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My entire front yard is dominated by a Giant Sycamore tree. It provides medium to full shade all day over the front flower beds. I wanted to use mostly perennials in these beds, but I needed to choose my plants carefully to find ones that would flourish in shady conditions. The following perennial shade plants did best in these areas.
Perennial Shade Plants - Hosta
The mainstay of shade loving perennials is the Hosta or Plantain Lily. Hostas come in an endless variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Hosta leaves range in color from dark green to a pale, almost yellowish, green. Some varieties have variegated leaves as opposed to solid colors. Hostas produce lavender or white flowers on long stems during the summer months. They are easy to grow and, once established, will flourish with minimum maintenance. In the fall, you can divide your Hosta plants and fill in gaps in your flower beds. I used a larger variety of Hosta up against the foundation of the house and they totally covered the concrete foundation up to the bottom of the vinyl siding.
Perennial Shade Plants – English Primrose
In front of the Hostas, I planted English Primrose. English Primrose is a low growing (6” -12”) perennial that produces white or yellow flowers in early to mid spring. This perennial shade plant has dark green, broad leaves. The English Primrose prefers light to medium shade. It is tolerant of a variety of soil conditions and can be grown in any medium from sand to clay, but does best in moist, well-drained soil.
Perennial Shade Plants - Lily of the Valley
Finally, at the front edge of my perennial shade garden, I planted Lily of the Valley. These light green plants produce stems with 5-15 white bell shaped flowers per stem and bloom in late spring. They are among the most fragrant flowers available and will perfume the entire area when in full bloom. Lily of the Valley is extremely hardy and will grow and spread through an underground root colony. Mine have tumbled over the front border of the flower bed and naturalized into the lawn. A word of caution, though - all parts of this plant (leaves, roots, flowers and berries) are poisonous, so take care in using them around children and pets.
Perennial shade plants can be the stars of your garden. While most do not produce the vivid, showy blossoms of plants that require full sun, they can be quietly spectacular. Perennial shade plants tend to produce more delicate, fragile looking flowers in light shades. The light colors add brightness and their ability to spread and fill in the bare areas makes them a low maintenance solution to those shady areas.
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about perennials and organic gardening at GreenThumbArticles.com!
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