Wednesday 8 May 2013

Shade

I have very few places where shade is an issue, and as a percentage of garden, it's irrelevant. For many of you with a small garden, and where most or all of it is in shade, there is a huge challenge finding suitable plants. I have plenty of other places to plant, so I pretty much just ignore the shady spots.

So the north-east side of our house is a neglected place. It's been neglected a long time. Grass grew to the wall, except it didn't. It gets so little sun (only early mornings) that even that was patchy, weedy and ugly.

Tyler dug out a strip along half the wall. In this photo you can see both his handywork, and the ugliness of the location, with the electricity meter piping, a vent, and a tap that has left rust marks all down the wall, plus the standard ugly basement window.


The back half of the wall is covered by the pool deck, so I only have a strip about 12 feet long to worry about. I shall put shade plants there and then gravel and rocks around them for low maintenance. I really don't need any more weeding to do.

Now I have to find suitable shade plants. Tyler's boss suggested boxwood, hostas, and spiraea.


Spiraea (Neon Flash)

Spiraea will work. I can plant it right in front of those pipes and it will hide them without preventing access to the meter at the top. We had one round there before, atop the well, but it was lost during the well repairs. So I know it will do well, and I liked it.


Boxwood (Variegated)

This is a possible. Again, had one before but it was in the front flower garden, and I prefer flowering plants. But for this purpose I think it has a place.


Hosta

I hate hostas. I am FAMOUS for hating hostas. I dug up all the ones that were here when I moved in, and have offended several friends over the years by refusing gifts of hostas. That will not be happening.

If you were wondering what you can plant in shade, first I'll offer the complete list, and then my choices.

Perennials for Light Shade or Part Sun (Those that take deep shade are marked with “*”)

Anchusa
Tall Phlox
Monarda (Bergamot)
Day Lily
Bergenia *
Bethlehem Sage*
Balloon Flower
Siberian Iris
Carpathian Harebell and other Campanula
Creeping Jenny
Meadowrue
Virginia Bluebells *
Foxglove *
Oriental Poppy
Astilbe *
Marsh Marigold
Trollius
Primrose
Feverfew
Gold Moss
Cimicifuga
Chives
Arabis
Trillium
Purple Coneflower
Planted Daisy
Filipendula
Shasta Daisy
Columbines
Gas Plant
Leopard’s Bane
Macleaya
Christmas Rose
Jacob’s Ladder
Hosta *
Cardinal Flower
Gooseneck and Yellow Loosestrife
Japanese Anemone
Peony
Brunnera
Solomon’s Seal *
Saxifrage *
Nepeta
Spiderwort *
Chrysanthemum
Viola
Aconitum
Bleeding Heart
Goatsbeard
Globe Thistle
Geum
Perennial Geraniums
Obedient Plant
Coral Bells
Veronica
Lupins

Perennial ground cover for shade

Ajuga
Goutweed *
Crown Vetch
Cotoneaster
Epimedium*
English Ivy
Hall’s Honeysuckle
Virginia Creeper
Pachysandra*
Creeping Potentialla
Periwinkle
Euonymus
All ferns *
Many ornamental grasses
Lily-of-the-Valley
Wild Ginger
Wintergreen *

Obviously not all of these will be suitable, as some would die in my winter.

My choices will be as follows:


Foxglove

Nice and tall, will cover ugly things. They aren't long lived, but they do self-seed and multiply. As before, I know they do well here.


Pulmonaria aka Bethlehem Sage (I often prefer Latin names)

This is a short one for in front of the window. The other one for this position will be:


See how nice that looks among gravel. 

I may put some annuals in this year while the perennials are small, and the obvious choice is pansies. I don't do impatiens, no, no, no. No.

Soon as it's in, I'll do an update here with photos.


2 comments:

  1. Now I was told this morning that peony wouldn't do so well. Perhaps its a partial shade thing. I was looking at Bethlehem Sage myself this morning but I think it was due to the height that I opted for others. I want something gets to be around a foot high, as I now have the two flanking height plants.

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    Replies
    1. They just flower earlier/more in full sun, that's all. And choose the red ones for shade. I have actually known people who ONLY grow peonies in shade, deliberately, because it stops them getting out of control.

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