SHADE IS A TRICKSTER, CAPTURING AND RELINQUISHING territory as years pass and woody plants grow—or are damaged or lost. Twenty-five years into gardening on one site, some former “shade gardens” here now bake, and even more spots that were sunny—well, you get the changeable, unpredictable picture.
Thankfully, for the latter areas, I have old clumps of lower-light plants to divide, including those in this new slideshow of my top 54 shade subjects. I included some woodland-garden shrubs and trees for those seeking to manufacture some shade of their own—or wanting to add more understory structure to what nature has provided.
a mostly alphabetical tour of 54 favorites for shadeplant profiles of shade subjects
Perennials
Astilboides tabularis Aralia cordata and Aralia racemosa Cimicifuga, or Actaea, racemosa Dicentra ‘Gold Heart’ Epimedium Ferns:Japanese painted, and Autumn fern plus a wider range with expert Tony Avent Geranium macrorrhizum Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’ Hylomecon japonicum Hostas Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’ Hellebores: orientalis hybrids, niger, foetidus (plus hellebore advice from breederJudith Knott Tyler) Heuchera Jeffersonia diphylla, twinleaf Lathyrus vernus Paeonia, species types (like Molly the Witch) Pulmonaria rubra Primula japonica Primula kisoana Stylophorum diphyllum, Celandine poppy Trachystemon orientalis Uvularia grandiflora, giant bellwort
Biennials
Angelica gigas Hesperis matronalis, Dame’s rocket
Bulbs and bulb-like plants
Corydalis solida Eranthis hyemalis, Winter aconite Hyacinthoides hispanica, Spanish bluebells Mertensia virginica, Virginia bluebells Narcissus ‘Hawera’ and other Narcissus (deciduous bright shade only) Trillium
Conifers
Cephalotaxus harringtoniana ‘Prostrata,’ prostrate plum yew
The website greengrove.cc is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Flowers are usually the first things that grab our attention when we are selecting plants to add to our landscapes. However, most plants only flower for a short period of time, so it behooves us to consider plants’ other attributes—and there are many! Sometimes the same flowers that seduced us into opening our wallets are replaced with an amazing fruit display. Colorful fruits of all shapes and sizes can add drama to our landscapes throughout the year. In addition to their visual beauty, many fruits are important sources of nutrition for wildlife, particularly birds. Here are a few examples of awesome plants whose fruit shines in the garden in summer, fall, and winter.
Living and working in northwestern Oregon, garden designer Wesley Younie is no stranger to dealing with challenging environments. When presented with this garden’s elevation changes, drainage management, and extreme climate conditions, he devised a plan that addresses it all—along with a specific functional wish list from the homeowners. Want to know which plants he used? Here are the plant IDs for this beautiful, sustainable landscape.
In their original environments, invasive plants are restrained by their natural adversaries, with whom they co-evolved. However, when they are introduced to a new environment without these natural enemies, some plants can flourish and spread uncontrollably, ultimately becoming invasive.
While flowering trees are what you want, drought tolerant trees are what you need. Fortunately, there are a number of drought resistant flowering trees that will adorn your garden while requiring minimal water. These types of plants can form the bones of a water wise landscape.
Grasses are just not limited to meadows anymore, some of them are prized for their aesthetics and grown in containers for their architectural appeal! Moreover, it’s becoming a trend to grow them indoors, which is why we’ve selected 9 Best Ornamental Indoor Grass varieties that you can grow as a houseplant.
Do you have a shady garden where you would like to plant perennials? Hostas, ferns, and Lenten roses are the usual choices, but there are a number of wonderful perennial selections to choose from that will add bloom, texture, and color to your landscape. Here are several of my favorite early spring bloomers.
(click any green type to link to the profile of that plant)Golden hinoki cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Crippsii’Japanese umbrella pine, Sciadopitys verticillataConcolor fir, Abies concolorWeeping Alaska cedar, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’Korean fir, Abies koreanaLacebark pine, Pinus bungeanaFavorite Coniferous ShrubsRussian arborvitae, Microbiota decussataGolden spreading yew, Taxus baccata ‘Repandens Aurea’Dwarf white pine,Pinus strobus ‘Nana’Conifer SlideshowIf you missed it earlier this year, tour the above favorites and more in my slideshow of favorites conifers.Categoriesconifers for beginners trees & shrubs
LESPEDEZA THUNBERGII: A 6-by-6 fountain of late-summer into fall purple glory. Easy, too.HAKONECHLOA ‘ALL GOLD’: The Japanese forest grass turns my shady garden areas golden tones from May into winter.HELLEBORE HYBRIDS: Dry shade? No problem. Forgiving, beautiful, extra-early blooming perennials with evergreen foliage to boot.SEDUM ‘MATRONA’: Maybe my favorite of the taller sedums, all blue-green and pinkish in that sedum-y way.GERANIUM PHAEUM ‘SAMOBOR’: Perennial geraniums are a must; this one’s perhaps the mustest, showy and cooperative.LATHYRUS VERNUS: A little perennial pea of early spring (above) that’s delicate and durable; one of my sprin
You may remember some of these from A Way to Garden’s series on beloved conifers: You can find those plant profiles by going to this easily browsable page. Many links to individual plant portraits are listed below. But first, the tour (click on the first thumbnail to start the slideshow, then navigate from image to image by clicking the arrows beside the caption): Favorite Coniferous Trees(click any green type to link to the profile of that plant)Golden hinoki cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Crippsii’Japanese umbrella pine, Sciadopitys verticillataConcolor fir, Abies concolorWeeping Alaska cedar