Posts Tagged ‘shade gardening’

When it comes to my favorite shade plant, Brunnera ‘Jack Frost ’ PP13,859 easily comes to the top of my list.  Few shade perennials have such interesting silver foliage through the season.  This clump forming plant is  a versatile deer proof groundcover that is widely adaptable to numerous shade garden designs such as woodland settings, near ponds – even containers.

I can’t think of a more beautiful plant to be named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2012 than Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’.

The foliage resembles crackled porcelain.  In the shade garden it creates a shimmering silver contrast against other companion plants.

Here are a few Garden Design Tips to make Brunnera work for you your shade landscape.

Container Gardening.  This is an easy shade container plant!  I like using big pots when it comes to containers. Keep pots consistently moist.  In the event plants wilt or the foliage begins looking tatty, simply trim off old foliage and new fresh foliage will emerge later.

Transition or Filler Plant.  Brunnera is a delightful shade plant in garden design to transition or fill in between two large shrubs or perennials.  This gives a wonderful flow to the garden.

Pair the gorgeous  Brunnera as an under-planting to  red Japanese Maples. To extend bloom time in the garden pair Spring blooming Brunnera  with summer flowering Hydrangea.

Combine Brunnera with narrow leaf Hakonechloa and radiant yellow Heucherella Stoplight

Dark Foliage Plants.  You can really make dark-leaf Heucheras, Red Coleus or other dark foliage plants pop with color when combined with silver Brunnera. Dark and light foliage plants pair well in garden design.

Leaf Shape Combinations. The heart-shape foliage of Brunnera contrasts with narrow leaf forms of  shade Ornamental Grasses such as  of Hakonechloa or Carex.   I love combining Brunnera with with soft, airy-texture of Ferns.

Have Sun? Plant on the east side of the house, near a large boulder or large plant . Anywhere you can find shade from the afternoon sun.

Brunnera is such a terrific shade plant. I sincerely hope you included it in your garden design plans if you haven’t done so already!

More info:

How To Grow Brunnera

Brunnera Jack Frost – Where to Buy

Hellebores have become America’s #1 Deer Proof Plant for Shade Garden.  Pink Frost Hellebore is a  spring flowering shade groundcover with unique silver evergreen foliage. Exciting rare &  drought proof perennial. Watch our video and  find out why this is such a stunning shade plant for the perennial garden.

Grown and shipped in our Jumbo 1 Quart Pots  at www.GreatGardenPlants.com

Here’s a  garden plant combination for the shade garden that is a real eye-catcher!

Hostas are a terrific shade perennial to use as a foreground planting to flowering shrubs such as Hydrangeas.

The large rounded Hydrangea flowers play well against the delicate, lacy creamy white flowers of Goatsbeard or Aruncus.

Aruncus is an imposing upright shade perennial that thrives in a moist setting.    It grows up to 5 feet tall.  I like using Aruncus to give height in my shade garden and often will use this perennial in place of a shrub.

Astilbe Visions is one of the most FRAGRANT groundcovers that thrive in shade and moist soils.  Graceful, colorful raspberry flowers create a bold statement in midsummer growing 15″ tall.

Delightful when planted in groupings near a walkway where you can really enjoy their fragrance.  I love to combine spiky Astilbe with bold leaf Hostas here in my former Michigan garden where they make a wonderful contrast.  When not in bloom Astilbe makes a superb carpet of elegant green foliage which nicely bridges my larger Hosta plants keeping the weeds at bay while filling in the garden.

After flowering you can trim down the flower stalks or leave them for winter interest.  I’ve grown a wide number of Astilbes over my gardening years, and Visions remains one of my favorite for ease of growing, fragrance, colorful flowers and attractive foliage.

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.

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 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

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