Any Tips for a Shade Garden?

[sunflowerpower]

Our property is bordered with trees, and it's beautiful but it means we don't get a lot of direct sunlight through the course of a day.
We've dealt with it so far by building raised beds in the centre of the yard where the light always reaches, but I would love to make some use of the rest of the space.
Has anyone else grown a successful shade garden? We've got some hydrangeas in areas of lighter shade, but I would love some suggestions for other plants that can thrive with less sunlight.
Does anyone have any favourite shade growing plants or flowers?

 

[Beth_B]

Welcome.

My property is mostly shaded with lots of trees and is a work in progress. For perennials, look up hostas (mine are flowering like crazy right now) and ferns. Oh, and bleeding hearts, and ajuga for ground cover.
Also do some research on what native plants thrive in your area,and either plant or encourage those

 

[sunflowerpower]

Oh, that's a great idea! My mom is really into native plants from Vancouver Island, we could have a lot of fun with that. I love bleeding hearts too, they used to grow under all the hedges when I was a kid, I don't know why I never thought of them.

 

[Beth_B]

Oh, and coral bells and ligularia, too!

You are on Vancouver Island, it's just beautiful and lush there.

 

[DeborahJane]

I have a couple of Jack Frosts in my woodland garden and they are successful in the shade. Quite a show piece too as they have a variegated leaf and lovely purple little flowers. May be suitable for yours sinflowerpower.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I do a lot of native planting myself. Depending on what works in your hardiness zone, you can plant many woodland flowers like Trout Lilies, Trillium, Virginia Bluebells, Wild Columbine, Bleeding Hearts, Dutchmans Breeches, Buttercups, Jack-in-the-pulpit, May Apple, Early Meadow Rue, Wild Ginger, etc. Don't forget Ferns. There are so many kinds you can add a wide variety. Some sun plants can also grow in shade, but sometimes its random to whether or not they succeed. I've found success with Spiderwort, Brown-eyed Susan, Blue-Flag Iris (doesn't flower in shade), and Wild Strawberry (may not produce fruit). One of the most popular shade plants are Hostas, but I'd suggest avoiding them. They don't do much to benefit native animal/insect species in North America and are extremely overplanted.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

I am a shade gardner, successful I might add. you can look at my pics on You Tube at Estherredstar channel.
For shade the big suggestion is not to just focus on the flower, but its the leaves that really count, get color on the leaf, interest, shape, height etc.

 

[GreenJo]

I am fortunate to have inherited many hostas with my house and have been successful propagating them some years when I get out early enough. When is the best time to dig them up, divide them and move them around? I usually try to do it as soon as I see the tips poke through in the spring, because they grow so fast after that. Am I doing it at the right time?

 

[Esther Knapicius]

My personal opinion with digging them up/splitting/and relocation is that if you do it early in the spring, you will never get the perfect roundness shape of the plant to enjoy all spring, summer etc. I prefer splitting in the fall, like mid -September, then you have the full plant, and you can see what the plant looks like to position it properly in a new location.

did you see this?
https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/my-hostas-2015.5037/

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I am fortunate to have inherited many hostas

That sounds like a curse to me!

 

[GreenJo]

@ESther

did you see this?
https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/my-hostas-2015.5037/[/QUOTE]

What a lovely photo. I love the contrast of the foliage. My variegateds are planted all in a long row. I need to learn to be more creative!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Flanking the sides of the path that leads down to the valley gardens are my variegated hostas, those came with the property, (not the position). so when we developed the gardens we moved those to that area. The others are ones we bought. I did spend a winter once with hosta books, looking at what type, color, height etc. My general method of planting is contrast to other plants etc. Like red colored leaves on a shrub looks nice next to a blue hosta ect. Its like decorating a room, or rooms.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

couple examples

 

[Esther Knapicius]

In the last picture above the blue hostas go well with the hardy geraniums . Both have interesting leaves that give visual contrast and the flowers of the geraniums play off the blue of the hosta also. the top picture shows a lime green hosta that in the darkness under the shrub light color is popped. and in the middle the blue hosta plays off nice with the oak leaf hydrangea (that will turn red ) And the spent daffodil leaves will later get tucked under the hosta. BTW, our house is blue.