2450 S. Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703

Phone: 775-882-8600    Fax: 775-882-7285    

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Designs

Plants selected for Shade Garden

For gardeners, the grass is often greener on the other side of the fence: Those blessed with brilliant sunshine often long for shade, and those blessed with shade long for a few more hours of sunlight. You can't please everyone, but if your garden suffers from a lack of light, you can learn to enjoy shade gardening if you understand shade-loving plants and their individual needs. Just follow the lead of Mother Nature. Creating a shade garden doesn't mean you are limited to a monochromatic color scheme.   Shade tolerant plants come in a wide range of colors, textures, and forms that can brighten up any landscape. We've created this fact sheet to give you a fast and easy way to select just the right plants for your shady spot. While shade gardening can mean different things to different people, just about all gardeners could use a break from the summer sun that a cool spot under the trees can provide. An out-of-the-way bench can create an oasis of peace and quiet, right in your own backyard!  

Hosta
This perennial tolerates a wide range of light conditions and carpets the woodland floor with large decorative foliage in yellows, greens, gray-blues, and striking variegations.
       
   

Impatiens
Add an instant splash of color to any shady bed or border! These easy-care annuals bloom continuously from early summer until frost.
       
   

Hydrangea
With opulent flower clusters that magically change from pink to blue, depending on soil acidity, it's no wonder this old-time favorite is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.
     
 

Fern
Lacy fronds artfully blend with other plants and shrubs to give any garden a more natural, informal look.
     
 

Rhododendron
The backbone of the shade garden, this flowering shrub explodes in showy blooms in the spring and keeps its attractive foliage all winter long.
     
 

Astilbe
For an elegant accent, you can't beat graceful plumes of red, white, or pink towering over delicate foliage of dark green or bronze.
Garden Plan Key:

There is no secret to creating a shade garden. Begin by building a privacy/shade screen with small trees and shrubs, then complement this backdrop with a selection of perennials, annuals, and small shrubs. Start your bloom cycle with bulbs, and you'll create a landscape you can enjoy throughout the year!

A = Birch
B = Hakonechloa
C = Coleus
D = Mt. Laurel, Dwarf
E = Aruncus
F = Rhododendron
G = Impatiens
H = Astilbe
I = Ajuga
J = Hosta
K = Fern
L = Foxglove
M = Hydrangea
N = Holly
O = Hellebore
P = Dicentra
Q = Pieris
R = Caladium
S = Lilium
T = Azalea
U = Vinca
V = Dogwood
 		    

 

Annuals
Begonia
Coleus
Impatiens
Lobelia
Nicotiana alata
(flowering tobacco)
Pansy
Viola

Bulbs
Begonia
Caladium
Crocus*
Cyclamen
Daffodil*
Tulip*

Ground Covers
Ajuga
Ivy
Lamium
Pachysandra
Vinca

Perennials
Alchemilla (lady's mantle)
Anemone
Aquilegia (columbine)
Arum
Aruncus dioicus
Asarum (wild ginger)
 

    

 

Astilbe
Bergenia cordifolia
Brunnera
Campanula (bellflower)
Cimicifuga racemosa
Crocosmia
Dicentra
Digitalis (foxglove)
Doronicum (leopard's bane)
Eupatorium
Euphorbia 'Chameleon'
Fern
Filipendula
Galium odoratum
(sweet woodruff)
Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
Hellebore
Heuchera (coral flower)
Hosta
Ligularia 'The Rocket'
Lilium (some varieties)
Liriope
Lobelia cardinalis
(cardinal fiower)
Lysimachia (loosestrife)
Myosotis (forget-me-not)
Pelargonium (some varieties)
Polemonium (Jacob's ladder)
Polygonatum (Solomon's seal)
Primula (primrose)
Pulmonaria (Iungwort)
Trillium

   

 

Trees & Shrubs
Azalea
Betula (birch)
Camellia
Cercis (redbud)
Cornus (dogwood)
Cotoneaster (some varieties)
Daphne
Euonymus
Fuchsia
Hemlock, Canada
Hydrangea
Ilex (holly)
Japanese maple
Kalmia latifolia, dwarf
(mountain laurel)
Pieris
Rhododendron
Viburnum
 

 


*Plant these sun-loving bulbs under deciduous trees; they will bloom before the trees leaf out in the spring.

 

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Last modified: 01/29/10