Lynn Welp | Posted: Saturday, April 28, 2007 10:00 pm
One typically associates moss and ferns with the dark, cool and often moist shade found here in the Pacific Northwest.
Many gardeners who live with limited sunlight in their yards feel they are doomed to the same plant choices. However, shade gardens can be much more than ferns these days.
How dark is it?
There are many degrees of darkness in our yards from pockets of deep shade, bright shade, morning shade, afternoon shade, semi-shade, variegated shade, wet shade, dry shade or dappled sunlight. Understanding the characteristics of these microclimates will make a big difference when choosing a plant that will either tolerate shade or thrive in it.
Each microclimate has its own unique challenges that are often overcome with proper aftercare.
Planting under existing trees, for instance, often means there will be additional competition for available nutrients and moisture, so remember that you may need to add water and fertilize to compensate.
At the home of Master Gardener Barbara Wythes, spring vacation includes removing overgrown shrubs in order to create room for a shade garden along the northwest side of her house.
For this flowerbed, besides ferns, Wythes chose colorful English daisies, variegated hostas, trillium, maroon coral bells, camellia, large waxy-leafed Japanese aralia and what she fondly refers to as her Dracula plant - Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris).
The plant stands about 24 inches tall, blooms in early summer for an eye-catching sight. Its fragrance is not pleasant, but she says that's just part of the character of this plant.
To this mix Wythes added an old mossy log that looks as though it always belonged there. She also added some lava rocks with hen and chick succulents growing out of the cracks and a larger rock pillar.
The rocks were treasures her brother-in-law brought from a northern California quarry he worked at.
Shade gardens can be that simple.
Living under a canopy of oaks, neighbors to an understory of rhododendrons ready to burst with bloom, this is her first spring here.
"I can't wait to see what colors they end up being," Wythes said.
Shady favorites
There are annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines and many other plants that will grow in the shade. In fact, did you know that even though most roses prefer at least 6 hours a day of sunlight, there are a few who will tolerate shade as well?
At the Spring Garden Festival this weekend, Master Gardeners will team up to offer us some of their favorite shade-loving plants and more. Wythes will discuss low-growing plants (under 1 foot) that work well in shade:
• Hardy Cyclamen (C. neapolitanum) - it's a perennial, the leaves are interestingly shaped and colored and its summer blooms provide color even after all the spring flowers have passed.
• Sweet Woodruff (Galium Odoratum) - it's a great ground cover, with delicate white flowers with greenery that adds an interesting texture to the garden.
• Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) - another great, spreading, low-growing plant for the understory of the shade garden. Its bell-shaped flowers are so fragrant in the spring air.
Nancy Stoddard and Janyce Smith from Scio team up for medium-sized shade plants (those between 1 to 3 feet):
• Helleborus (H. orientalis) - Also known as Lenten rose.
"I love Helleborus, which I first planted last year, because it produces some of the first flowers of the year," Stoddard said. They are available in white, blush, green, pink and purple, are easy to grow and long-lived with evergreen foliage.
• Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) - "This is one of the most graceful and perfectly formed flowers that I know of," Stoddard said. It's easy to grow and comes back faithfully every year.
• Columbine (Aquilegia x) - Columbine is also deer resistant. This is a prolific plant with long lasting flowers that bloom profusely. Once you plant a few they pop up all over in the coming years. They come in a variety of colors.
Karen Green will be covering tall plants that like shade (those over 3 feet).
Japanese anemone will take half shade and grow from 2 to 4 feet tall, golden groundsel (Ligularia) has golden daisy-like blooms on dark maroon stems and large leaves. Some varieties grow over 7 feet tall!
Diana Brin, from Corvallis, recommends these groundcovers that like shade:
• Rock cress (Saxifraga arendsii) - very well-mannered, with bright green foliage and cherry pink-rose flowers.
• Kinnikinnik (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) - tough evergreen with cute urn flowers and red berries in the fall.
Madeline Coulson says her passion is gardening.
"I'd rather have my hands in the dirt than anywhere else ... unless they're in bread dough," she says.
Coulsone recommends these vines that like shade:
• Magnolia vine (Schisandra chinensis) listed as WSU's plant of the month.
• Japanese Hydrangea vine (Schizophragma hydrangeoides)
Renee Parr will highlight shrubs for shade:
• Japanese Laurel (Aucuba japonica) - It has beautiful, variegated (green & yellow) leaves, puts out little purple flowers in April and May, and beautiful, large, red berries that remain fall through spring. It can be an eye-catching spot of color in an otherwise plain green shade garden.
• Oak-leaved hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) - It is not uncommon in the Midwest, but in Oregon it grows faster and more lushly. It is not the typical hydrangea with a round mop-head of flowers. The leaves resemble oak leaves, although they can be up to 1 foot across. The flowers are produced in a conical shape, start out white and later become pinkish in the fall. The "cones" can also be up to 1 foot long. "A very stunning May-June bloomer with unique foliage," she added.
So don't be intimidated by the dark corners of your yard, there is help for you at the Spring Garden Festival this Sunday.