Well, I don't know much about shrubs or vines that grow in shade except for English ivy but that tends to take over so I really wouldn't recommend it for near a flower bed. Oh, there is climbing Hydrangea, is that the same as false Hydrangea?

I do have some experience in planting in the dry shade beneath a maple (mine's a Norway). I'm in zone 5 in southern Wisconsin. I do get some sunlight where I've planted at the base of the tree but it's always in the morning or evening as the sun comes in under the leaves at an angle. Just enough in the late afternoon to fry the ferns I tried planting there. :) I have to really keep an eye out for the hostas and keep them well watered or their leaves get singed too. Those maples really suck up all the water. Not to mention that they act like giant umbrellas so anything I plant there has to be watered a once or twice a week (very deep watering).

I currently have had success with Hostas (what else do we plant in shade :)), Columbine (blooming right now and still going strong after 4 years with many babies all around), Stella de Oro daylilies (probably not as many blooms as it would in full sun but I'll take what I can get. I just had to divide it after 4 years), Sweet woodruff (just finishing blooming but the foliage has a very light, airy feel so it's beautiful even without flowers), Allium bulbs(which look great blooming right now coming up in the middle of the Hostas), the kind of groundcover phlox (stoniferous... or something like that I think. I know there are two different kinds of that low phlox and only one likes shade) and some Cranesbill geranium. Oh, and I just planted some Astilbes so we'll have to see how that does. I also just planted some spiderwort and the Siberian iris that I planted just last year survived the winter and is about to bloom. I do have one bush there but it's at the far end of the tree canopy so it gets a touch more sun than the rest. It's a white Rose of Sharon bush called Althea. It never grows much though. Whatever growth it manages to put on during the summer seems to get broken off during the winter when snow gets dumped on it. (This is all planted on the sidewalk strip that runs next to the street.)

I just planted some Lady's mantle, lungwort (tiny spring flowers but great spotted foliage, tiarella (I think the common name is foamflower) and Heuchara. I don't know if I spelled that right but the common name is Coral Bells. Really great puplish foliage on some of the varieties which is nice for a shady spot. I didn't want just a mass of green so I tried to mix it up with the types of foliage. I have some Hostas with the white edging on the leaves, a few that have that bluish/green edge, and a goldish one. They are all mixed in with everything with the spiky or tall plants (daylilies, iris, columbine, spiderwort, and the alliums) acting as kind of accents here and there.

It worked out kind of nice but unfortunately I underestimated how big the hostas were going to become so I'm going to have to do some rearranging. *sigh* And I just finished digging up all of the lily-of-the-valley. Very great for shady areas but it's a garden thug. Plant one or two and they send out underground runners and next thing you know, they are everywhere!. I moved them to underneath my evergreen bushes. The grass is so sparse there anyway, let's see what they do. Maybe I could have a lily-of-the-valley lawn. :)

Well, I really rambled on here didn't I? Hope it helps. I have some pictures of my dry-shade area but I have no idea how to post them. If anyone is interested, tell me what to do and I'll give it a try.

Kimberly

Hi Kimberly,

Thanks for your suggestions. Your bed sounds lovely. I have a lot of wooded shade area in another part of my lot and have quite a number of the plants you have listed (astilbe, hostas, heuchera, cranesbill geranium, etc). Luckily the bed I'm referring to isn't right at the foot of the maples, as you are quite right, they do tend to suck up a load of moisture.

Unfortunately I still have my heart set on some kind of shrub or vine to give some backbone or structure to the perennials at the front. Also I'm lazy and would rather have something large and low maintenance there so I have more time to work on my flower beds and vegetable gardens!

A false hydrangea loks pretty much like a climbing hydrangea. The latin name is schizophragma hydrangioides which is quite a mouthful. It comes in white and pink cultivars and some say is more spectacular than the true hydrangea. Have never seen either growing in shade so that's why I'm interested if anyone has any experience before I go and purchase.

I didn't know that allium would grow well in part shade. I'll have to try that sometime.

Thanks again,

quirkybec.

quirkybec,

My husband and I were discussing what to plant in one area of our yard that stays quite shady (the overhand from the garage keeps the area right next to the foundation pretty dark. We planted a holly there that gets a lot of indirect light and a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning and it's doing quite well. It's surrounded by hostas (which I again planted too close together!) and a few other plants (a really cute cadellabra primrose is blooming right now). But we decided that it needs something taller behind it. So now I need the same information as you!

I just ran a search under "shrub shade" in this forum and came up with a few hits. I guess this question has been asked before. Hollies (Ilex) came up as an answer a few times. We just planted ours last year and I remember that one was listed as full sun and the other as sun/shade. Its location is actually more shade than sun but it seems to be thriving. I had completely forgotten about it when I posted before. I guess they are slow growers too so you won't have to worry about it taking over the spot you choose anytime soon. A lot of the other plants mentioned are unfamiliar to me (I've only been gardening for a few years) so I'll have to look them up. In particular, I'll have to find out more about fothergilla. I remember reading about that once before and thinking I should find a spot for one. It's also called bottlebrush bush and the white flowers in the spring are supposed to have a sweet scent. Also it is supposed to have glorious fall colors.

The allium is very new. One just appeared last spring in the middle of a hosta plant. I liked the way it looked so I planted some more. It's one of the tall variety, about 24 to 30 inches high, medium purple, it held the bloom for over 2 weeks. Right now it's fading but it looks just as nice with a light green ball on top as it did purple. I remember my boys (age 3 1/2 and 5) fighting over the stalk last year after it faded and came lose from the ground. They decided it was a wizard's wand. I'm glad I'll have more this year for them to use :) .

Kimberly

I too have the challenge of shade gardening, our complete backyard has a canopy of trees over it. I went with the obvious hosta but also planted some bleeding hearts in between here and there, also solomons seal and jacob's ladder tend to do well for me. I have both varieties of bleeding heart, the white as well as the pink, now I see this year there is a new type with gold foliage which I might be looking into just to add some interest. Bleeding hearts can tend to get quite large if not cut back so might do OK in the corner you are referring to. Happy Gardening!

We have two corners in the back that are quite shady. In one, we've planted a nannyberry viburnum. The other corner is host to a climbing hydrangea, which will hopefully climb the shed on one side and the fence on the other.

Both plants are thriving so far.

I have a shady corner where I planted Hakura Nishiki Willow and also Arrowwood Viburnum. Both have grown like crazy. The willow will brighten up that dark corner.

Hi,

Thanks everyone for the advice. In the end I went for the false climbing hydrangeas, we'll see how they do. I am also trying a Macrophylia, we'll see how it survives the cold canadian winter (although there's lots of protection there).

Ajfan, I have a big shade area at the back under maples where I have tried bleeding hearts, but they were not happy at all. Sounds like you have more luck than me!!

Another question in the mix - can anyone recommend a slug resitant, fragant hosta for shade? Was thinking about Royal standard or Guacamole, but not sure of slug resistance.

I'm planning on putting a trellis over my deck on the side of my property and it will be in part shade most of the day. Any suggestions of plants? I was thinking of goldflame honeysuckle, but I have some and was dismayed to see it covered with aphids this morning (let me know if you have any suggestions for that!).

Blooms are a big plus. Everygreen is a big plus. thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: My home

Both Annabelle and PeeGee hydrangeas do well under my silver maple, with only 2 to 3 hours of sunlight. I think Limelights bloom on old growth. If that is true, they will never bloom in region 4 or 5 as they die to the ground each winter.

I have a variegated euonymous (green and gold) that I am training to climb up a latice in the shade. These seem to do well under these conditions, and they are faster than climbing hydrangeas.

Here, this link may help:

http://www.missouriscenicrivers.com/shade-shrubs.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Best Full Shade Shrub (Bush)