Archive for the ‘Garden Design’ Category

Use light colored plants such as Brunnera & Hosta to brighten up dark areas in the shade garden

For a low maintenance shade garden, select plants that are more widely adaptable to various degrees of light and soil conditions and are easy to grow and maintain.  Here’s a list of our top 12 favorites:

Astilbe

Add a zesty flower color you won’t find in other shade plants.  Visions is not only more drought tolerant than other varieties (It still needs plenty of water) it is the most fragrant of all Astilbes.

Brunnera

You’ll get beauty in flowers and 3 seasons of interest with shimming silver foliage of Jack Frost Brunnera – our hands down favorite and recent 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year Winner.  Brunnera competes fairly well with tree roots and is highly deer proof.

An array of Heuchera help line a pathway where light transitions from sun to shade. Some sun during the day help to bring out the luster in their foliage

Heuchera

Heucheras are one of the most diverse and colorful shade perennials.  Plant as a groundcover, intersperse between other plants.  (One of my favorite combination is Heuchera Southern Comfort with a blue hosta – oh, la, la!)

Hostas

The Arnold Schwarzenegger of all shade plants. Easy to grow in tough situations where other shade plants fail.

Hostas & Ferns create a cool and calming effect in my shade garden

Hostas grow well under a wide range of trees & shrubs and tolerate a variety of soils. They will grow bigger with amended soil & good drainage. There is nothing like a combination of sizes, colors and shapes for a WOW effect.

Hellebore

An iron clad deer-proof plant that tolerates dry shade once established. Stunning late winter blooms. A super groundcover offering  a year round carpet of evergreen foliage.  You’ll won’t want to miss the all new Winter Thriller Hellebores.

Ferns

Their elegant and fine texture of ferns pair well with Heucheras, Brunnera & Hostas. They need consistent moisture to do well and is a must have for any shade garden.

Hydrangea

This much-loved flowering shrub is a favorite for many gardeners. Hydrangeas add a much needed height to the shade garden while providing year round beauty.

Ornamental Grasses

Carex & Hakonechloa our the favorites providing season long interesting. Both deer proof and tolerant of moisture.

Pulmonaria

The fuzzy silver spotted leaves of Pulmonaria are not appealing to deer while

Pulmonaria Raspberry Splash fuzzy silver spotted leaves deer don't like but stay handsome spring-fall

brightening up dark spots. Not for the dry garden.

Tiarella (Foamflower)

This little known gem is gaining in popularity.  Foamflower has exaggerated leaves that remain colorful spring-winter. Its slow running habit makes an ideal groundcover.

Shade gardening can be just as beautiful as a sunny perennial garden and often with much care and you’ll get to appreciate the best thing about shade – a perfect place to unwind after a long hectic day.

Need more inspiration?  Check out our Shade Perennial Garden Collections

White flowering Annabelle Hydrangea and gold Hostas inject light & energy in a shaded north facing location.

Over the years of gardening, I have found shade gardening required less time and maintenance than my sunny perennial borders. It also became a tranquil place to relax and unwind after a hectic day.

Here are a few shade gardening tips that are quick and easy to do while making your shade retreat a place you want to spend time in.

1) Consider the Grand Design. You can create the illusion of space by installing a gently curved pathway. Create shade by installing a pergola or umbrellas if you have open sunny areas.

2) Most shade loving plants benefit from some sun (preferably morning which is less harsh)  Light colored foliage plants brighten up shaded areas and look colorful all season. Gold Hostas and moneywort gradually transition from gold to bright yellow. Black leaf plants such as Heuchera Obsidian really depend on some sunlight to bring out the deepest black leaves possible.

3)  How to add light to deep shade

Don’t hesitate to limb up lower branches of trees and shrubs. Those tired and overgrown shrubs will not only have a fresh new look but more oxygen circulates creating a healthier environment.

4 )  Plant Selection & Foliage

Hosta, Hellebore & Fern combine well with their different textures and shapes. The combination of blues & greens are calming in a shade garden

The less sun available, the less energy there is for plants to produce a lot of  flowers that you would normally get in a sunny perennial garden.  You can create a beautiful setting with the right mix of foliage color, shaped & textures.  Blue and green foliage create a calming and comforting feeling in a shade garden.

5 ) Tough Areas

If you are having a hard time getting anything to compete with tree roots, grow your favorite shade plants in containers.  Sink pots in the ground between roots or add height with taller pots.

6)  Berm or Terrace

For problematic areas, consider a berm or terrace. Make sure you don’t cover more than a third of tree roots.  A raised bed will be easier to maintain and bring in plants closer to you for your enjoyment.

7) Shade Garden Success

If you are just starting out, select plants that are more WIDELY ADAPTABLE to various degrees of light and soil conditions.

Enjoy season long bursts of foliage color in the shade

I once had a shade garden that included hundreds of shade plants, but there were a handful that were able to tough it out better than others.  It was an easy care shade border that was beautiful 3 seasons of the year and a terrific place to unwind after a hectic day.  As the plants got bigger, they filled in nicely covering bare spots and reducing maintenance.

For gardening inspiration, check out these shade garden collections.

Our next article will feature 12 Best Shade Loving Plants for Your Garden.

L-R Salvia May Night, Dianthus Firewitch, Viola Etain

I have been putting garden plant combinations together for 25 years. I like to say I come from the school of  “trowel and error” learning a lot along the way.  Here is one of my favorite early spring to early summer perennial combination for a sunny to part shaded spot. Since we get a ton of questions on this subject, we thought we’d share our  gardening ideas with you as frequently as we can on our blog.

This spring-early summer perennial combination includes electrifying blue spikes of Salvia May Night with fragrant pink flowering Dianthus Firewitch and early spring flowering, vanilla scented Viola Etain.

Here are a few other ideas:

Salvia with Pink Knock Out Roses

Dianthus with blue foliage Festuca

Violas at a base of your favorite shrub

What are some of your favorite spring-summer plant combinations?

Keep people on defined pathways and let the butterflies do the greeting!

If you want to prevent people from walking through your landscape and/or keep them on a defined pathway  you want a low growing hedge plant like Buddleia Blue Chip.

Blue Chip Buddleia is a hedge plant with a non-hedge look with its long flowering blooms that start in mid-summer and last well into fall with no need to deadhead or prune.

Buddleia Blue Chip is a compact deciduous shrub that grows about 30” tall by 24” wide with fragrant re blooming blue flowers that beckon butterflies & hummingbirds. This cold hardy flowering shrub is a new miniature butterfly bush that works well in a narrow spot.

This planting is near the office  entry at Spring Meadow Nursery.  How nice it must be walking to and from work and being greeted by hordes of butterflies!

Benefits of  Blue Chip (Lo & Behold) Buddleia:

• Create a  hedge plant barrier that prevents people from walking through your landscape
• Highly versatile flowering shrub
• Tolerant of road salts
• Highly deer proof
• Drought tolerant once established
• Easy Care
• Cold hardy to Zone 5

Butterflies swarm to the enticing fragrance of Buddleia

Whether your are defining a pathway, screening out undesirable views, it is hard to beat the overall beauty and  one time investment of easy to grow Buddleia Blue Chip

What a great way to great summer guests and keep them on a defined pathway to your office or your home.

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Where to buy

Do you have a favorite perennial pairing that makes you smile? One of my favorite shade gardening “pairs” is Tiarella and Heuchera (I’m particularly fond of Frosted Violet which has fantastic vigor and is both heat & drought tolerant). I have found both to be hard working shade ground covers that are easy care providing multi -seasonal interest.

Both are excellent for container gardening.  They do well if left outside during the winter  in my unprotected in my Zone 5 garden.

The spring flowers of Tiarella  continue to bloom sporadically in cooler climates and makes a charming carpet of foamy (and FRAGRANT) flowers which I LOVE edging a shaded garden path with.  Heucheras come in a wide range of foliage colors and are great anywhere you can provide protection from the hot afternoon sun.

Tiarella is a terrific choice for winter color. Their intricate evergreen leaves turn  intense burgundy shades in the winter which gives you something to enjoy when you get an occasional snow melt while reflecting on the growing season ahead.

Check out our Shade Perennial Garden Collections for more inspiring ideas for your shade garden.

Heuchera & Tiarella  – both oh-so-easy garden plants with color & interest and spring- winter interest.   What pairing makes you smile?