i'm new to this whole shade gardening thing: this is our first spring in this house with its shaded yard (from privacy fence on 2 sides, house on 1 side, and a fence that's completely covered with trumpet vine on the 4th side. tall houses and neighboring trees contribute to the shade as well, and we have a huge, lovely old maple right in the middle of it all.) with each passing day it's getting deeper & deeper...

i THINK i'd classify my shade as "filtered," because the vast majority of the garden gets only flickering moments of direct light, when the wind blows and the leaves on the giant maple tree move. there IS a little 3" circle of direct sun that moves across part of the garden through the day, but i suspect even it will disappear as the surrounding trees continue to leaf out.

don't get me wrong, i LOVE the shade, and got a quick lesson in the difference in temperature a good dose of shade can make after returning home from a memorial day cookout which took place 2" from the sun in a yard where all the trees had been cut down to do away with "the hassle of raking leaves." we walked through our back gate after 2 hours in that hellishly hot yard and the minute we stepped into our shaded garden with the trickling fountain and rippling pond it felt like the temperature immediately dropped 15 degrees. like i said, i LOVE the shade. but there's a but. (isn't there always?!)

here's the thing: i want to grow flowers. i've always grown flowers. big, blowsy, cottagey borders overflowing with flowers, with something blooming from february 'til october. but i've always had sun to grow those flowers in, and lots of it. THIS garden is different...

i didn't realize just HOW different when i started popping my perennials into my newly dug beds. (it was early spring, and the trees hadn't leafed out yet. i just wasn't thinking...)

now i have all these sun-worshippers crammed into the one corner of the garden that gets what passes for sun (they're doing alright, actually, although not flourishing like they would in a sunnier spot), and even the "partial shade" plants have developed a leaning habit as they try desperately to catch a ray or two. (although the hostas and bleeding heart are in heaven!) i did some reading before i planted, and really tried to put things where i thought they would do well, but like i said, they're all leaning south, literally. the leaners just look a bit odd at this point, as they're still fairly small, but in a month or two they're going to be downright comical. even the foxglove are leaning, and i thought they were supposed to do well in shade!

so what do i do?! wait it out, see what happens? dig up all the leaners and move them to my north-west facing front yard (which is actually the brightest spot i've got!)? and are there REALLY flowers that LIKE the shade? i really don't think i'm doing this right at all, but i'd like to!

thanks in advance for your help, and if you've read this far, you deserve an award. but if anyone's still reading, i have one more request: i'd LOVE to see photos of shaded gardens if you've got them.

i've posted a link to pics of my garden below. don't let those patches of sunlight fool you: the latest pics were taken about 3 weeks ago, and the canopy is spreading by the minute!

happy gardening!
susan in kentucky

My shade isn't as deep as yours, but you can look anyway. I'm only on the second year, so it's still a work in progress.

And you can check my blog too, if that turns your crank.

Janet's Garden

happy gardening!
susan in kentucky

have fun and enjoy the cool and peace of shade.
diggerb

i have all the perennials diggerb listed except deadnettle, so i guess i'm off to a better start than i'd thought! but i've definitely been watering wrong; i'll change my ways immediately.

thanks again!
susan in kentucky

Hellebores, crocuses, snowdrops, wood hyacinths, daffodils and tulips bloom before the deciduous trees leaf out. Azaleas have nice blooms and add some structure in the winter as well. Lilies, daylilies, and some clematis like Jackmanii will do well, although not as much as in brighter sun. Bleeding hearts and astilbes and hostas and wood poppies, of course. Lamium and sweet woodruff and lily-of-the-valley for groundcovers. Heuchera and tiarella have pretty flowers, although small, and lovely leaves. Toadlilies bloom in fall - mine get eaten to death by groundhogs though. :( Climbing hydrangea if you need a vine for shade, although it takes a few years to get going.

My newest shade favorites are hydrangeas, which have that big, blowsy, cottage garden look. They need A LOT of watering though, especially with tree roots nearby. The oakleaf hydrangeas have smaller flowers but are much more drought resistant. I'm also loving foxglove (the yellow variety is more perennial than some other types). And hardy geraniums (cranesbill) do well - 'Tiny Monster' blooms heavily all summer and spreads well, but all types do well in shade.

Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate' and 'Concord Grape' bloom most of the summer but the foliage looks like crabgrass! Worth it for the blooms, though.

If you want to experiment, I have had modest success in spots that get a bit more sun with a Blaze climbing rose, moonbeam coreopsis, lambs' ear, lavender, and oriental poppy.

Dang, I have a lot of plants crammed into that border!!!

If you need more color, how about a birdbath and some bright mosaic stepping stones?

susan in kentucky

Valerian is a Cottage Garden favorite that performs well in dappled shade:) It is tall, with delicate white/pink flowers. Mine blooms for at least four weeks! The blooms have a pleasant musky-sweet fragrance. The plant gently sways in the breeze and sparkles in the shade! Definitely one of my favorite shade plants:)

Not a Cottage Garden fav, but definitely lending sparkle... Cimicifuga simplex ‘Black Negligee’ has purple tinged leaves and white bottle-brush flowers. To my nose, it has a pleasant fragrance. More info on ‘Black Negligee’

Regards,
PoseyPlanter

Shade Garden
Shady Shrub Border