Flowers and Plants for Shaded Gardens
Are you one of those people who’d love to have a garden but complain because you think you don’t have enough sun or have too much shade to grow anything beautiful? Learn about different types of flowers and plants you can grow in a shaded garden in this eHow Home video presented by P. Allen Smith:
Think about planting a shade garden that will come back every year – one that will last in terms of shrubs, perennials and ground covers. A garden doesn’t have to be full of color to be beautiful. Other aspects such at texture can give a garden “soul”.
In terms of structure, you need forms that will create garden spaces and pull the eye in certain directions. Be aware also that there are different type of shade, from light shade to very dark shade. If a little bit of light comes in, you can actually grow a wide range of plants.
Hydrangeas, camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons are great shade plants that comes in a variety of colors. Together with holly and boxwood, these plants provide structure that will always be there.
Here are some perennials that work well in shaded gardens:
- Hostas range in size from very tiny to very large and provide both texture and color contrast. The broad leaf of the hosta makes it perfect for working with ferns. Bronzed autumn ferns look especially beautiful against chartreuse hostas. Maidenhair fern and royal fern ar other good choices.
- Heuchras or coral bells are great native American perennials that have been crossbred to get interesting colors and veining patterns in the leaves, such as chartreuse, pink, bronze, and terra cotta. This is another lovely plant you can add to your shaded garden.
- Ground covers are very reliable. Vinca minor has beautiful blue flowers. Mondo grass is a good choice for Asian-style gardens and comes in a dark green color called black mondo.
Strawberry begonia has beautiful leaves and small delicate flowers.
And of course, you don’t need any plants at all to have a shaded garden – you can install a water feature.
