-purple. The flowers are accompanied by yellow pollen on stamen stems. The foliage stays green in part shade or full sun, but the plant’s blooming habit is more suited to full sun. If you want a plant with a deep color, plant it in partial shade.
Coral Bells hostas in different colors and sizes and are ideal for the shade garden. A mixed selection will transform a dull shade bed or accent a rock garden. The leaves are heart shaped and offer texture, form, and color to the garden. This plant blooms in the middle of summer and makes a low mound. The Purple Dragon variety is particularly outstanding. These perennials will add color to the shade garden without competing with the shade-loving flowers.
Another plant that grows well in shade is the yellow-flowered sweet kate. This shade-loving plant blooms in the early spring and needs a cool, moist location away from the afternoon sun. In addition, it’s deer-resistant. The plant grows between eight and eighteen inches tall and is a great plant for a woodland garden. You can find it at Burpee. Its fragrant foliage attracts birds and deer, so consider planting it close to the forest.
Lilyturf
Lily Turf, or liriope, is a low-maintenance, perennial grass that has many uses in a shade garden. This tough grass can tolerate part to full shade and can thrive in a sheltered location. This plant is also drought tolerant and disease resistant. Here are some tips for using Lilyturf in a shade garden. Lily Turf is one of the easiest plants to grow in the shade.
For a shade garden, choose plants that thrive in low light levels and produce beautiful foliage. You can choose from narcissus, autumn daffodils, and oxblood lilies. For shrubs, azaleas are a great choice, as they tend to bloom more in filtered light and are best planted in sunny eastern exposure. For a low-light garden, plant a mix of bright and pastel colors.
Another choice for a shade garden is the bellflower family. These perennials are known for their long bloom season and are deer-resistant. You can plant meconopsis in the spring, but it won’t bloom until the following year. Be patient and fertilize your garden regularly and watch your shade garden bloom! The most popular variety is ‘Lingholm’, which sports beautiful sky-blue flowers and golden yellow stamens.
