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Posted: Feb/16/2008 5:29 PM PST
I have a tiny strip of planting bed next to my front walkway, right up against the foundation of my house that gets pretty much no direct sunlight, and stays fairly damp because of it. I've always been at a loss for what to plant there. I'm a HUGE hosta fan, and I've tried hostas there, and while in bloom they look nice, but they die off and then I'm left with this 5 foot long strip of nothingness for everyone to gaze at while walking up to my door. I'd LOVE something with color there, but I know that probably isn't possible due to the lack of sunlight. I'm wondering if anyone has any great suggestions for something that would grow in such a setting... perhaps some low growing ornamental grass/fern that doesn't have a lot of width to it (the ferns that were there when we moved in grew over the walkway which was kind of inconvenient) that stay nice looking most of the year?? The rest of my yard is beautiful and I've planted just about everything I want to see in my yard... except for this one spot that I'm reminded of every time I walk up the path to my door. I've even contemplated just filling it in with some nice rock and setting some container plants there (???). |
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Posted: Feb/16/2008 6:31 PM PST
Someone will be along to help you soon, there are a lot of people with great knowledge and good suggestions here  Got any pictures??
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Posted: Feb/16/2008 8:19 PM PST
No pictures of the spot.. since it's just an ugly little wasteland right now.  lol There are lots of pictures of my other flowers in my profile
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Posted: Feb/16/2008 8:41 PM PST
Get thee to our Shade Gardening forum! There are all kinds of really cool plants in the discussions there! |
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Posted: Feb/18/2008 12:37 PM PST
Try Heucheras which keep their good looking foliage all year...and now they come in lots of colors too! |
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Posted: Feb/20/2008 6:20 AM PST
Shade gardens are quite difficult to manage if you yearn for bold color in a garden. I have a similar problem at my own home. I've grown to appreciate different textures that ferns and hostas offer. But Asilbes are the ultimate solution for color in shade, although you have to plant quite a few of them to get a rewarding effect. One full shade plant I'm going to experiment with this year is Yellow Wax Bells, or Kirengeshoma Palmata -- maybe you can try it, too. Hellebores also do well in shade, but there are some drawbacks -- they don't bloom for long, deer tend to eat them, and they can be difficult to establish. Hope I helped. Happy gardening. |
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Posted: Mar/04/2008 2:20 PM PST
Shade plants usually don't bloom as long as sunny plants do. How wide is your strip? I like to "layer" my beds with plants of different heights and bloom times. For early color plant forget-me-nots. They are reliable self-sowing annuals that come in blue, white and pink colors. Also consider Pulmonaria (liverwort), which has different cultivars. There are nice ferns available for small spaces, such as japanese painted fern, lacy lady fern. Avoid ostrich ferns, which get big and are invasive. Astilbes, as mentioned above are great and also hardy primroses, celandine poppy, lady's mantle, soloman's seal and other woodland wildflowers that thrive in shade. Ligularia is taller, but I like it because it blooms in Aug. when everything else is fading. For taller earlier bloom, floxgloves are wonderful. I have a "volunteer" patch of hardy ageratum that blooms a long time in the shade. No idea how it came to be in an empty space in my shade garden, lol. Re: Hostas--there are lots of hostas that keep a nice appearance when not in bloom. I love the variegated leaf ones. I have some with a gold or white splotch in the middle and some with the white around the outside of the leaf. Prune back the flower stem as soon as it's finished to give more energy to the leaves. The dwarf-sized blue hostas are pretty,too. My favorite shade heuchera is Plum pudding. it's purple color is deeper than palace purple and it's more compact. Tiarella (foam compact size and long bloom in the shade. Good luck! |
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