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chrissyd1121

Shade garden suggestions

hello ladies and gentlemen! a forsythia behind my gazebo was so overgrown and when i chopped it back, to my surprise, there's a perfect little area for a shade garden. there's even a couple bleeding hearts and fern back here already!

any suggestions on what to plant around the base of the dogwood trees? I have hostas out the wazoo but they're boring... I was thinking some fern, some hosta, some ornamental grass and some bulbs....

I also have astilbe, lamium, lungwart, and solomans seal that I need to put in the ground like now!! so if ur creative let me know what you would do!

*first pic faces south. putting a walkway between the two trees out to the arbor and by mid summer its pretty full with Vines, hibiscus, and butterfly bush so it only gets shadier...
*second pic from rear entrance (or exit?!) of gazebo.
*and third facing east. I'm thinking a walkway from the gazebo out to the lawn where I'm standing and 2 hydrangeas on either side out here....

Comments (19)

  • 7 years ago
    how close to the base of the tree would you plant (an average) hosta? I've never planted at the base of a tree before and I just found out how rooty it is around there!

    I'm definitely putting a bunch of hostas in there but I wanted to add some texture and interest with a combo of maybe 3 or 4 foliage plants. I might decide to plant caladium in the ground come spring... if not I'll have them potted here and there.
  • 7 years ago

    I love my Solomon's seal, huchera, hydrangea, hostas and local native shade-loving perennials. Check out what grows naturally in your zone for some plants that will thrive in your conditions. Also put in some bulbs for spring while you're at it. I border with monkey grass that is easily divided to share with others.

  • 7 years ago
    This is a perfect reply, if you ask me. Thank you so much. I'll look into the monkey Grass.

    I have these 2 tenny solomans seal and ive never heard of them before. When I saw a pic I was psyched. I would have never found something like that on my own.

    Any experience with burning bush? Idk how big these teeny weenies can get. Or what they like.
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    What zone are you in? I don't have experience with burning bush. If you need ground cover you might take a look at www.steppables.com to get some ideas.

  • 7 years ago
    it's either 6b or 7a. River town in Rural, Central NJ.
  • 7 years ago

    We plant pretty close to our trees. Heucheras are fun b/c they come in some cool colors-we've got silver w/purple-y veins, bright pink, some fall colored ones, lime green...different sizes too, some are big, some small, and they flower nicely.

  • 7 years ago
    I've done my research about shade plants. that's about all I've done! I'm just so indecisive and I have such terrible anxiety that I can never just pick a spot and get to planting!
  • 7 years ago
    Im such a lunatic that i try to make everything way to perfect and symmetrical. that's great inside but I have to try to remember that this gardens don't have to be perfectly symmetrical. I plan and plan and plan and never trust myself to just PLANT!
  • 7 years ago

    Stick some in the ground and let them make their own plan. Sometimes I dig them up if they decide to take more space than I want them to. Natural local plants that are perennials will take care of themselves. You just have to keep them in check.

  • 7 years ago
    Is there anywhere I can buy spring blooming bulbs in person this time of year?
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Lowe's has them. So will your local garden center.

  • 7 years ago

    Nothing at our place is perfect and symmetrical. Who has the time or money to achieve and sustain perfection? Not I! Besides, what in nature is eternally perfect? We've moved so much of our stuff so many times, changed our minds so many times. (ahhh the wonders of hostas) This is what I posted many months ago about how our planning has gone over the years. Sometimes you just gotta embrace it and run w/it.


  • 7 years ago
    if I could "love" this post, I would! thank you missi
  • 7 years ago

    I would add some Athryium ‘Ghost’ ferns. They have a silvery appearance and make an area pop. You can mix the ferns with other green foliage plants for contrast. By the way you might consider Hostas boring but they would work well with the ferns.

    To echo everybody else just plant your choices in what you think might look good. Some things will work and others not so much. I rarely have a plant that stays in its original location.

    The space has lots of potential. Good luck!

  • 7 years ago
    lt sounds like a lot of ppl move perennials from their original spot without killing them and that's great to hear! More often then not I'm moving a plant to better suit the plants growing requirements, It's not usually about aesthetic effect. Since I don't have anyone to talk about gardening with in person ive never understood how common and successful people find it. thanks again!
  • 7 years ago

    Here are a few more.

    Hellebores, Brunneras, Pulmonarias, Gingers (Asarum), Heucheras, Tiarellas, Heucherellas, variegated False Solomon Seal, epimediums, dubia, Carex Gold and variegated forms, Hakonechloa, Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing', Ligularias, Actaea/Cimicifuga, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Toadlily, Mayapple, Kerria japonica, Sarcococca, euonymus, (Burning Bush is considered an invasive), viburnums, Leucothoe, skimmia, mondo grasses, Spigelia marilandica, corylopsis, pachysandra procumbuns, kenilworth ivy, pachysandra variegated, columbine, wood phlox, astilbe, hardy geraniums like 'Samabor', bergenia, astrantia, lamiums, ajuga, dicentra, fatshedera, sweet woodruff, strawberry begonia, begonia grandis, lilies, doronicum, vancouveria to name a few.

  • 5 years ago

    'Dubia' should have been 'Jeffersonia' dubia.

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