Shade Garden Plants?

[MoochNNoodles]

I mentioned in the Pawsitive thread that I purchased some Hosta plants to add to the shade garden DD and I have started planting. We already planted a tray of Coleus too: Shop 12-Pack Tray Coleus (L2567) at Lowes.com

I bought some Caladium bulbs but now I'm having serious regret. I don't like the size. I'm not a fan of "big leafy" but that seems to be what does best in shade gardens here (as annuals). The Coleus will bring color to the area. I picked out variegated Hosta as well. I had a hard time deciding on sizes. I hope the Hosta don't outgrow the Coleus. I still have one section of the shade garden to dig up and find something to plant. I need to lay the brick boarder properly too. I just don't have it in me right now. It will be worth it; but I've been doing a LOT more manual labor than I'm used to!

DH bought me a statue of an Angel holding a red bird last month so that's our focal point. We are making this a Memory/Memorial garden. My Grandma and Nephew are my main inspiration for this. There are some tulips, crocus and daffodils mixed in there. My Bleeding Hearts didn't come back this year. I think I put some Begonia bulbs in last year too. If it wasn't Begoinas it was Peony. That side gets a little more light. There are a couple Phlox planted that did come back.

Can you think of anything else I could plant? The soil here is very sandy. I do think I'll keep my eyes out for more accent figures. I don't know that it gets enough light to make solar decor worth it but I might try anyway!

 

[Kieka]

I'd think some sort of shade friendly succulent would do well, Shade Succulents: Drought-Tolerant Garden Guide | INSTALL-IT-DIRECT.

 

[AbbysMom]

Astilbe, some ferns, Solomon's Seal and Lily of the Valley off the top of my head.

 

[sivyaleah]

Bleeding Hearts.
Ditto on Astilbe. One of my favorites.

 

[rubysmama]

I'm planning to enlarge my shade garden, so I've been looking into new perennials too.

Coral Bells (aka Heuchera) are good shade perennials. They come in many different colours. They get tall little flowers, kinda like the Hosta flowers.

Astille are beautiful, but finicky. At least mine is. They like lots of water, and not too much sun, or they literally dry up and get "crispy".

Ferns are great. They will slowly multiply.

I'd be careful planting Lily of the Valley, for 2 reasons.
1) if they grow well, they will multiply like crazy and end up everywhere. They spread by sending rhyzones underground, so they can literally pop up several feet from where you planted them.
2) more importantly, like other lilies, they are poisonous to cats.
Lovely Lilies and Curious Cats: A Dangerous Combination

 

[DreamerRose]

Cardinal flower, lobelia cardinalis. Will grow in sandy soil, but likes a lot of water.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Astilbe and the Cardinal Flower look like they would add nice color! It looks like I will need to make sure the variety of Astilbe doesn't get too tall for the space. The cardinal flowers might be a bit too tall except in one spot. But it might work! My shade garden is basically under a mature privet hedge where it makes an arc. I forgot to get pictures this afternoon. I'm just hoping I chose my placement wisely so far!

I think I saw some Coral Bells at the garden center. They look like they would be a fun compliment to the Coleus! And another good way to bring color back there!

I think I need to try to find a potted bleeding heart plant to put in. It's too late for this year. Maybe next year though! I'll save some room.

 

[DreamerRose]

You ought to be able to find a potted bleeding heart at a nursery now. It's not time yet for them to bloom, so I'm sure nurseries will have some.

The best heucheras will be in catalogs and on-line. They are still shipping. Try this one Bluestone: Amazing Plant Selection in Eco Friendly Plantable Pots . I've never gotten anything but outstanding plants from them.

 

[rubysmama]

Coral Bells are very similar to Coleus. In my climate, however, Coleus are annuals, so I like the Coral Bells better, as they come back each year.

 

[AbbysMom]

Check out primroses too.

 

[margecat]

Astilbe and the Cardinal Flower look like they would add nice color! It looks like I will need to make sure the variety of Astilbe doesn't get too tall for the space. The cardinal flowers might be a bit too tall except in one spot. But it might work! My shade garden is basically under a mature privet hedge where it makes an arc. I forgot to get pictures this afternoon. I'm just hoping I chose my placement wisely so far!

I think I saw some Coral Bells at the garden center. They look like they would be a fun compliment to the Coleus! And another good way to bring color back there!

I think I need to try to find a potted bleeding heart plant to put in. It's too late for this year. Maybe next year though! I'll save some room.

Hummingbirds also love them, and it's not too late! My are just blooming in the shade, under my bay window.

 

[Winchester]

I love all of the flowers and plants that have been mentioned. You'll have to show us pictures when it's done. It's going to be gorgeous!

We planted a few lily-of-the-valley from my parents' yard several years ago. I bet that bed is now a good 7 feet in diameter and is covered with lily-of-the-valley now. I love them. We don't let the cats outside, so it's no problem to grow things in our flowerbeds.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I love hummingbirds! They like the Calibrachoa I'm slightly addicted to. So anything to keep drawing them is great! We have 2 feeders too.

My mother has lily of the valley. I guess neither of us considered it like other lilies. Hers is contained between the sidewalks and house; but it did take over! We had that full of strawberries at one point! Her crew used to go outside too.

DH is taking me to a garden center in a bit. Its farther from he or I'd have been there already. But they have lilacs on sale! And who knows what else! I'll be looking for your suggestions!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I found Bleeding Hearts! At Walmart of all places! We went for mulch and petunias. I like the Wave Petunias. They always do well. The other garden center has to wait for tomorrow.

I did take some pictures of my garden space on my cell but it's charging at the moment. I took them at the only time of day the garden area gets sun; so they might not be the best.

 

[handsome kitty]

Hostas are not cat friendly. Not sure how sick they make a cat - the ASPCA list only says toxic or not. I would love to plant some for Eclipse to hide under, but I nevertheless know which plants he will take a bite out of

Impatients Are cat friendly and I saw some Sunpatients at Costco. They were larger and slightly bush like.


BTW most of the plants listed in this thread aren’t cat friendly. Be sure to check if your cats roam.

 

[Luckytheordinary]

Ohhhhhhh I’m crazy about gardening so I just had to reply. I too have a shade garden, and I live right by the forest so I only get sun in the morning for an hour or two then it is shade for the rest of the day (not even dappled light). So here are my ideas, before buying the plants please check their hardiness zones. You can find yours by searching up a map of the gardening zones/ agricultural zones.

BOXWOOD:
Pros: super hardy and can survive in extreme winter temps, evergreen, easy to care for, can grow in sun or shade
Cons: Considered toxic by SPCA website. Vomiting, diarrhea in cats, willl struggle in deep shade, may not grow as dense as it would in high sunlight

JAPANESE FOREST GRASS
Pros: adds texture and colour to garden, one of the few ornamental grasses that thrive in shade, great for draping over wall or slope, perennial
Cons: 100% sure about toxicity as it is not recorded on SPCA cite, foliage is enticing to cats

HELLEBORE
Pros: perennial/semi evergreen, blooms late winter to early spring (early bloomer), certain varieties have nice blooms
Cons: TOXIC for dogs and cats according to SPCA, drooling, abdominal pain and diarrhea, colic, depression.

I think these ones are the ones that haven’t been said. But I agree that ferns and coral bells are great choices as both seem to be non toxic.

PS: I recommend you look into local native shade plants, these will need no needed care once established.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

The weather here has been so wacky and miserable I haven't done much to the garden. The hostas are coming along well. The Coleus didn't get as big as expected.

I think half the fun of a garden is watching things grow over time. So I can start planning changes for next year now. I'm already talking about what we can do differently in the veggie gardens.

 

[rubysmama]

I think half the fun of a garden is watching things grow over time. So I can start planning changes for next year now. I'm already talking about what we can do differently in the veggie gardens.

I know!!!!! I just re-designed my gardens THIS year, and already I want to tweak things. Just not sure whether to do it in the fall, or wait till spring.

Some of my hostas, that were in the "shade garden" managed to get scorched, so I think they need another location. But they were also new this year, and I've read that the 2nd year, once they grow new from the ground, they manage to adjust to the sun conditions. So maybe I'll just let them be for another year.

I've got a couple other hostas planted around maple trees that seemed to struggle this year. Not sure if it was the cool spring, followed by a hot/dry summer, or if the maple roots finally won the battle for water. Might dig them up and see how strangled they are from tree roots, and then replant them and hope for the best.

How did everyone else's gardens do this year?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Some of my hostas, that were in the "shade garden" managed to get scorched, so I think they need another location. But they were also new this year, and I've read that the 2nd year, once they grow new from the ground, they manage to adjust to the sun conditions. So maybe I'll just let them be for another year.

My mother has a few hosta in front of her house; right up against the house between it and the sidewalk. They've been there for decades and done well regardless of the sun. The trees were smaller when she planted the hosta; but now the ones that shaded the house the most are gone and the hosta are bigger than ever!

Our summer was wet, hot/dry, wet, hot, humid. I've found I needed to add flower fertilizer to several plants that just weren't flowering with the typical Miracle Gro I use. One of my impatiens became HUGE but no flowers. Not even after adjusting my fertilizer. It got so big it kind of collapsed.

 

[rubysmama]

It could be that your mother's hostas, that have been there for decades, aren't as finicky as the new varieties that are available these days.