Flowers for the Shade
When I first moved into my newly-built house twenty years ago, the front yard was completely bare. Of course, I immediately began to plant - trees, shrubs, perennial and lots of annuals for quick color. While I had great fun selecting plants, I did have to limit my choice of flowers to ones that would thrive in full sun. The trees I had just planted- a red oak, a Japanese tree lilac, a fringe tree - would all make fine specimens one day, but at that point their canopies cast little shade. So when I visited nurseries to pick out phlox, baptisia, dayliles and irises, I cast a longing eye on all the hostas, astilbes and ferns I had no spot for.
Fast forward fifteen years or so - and it did seem to go by fast! One day a few years ago, it hit me how much my trees had grown. I realized, as I looked at some of my struggling sun-lovers, that I now had the opposite problem - more shade than sun. Of course, changing conditions aren't a dilemma for true gardeners - they are just a reason to buy new plants! So I began moving the plants that wanted lots of sunshine to a sloping area near my driveway that was always a pain to mow. And I began to fill their places with perennials that would appreciate the lower light.
Hostas were one of my first choices. These shade lovers come in a marvelous array of leaf sizes, shapes and colors and produce white or purple, often fragrant flowers to add to their appeal. I chose some big ones, like the striking 'Sum and Substance', which lights up the shade with its enormous chartreuse leaves. 'Partriot' and 'June' are more modestly sized, but their leaf variegation add interest throughout the season. Astilbes such as the pink-flowered 'Erica' and white 'Darwin's Snow Sprite' provide spots of color, while their ferny foliage makes a nice contrast with the bold hosta leaves.For more textural interest, I've also included 'Lady in Red' lady fern, whose lacy, light green fronds contrast with the dark, red-violet of their stems. To add color late in the season, I just added kirengeshoma, also known as yellow wax bells. Growing 3 to 4 feet tall, this shrub-like perennial has maple-like leaves and pale yellow, nodding, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and early fall.
Gardens are never static. Their constant change is sometimes a challenge, but it is also what makes gardening such an interesting endeavor. There is always something new to learn and something different to try. And that's what makes it such fun!
Comments