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Good plants/shrubs for shady location?
Topic Started: May 4 2010, 01:47 PM (273 Views)
Barn Girl
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So we've lived in our house for 3.5 years now and still have no landscaping on the front. :sigh: We were too busy working on the barn and other "farm" stuff! Anyway, we do have a mulch bed and I planted about 10 hostas two years ago, they're doing great. But I have a long house and I need many more plants to fill in the flowerbed. What other plants/shrubs do well in shade? It gets some sun in the morning but not a ton. I'm up for anything that is easy to manage and not annual (I'm too lazy to plant year after year, I like the one time and I'm done thing!) We're in VA.

TIA!
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headlesshorseman
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I like to use...the Hostas...Sounds like yours are good and established....


I think you'll need some HEIGHT....Boxwoods come to mind....they are on the boring side...but can give you the BACKDROP OF year long GREEN....and you can shape them into circles...or rectangles...or GO DISNEY on us... :innocent: Posted Image



Behind them maybe you can have a RAISED BED..that will/can give some height too...I have good luck with Wood Fern Posted Image

I have some Holly Fern as well...these are like BIG holly leaves...dark green and super glossy... Posted Image

SHADE LOVING FLOWERS come in all sorts of colors Impatiens are nice...Posted Image

GOTTA love the super hardy begonias Posted Image JUST stick to the GREEN GLOSSY leaves...

I USED to hate Caladiums....but they sure do grow on you ;) Posted Image

Do you have any SUN???? A Japanese Maple is a VERY PRETTY TREE as well as a Dogwood....they do need some light...they do well...as secondary trees..

I can't wait to see the before and after pics...I'm Rambling

GOOD LUCK

HH :P
Edited by headlesshorseman, May 4 2010, 02:38 PM.
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Delia
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Lots of things do well in shade. How cold does your area get in winter, and how moist is your soil? For shrubs, hydrangeas do well with morning sun and afternoon shade, as to azaleas, rhododendron, mountain laurel, boxwoods, nandina, and camelia. For perennials, in addition to hosta, in my shade beds I have astilbe (good for wet shade), lady's mantle, a variety of ferns, hardy begonias, coral bells, helibores, pulmonaria, toad lilies, epimedium (good in dry shade), mazus reptens (a really useful ground cover) and day lilies (they do need some sun, but I've got some that just get morning sun and they still do well).
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headlesshorseman
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DELIA GREAT SUGGESTION.....OH I FORGOT about CORAL BELLS....GET a BUNCH of them....COOL leaves in super cool colors too...plus they flower...

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You could do a whole garden in them....they LOVE containers too I NEED to get me some....

HH :)
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french_toast
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Hostas look really good with Astilbes. Also, I don't know what kind of hostas you have right now - are they all different color variations? I love how a Frances Williams looks with a Sum & Substance and one of the darker variations. Combining the light and dark really makes the gold pop and gives the shady areas some texture and depth.

If you have room - a dogwood will do well in shade.
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Witchy
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Hydrangia and Bleeding Heart Bush are both great in the shade and very pretty.
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Barn Girl
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I knew y'all would have some good suggestions! :clap: I'm not much of a plant person but I'm learning, slowly!

My hostas are different varieties, a local nursery was selling them at our local farmer's market and I couldn't decide which I liked best so I bought a bunch of different ones. I do like the combination of the colors. After every winter I think they're not gonna come back but then POP... they're up and big and beautiful again in no time.

I'll check out some of the ones you suggested next time I go to Southern States or Lowe's... and will try to take some pics of the before and after. Thanks!!!
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goodhors
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I like the Chinese Rhubarb (not-edible at all). After a year or two, they get rather large, can be taller. Leaves are VERY large 2ft across, quite striking, with a flower stalk early in spring. I cut my flowers off after bloom so it doesn't set seed, which will prevent plant going dormant.

They make an excellent contrast plant, if you wanted alternating height and foliage contrasts. Cut the leaves after frost, they totally disappear in winter cold. I have some along my wood privacy fence and under the eaves where the roof ice falls! They come up each year, look terrific. They do like a bit of shade, some dampish dirt.

Anemones come in several colors. They bloom in late summer to late fall, very attractive. They will spread to fill a space, I just weed whack to keep the spreading under control. You can rip them out, trade for other plants. They also do damp ground, part shade areas. The foliage is kind of grape leaf shaped, with flower stalks getting taller, so flowers "float" in the air. White, several pinks, dark pink.

The ferns shown are pretty, with many other kinds available. I have some with two color leaves, others have oddly twisted leaves, also pretty. Primroses like shade, and bloom almost all the time, even in the snow! Primroses have bright colors, red, blue, white, yellow, just mulch them to keep them damp. They can be divided after a couple years, spread them around more or trade for new plants with other garden friends.

Check with local garden clubs, many are having plant sales now. Some sell, some just trade. Fall is a GREAT time to plant perennials, along with bulbs. Many sales with huge markdowns for bushes and plants. The plants will grow roots until the ground freezes, so often do better than spring planted items.
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Copper Leaf
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Love this thread! I have a little area that gets dappled early morning light, a little mid morning light and shade the rest of the day. Last week I picked up a gardening book at the feed store that also has a little gardening center... Ortho's All About Shade Gardening in addition to listing more plants than you can imagine, they have landscaping layouts and gorgeous photographs!
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SnackPack
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Most things I use wouldn't work for you. You've got to pick what works in your area. The Better Homes and Gardens books are excellent resources. We used the "Western Garden" book as a text in college. I still have it and refer to it when I get the urge to plant something new.
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