Discover a variety of shade-loving perennials that can add color and beauty to your garden's shady spots. Find out which plants thrive in low-light conditions and bring vibrancy to your outdoor space.
This garden designer is a pro at plantings for shade. She did the heavy lifting so you don't have to. Find plants here for a colorful shade garden.
In my last post, we finished off at the entrance to the one sunny pocket in the backyard garden. Let's head under the arbor and look around. Before we move away to explore the rest of the garden, I wanted to show you this pretty, little Japanese birdbath. I also want to point out the interesting way the gardener has managed to combine rock of different scales both in this bright, sunny corner and in other areas of the garden. On the left, she has created a dry stream bed using river rock with a flagstone edging. On the right, she has mixed flagstone with pea gravel to create a path. Pea gravel has a nice crunch under foot, but flagstone is easier to walk on. Assorted groundcovers soften and blend the edges of the path into the rest of the plantings. And speaking of groundcovers...I like Creeping Jenny, but I always stress over its aggressive spread. This gardener obviously does not share my worry, because as you will notice, she has it planted throughout the garden. It does make an interesting textural matt under this Japanese Maple doesn't it? She had this Black Bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra planted in a partially buried pot (initially slow to spread, but be warned, it can also be invasive). I love the skirt of ornamental grass that hides the pot. Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' Moving to the left, we enter an area of half-shade with dappled sunlight. Among the flowering plants and shrubs are pink Astilbe and a number of hydrangeas. As you can imagine, she waters both frequently! In terms of foliage plants, the homeowner has planted a variety of hosta, heuchera and variegated Jacob's Ladder (see lower right corner two photos back). There are also Ostrich Ferns toward the back of this flowerbed. In the far corner of the garden, there are a number of mature trees and full shade conditions. Added to the combination of hosta and heuchera, there is a Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponicum var. pictum on the left. I am going to make a wild guess that the perennial on the right is a Heuchera,'Southern Comfort'. Always pretty for shade: Siberian Bugloss, Brunnera macrophylla, 'Jack Frost' I thought this was a fun idea. Hanging from the tree branches are several birdcages with plant pots inside. No room for a full-sized pond? Check this out! This pond was no bigger than a bucket. I messed up this shot a little and missed the last word expressed in the sentiment on the little pebbles in the foreground. The rocks say, "Hello, have a nice day!" I pass that sentiment on to you.
These shade garden ideas, plant suggestions, and photos will inspire you to add bold, beautiful colors, even in the shadiest reaches of your yard.
These shade loving shrubs will fill in the space under trees with beautiful flowers and interesting foliage to beautify those shady areas.
Read about 46 best Shrubs for Shade and sum up more colors in your garden and containers with bright flowers and beautiful foliage, even in the shade!
If there are spots in your garden that never seem to flourish no matter what you try, our planting plans can help. Download our free guides.
This blog post is all about the best cottage garden plants for shade. In our previous home, we had very limited garden space. The space we did have was mostly covered by shade, and I almost let go of the idea of having a garden at all. But because I love flowers, I just couldn’t...Read the Post
Is there anything lovelier than a shade garden on a warm day? It's hard to beat!
Learn which Hosta companion plants will look the best in your yard with lots of shade garden pictures to provide inspiration and ideas.
Does your shade garden need a pick-me-up? Check out these two combos that will liven up any shady border with color and texture from spring to fall.
Olander Garden Design | Before and After photos
In my last post, we finished off at the entrance to the one sunny pocket in the backyard garden. Let's head under the arbor and look around. Before we move away to explore the rest of the garden, I wanted to show you this pretty, little Japanese birdbath. I also want to point out the interesting way the gardener has managed to combine rock of different scales both in this bright, sunny corner and in other areas of the garden. On the left, she has created a dry stream bed using river rock with a flagstone edging. On the right, she has mixed flagstone with pea gravel to create a path. Pea gravel has a nice crunch under foot, but flagstone is easier to walk on. Assorted groundcovers soften and blend the edges of the path into the rest of the plantings. And speaking of groundcovers...I like Creeping Jenny, but I always stress over its aggressive spread. This gardener obviously does not share my worry, because as you will notice, she has it planted throughout the garden. It does make an interesting textural matt under this Japanese Maple doesn't it? She had this Black Bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra planted in a partially buried pot (initially slow to spread, but be warned, it can also be invasive). I love the skirt of ornamental grass that hides the pot. Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' Moving to the left, we enter an area of half-shade with dappled sunlight. Among the flowering plants and shrubs are pink Astilbe and a number of hydrangeas. As you can imagine, she waters both frequently! In terms of foliage plants, the homeowner has planted a variety of hosta, heuchera and variegated Jacob's Ladder (see lower right corner two photos back). There are also Ostrich Ferns toward the back of this flowerbed. In the far corner of the garden, there are a number of mature trees and full shade conditions. Added to the combination of hosta and heuchera, there is a Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponicum var. pictum on the left. I am going to make a wild guess that the perennial on the right is a Heuchera,'Southern Comfort'. Always pretty for shade: Siberian Bugloss, Brunnera macrophylla, 'Jack Frost' I thought this was a fun idea. Hanging from the tree branches are several birdcages with plant pots inside. No room for a full-sized pond? Check this out! This pond was no bigger than a bucket. I messed up this shot a little and missed the last word expressed in the sentiment on the little pebbles in the foreground. The rocks say, "Hello, have a nice day!" I pass that sentiment on to you.
Shade loving plants are adapted to very little sunlight because of their place in the forest understory. Since the canopies of larger trees and shrubs block as much as 95% of the sunlight that reaches
These shade garden ideas, plant suggestions, and photos will inspire you to add bold, beautiful colors, even in the shadiest reaches of your yard.
A list of my favourite plants that work well in partial and full shade.
These shade loving shrubs will fill in the space under trees with beautiful flowers and interesting foliage to beautify those shady areas.
What is dry shade? Nothing that soil amendment, a little bit of hardscaping and special attention to plant placement can't improve.
Turn a shady spot into a thriving garden with HGTV.com's top shade-loving plant picks.
So you want to have a beautiful yard filled with plants that will add character, but you have no sun because your entire yard is covered with trees? Do you have a back covered patio that’s in need of some refreshing and updating? Well, we at Garden Valley Farmers Market, have got you covered with o
Enjoy beautiful color from spring into fall, thanks to foliage and flowers that don't need a lot of sun.
Get some shade garden design ideas and inspiration (with pictures) for both small front yard garden beds and larger backyard woodland gardens
