Astilbe is always a welcome guest here and even when the blooms have gone the foliage is lovely.

Corydalis lutea has lovely foliage and yellow blooms all season and aruncus aethusfolius with its almost fern like foliage and white blooms are both attractive in shade gardens. The corydalis reseeds itself in my garden within reason never gets out of hand, the aruncus stays where planted. They are both attractive lower growing plants, the corydalis is my favorite with it's long bloom season. I also agree with those who suggested bleeding hearts love their blooms. Another plant that I finally tried is pulmonaria love it with it's colorful foliage and blooms. Ferns and hosta's blend well with many plants.

pirl said:Astilbe is always a welcome guest here and even when the blooms have gone the foliage is lovely.

I think I have one if that s a false spirea, since the photo is was planted in that morning sun/shade area I was fretting over it being the
proper place

That's it! I love the look of it amid lilies in sunshine and all the compost and mulch does keep it cool and moist. All it takes is one prolonged hot spell to have the blooms look hideous but cutting them back still leaves you with a lovely plant.


The aruncus Betty mentioned has to be the best behaved plant I've ever had.

Just catching up here...what kind of fence is it? Planting near a solid stockade fence would be different than planting near an open wire fence.

I wonder if you could take a photo of the area the way it looks now; or better yet, two or three photos to show the sun/shade at different times of day.

greene said:Just catching up here...what kind of fence is it? Planting near a solid stockade fence would be different than planting near an open wire fence.

I wonder if you could take a photo of the area the way it looks now; or better yet, two or three photos to show the sun/shade at different times of day.

It is a chain link fence, will do photos on Saturday as I am home and can capture morning and afternoon and post it on Sunday.

freedombel said:Here is my shade garden from this past spring/summer

With a small tree and a mature shrub within a fairly small space, I think this may be a dry shade/seasonal bloomer area. You might not want to dig all that much in there and risk the health of your large plants, so planting pockets http://garden.org/ideas/view/c... for perennials might be best, along with a few containers of annuals between them. Add a couple of inches each of compost and mulch around them and it should be fairly easy to maintain base moisture levels. Containers will require regular watering during dry spells, so if they're situated near your new perennials their seepage will help them get available moisture before your big guys scarf it all up.

I agree with dicentra and heuchera for now, with maybe a few vigorous hosta added a bit later.

You might want to start adding a top-dressing of compost as soon as you can get some. The more active your soil microbes and earthworms are by planting time, the better your new plants will be able to get what they need to settle in nicely once you can plant them.

reedombel said:
Here is my shade garden from this past spring/summer (previous picture I last posted)

Thumb of 2015-02-08/freedombel/51cf7c
This is not the area I am asking the planting suggestions, I did make it confusing posting this picture didn`t I? It is another area all along the back of the yard,
this is the closest pic I have on hand at this time:

Ah ha -- so, back along the fence line, then? I think that will be a great area for planting lots of stuff!

You explained it just fine. Plus we can get a sense of your style from the image of the smaller shade garden from last season.

The area along the fence line is beautiful. Great area to work with! May I ask if you are able to thin out some branches from the trees to lessen the shade and make it more dappled?

well if the area is large, (what is large?) then I would start with a row of small shrubs along the back of the fence and then plant smaller plants along the front of that. This will add winter interest, shelter/food for birds make a nice backdrop for your smaller plants. You can use azaleas, hydrangeas (I assume your shady area has some sun part of the day?) rhododendrons ect. You might consider a small variety of Japanese Maple or dogwood or some other tree that likes some shade. There may be some larger grasses that like shade-these are nice for winter interest and add height, the plumes can be used in arrangements or crafts. Some azaleas and rhododendrons are evergreen so that would be nice.

Astilbes, ajuga (ground cover) hellebores, hostas, impatiens and coleus (annuals, but are cheap and grow really fast although they need regular watering), ferns-these would all do nicely in shade. The hellebores are green in the winter but all the others will be dormant, so nothing to see.

I would pick a color theme to help you choose what to plant. Keep in mind that your color theme could change seasonally. For instance you could do pink and white azaleas and rhododendrons in the spring, but by summer, your other plants could be lime, purple or white.

All great ideas, Frillylily!

I just ran out and took 2 pictures, first picture is the first section next picture is the rest of the section, it was just after 3:15 pm and
there was some sun.

freedombel said:I just ran out and took 2 pictures, first picture is the first section next picture is the rest of the section, it was just after 3:15 pm and
there was some sun.

So far what is back there is a false spirea and several, and I mean several, clumps of naked ladies lilies.

by the way, the naked lilies are quite pricey to buy, so don't dig them out thinking you will just buy some more sometime later.

Those are great pictures to give us an idea of the space you need to fill.

As I look toward the corner of the property (I see the hammock)...in my mind I can picture tons of Daffodils naturalized in the area under and around those trees. A bit further back I can see the Hostas, preferably some variegated types to brighten the area when it's shaded.

There is a type of Hydrangea with light green foliage. How do you feel about that?
Another plant with interesting foliage is Hypericum 'Golden Rule' and it can take shade.

All great ideas, as far as the naked ladies i am just working around them, i will reply more later, going in to my job now, yuk

I once had a lime colored weigela and I loved it! It had bright red flowers on it in May.