Brighten Up A Shady Area
Shade doesn’t have to be dull. Brighten up areas shaded by trees or covered patios and porches by planting colorful, shade-loving plants. Mix and match seasonal annuals, perennials that come back year after year and shrubs that all enjoy shady spots.
Flowering annuals:
- Impatiens – create pillows of color in your garden in white, pink, violet, red, orange, salmon, or mix them together. Blooms from April through first freeze.
- New Guinea Impatiens – sturdier, larger and taller plants than standard Impatiens, available in the same colors. Blooms from April through first freeze.
- Torenia – upright or spreading varieties available in white, purple, pink, rose and yellow. Multiple blooms on these plants are showy.
- Begonias – white, pink or red flowers cover these mound-shaped plants
Colorful annual foliage:
- Coleus – bright colorful leaves on these upright plants can be used as accent plants or in mass plantings.
- Kong Coleus – Larger, taller coleus that have oversized colorful leaves
- Caladiums – heart shaped leaves that come in red/green, pinks, white, and speckles
Perennials:
- Heuchera (Coral Bells) – mounds of colorful leaves in lime green, rose, silver, and multiple color combinations make this a “must have” for shady areas.
- Hosta – combinations of showy blue, green, and variegated leaves combined with delicate lavender flowers come back bigger and better, year after year.
- Persian Shield – is a tender perennial with purple and silver leaves with green ribs
- Sedge or Carex grass – bright yellow, chartreus green, or variegated blades make this short, grass perfect as accents, borders or mass plantings.
- Ajuga – a low growing ground cover of purple leaves and short stalks covered in purple flowers
- Autumn fern – new growth is bronze in color changing to green as the leaves mature. This plant stays green year round.
- Holly fern – another evergreen fern that will add bright green to a shady spot.
Shrubs:
- Camellias – choose between sasanqua varieties that bloom in whites, pinks, reds from Thanksgiving through Christmas or the japonica varieties that bloom from Christmas through early spring.
- Hydrangeas – multitudes of colors, sizes and bloom shapes bloom throughout the spring through early fall – a must have for shady areas.
- Aucuba – green plant with showy dots or patches of yellow on the leaves
- Mahonia – several varieties available (leather leaf, soft caress) add interest to a shade garden
- Pittosporum – terrible name for a great plant with green or variegated leaves.
If you need help creating a shade garden take advantage of our Plant-By-Number designs. For more info about this visit our website at THGC.net |