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Hi - mostly a lurker on this forum, looking for plant suggestions for the strip next to the house in the picture. The painters just finished their job on the house, miraculously keeping the lonely hydrangea intact. Many of the plants you see in the foreground were salvaged from the foundation strip before the paint job, and since they seem happier in their new location, I'm not moving them back. This is a northeast-facing wall, all shade in summer, morning sun in winter, well-drained sandy soil, ph 7.1 to 7.4, zone 5... as you see, the hydrangea manages to make just a couple of blooms, and even hostas would prefer a bit more sunlight. I did plant a Clethra Alnifolia in the left corner (always wanted this, for the late summer scent). Some plants i've thought of: phlox "Blue Boy" (too shady?) Brunnera "Jack Frost", Abies Balsamea "Nana", Aconite & Foxglove (or something less toxic), ferns... anything else? I think I want something tall with airy texture, but what? Here's the picture:  > |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hi timbu - nice to 'see' you! Nice paint job :-) Wasn't the house a nice green before? Green is my favorite color.... Are you looking for plants for the foundation area or the the area under the trees in the foreground? In similar conditions near the touse wall I have Jack Frost brunnera - try 'Ghost' and/or 'Branford Beauty' ferns and 'El Nino' hosta nearby for a silvery theme. Eupatorium 'Chocolate' works nicely with them too and flowers for me in October. For tall and airy you could try goatsbeard combined with one of the dark bugbanes to give similar flowers over a long period. If there's a spot that gets a little more moisture, rodgersia does surprisingly well and if there's a downspout to direct water from the roof, an astiboides would love those conditions if planted at the base of the downspout. It is very striking. |
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| Love your house! Nice metal roof, my favorite style. I'll add to the list some bleeding heart for the tall 'airy' feel. It looks like you might have one in the patch of plants you moved out from the house. Don't forget some heuchera in there. Some of their bronzy colors would play well with the house color. Does pasqueflower do well near you? They are an oft-overlooked choice for the woodland-type setting. Do you know the name of that purple daylily you've got there? It's striking! |
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| Yes I'm talking about the "foundation planting" area, Woody... the house went from green with a red roof to red (OK, ketchup colored) with a green roof. Looks kinda dull in that photograph, but it's rather bright on the sunny side, and Im happy with it for now. Hmm astlboides sounds appetizing (how much manure should I drag home for this?), bleeding heart does well for me - doesn't pull the disappearance trick - and I might get more of it. Karin, the daylily was labeled "Elaine Strutt" but I'm not sure the labels weren't messed up! Had to google pasqueflower... seems it refers to pulsatilla in some webpages, anemone in others, so I'm confused. Would love anything white-variegated, blue-or-white blooming there. The depth of bed is only around 4 ft so not much opportunities for layering. |
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- Posted by flower-frenzy 8 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 12:03
| My favorite plants for shade are, hands down, hosta a heuchera. This picture is of heuchera 'Citronelle'. It loves the shade. As a rule of thumb, the lighter the leaves on a heuchera, the more shade loving it is. This is especially true for any of the lime green ones. Dicentra, pulmonaria, astilbe, bear's breech, hellebores and cimicifuga (bugbane) are some other plants you may take a look at. I've also included a link to an awesome thread in the hosta forum that contains tons of shade plant pictures and descriptions. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Plants for shade (picture heavy)
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- Posted by flower-frenzy 8 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 12:10
| Here's another heuchera called 'Berry Smoothie'. This one has incredible color and is particularly shade loving. |
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- Posted by flower-frenzy 8 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 12:12
| Of course, don't forget the hostas! This beauty's name is 'Georgia Sweetheart'. |
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| I think water is the key thing for astilboides - the ones I have in drier locations are very small but the ones that get water delivered from the downspout are outstanding! I never mulch them and they were planted in a narrow bed (~12" wide!) along the fence. The bed was made by turning the grass upside down when we removed the grass to make the path and garden - we covered the grass with newspapers, let it rot down over the winter, and planted the next spring. The astilboides has never needed anything else! From this in fall 2007: To this (it's looked much like this since 2008!): White variegated with blue flowers.... try pulmonaria....? |
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| Whoah, monster plant! |
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| Great inspiration photos here, yummy! The pasqueflower I'm thinking about is Anemone pulsatilla, so you are right on both counts. It blooms early, along with the spring bulbs. Then it makes frizzy seed heads which are fun in bouquets. It's a Western native so I don't know its tolerance beyond this region, but it grows in the woods and appreciates moisture. |
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| Didn't realize that bear's breeches could tolerate shade, it somehow has that "full sun plant" look but if it did, I'd be happy - some spiky stuff is missing from the picture. Heucheras are an option but I'm looking for taller things now. Actaea "Brunette" was one of the plants that got moved away from the foundation. Blooms late September-October here if frosts don't get to it first. I might consider moving it once again. Polygonatum remained in the bed (and got badly trampled), so did a blue columbine. I'm surprised nobody has suggested "full row of the same hydrangea" yet - too accustomed to the preferences at the Landscape Design forum, am I? |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 14:52
| I love your house. The horizontal siding and the color are very nice. You could have a variety of different ferns, there’s so many to choose from. Tall ones too. Epimedium is one I always suggest for shade because I have found it so reliable. What about Cimicifuga that has dark basal foliage then shoots up tall flower shoots? I love Bleeding Heart and maybe the white would work great with the color of your house. I grow Lunaria in good amounts of shade there is a white one and a variegated leaved one that you can look for, too. It also blooms at the same time as the Bleeding Heart. Maybe Variegated Solomon’s Seal or European ginger. Flower Frenzy’s suggestion of Hellebores is good too. It seems to flower in shade for me too. Karin, I love that photo of your pasqueflower. It’s such a fuzzy little cutie! I don’t think I would have the moisture for that, but I think it looks great along your rock wall. I moved Hydrangea Annabelle under the drip line of a mature Maple that barely gets any light with a fence behind it too and I wasn't expecting bloom but there are a few on it. I am surprised. |
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- Posted by Donna.in.Sask 2b (My Page) on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 18:20
| How about Monkshood for blue or white? It's a tall perennial that tolerates partial shade. I was in Vancouver recently and saw an amazing stand of Acanthus near Stanley Park. I wished I could grow that plant in my zone, it was spectacular. |
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| Jacob's Ladder does well in shade and is blueish. |
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