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A garden plot will look beautiful and well-groomed only if every corner of it looks attractive. No matter how spectacular flower beds you plant in its central part, dull dark corners and nooks, where there is nothing except rare weeds, can spoil the impression of the site as a whole. But a dark corner, a path between the house and the fence, where the sun does not shine even on a summer afternoon, can become not just attractive, but picturesque, if we choose the right perennials for the shade.
The choice is not as great as sun-preferring plants, but you can’t call it meager either. In addition, here you can fully express your imagination and turn a shaded corner into a real pearl of the garden. We will look at the most popular perennials for shade and partial shade, and give some tips on their placement.
Shade and partial shade on the site
The area that requires special attention may be in shade or partial shade.Many perennials are shade-tolerant, meaning that they can tolerate shade as long as they are exposed to sunlight for some time, preferably in the morning or evening. There are not so few such plants.
A much bigger problem is posed by areas where there is shade from spring to autumn. Agree, plant under trees bulbous perennials or primroses and admiring them for a month and a half is not enough. Places where shade dominates should also look attractive throughout the year.
The biggest problem associated with the choice of perennials for shade or partial shade is faced by the owners of vast lands, who initially designed part of the territory as an imitation of a natural forest corner. Firstly, flower beds and discounts they will be out of place there, and secondly, you still want the “wild” corner to be attractive. Thirdly, no matter what the wealth of the owners, it is still expensive to plant a large tract of expensive perennials for shade and partial shade. But there are plants growing in the shade that grow quickly, do not require care, and look picturesque when planted in large tracts.
Perennials for shady places
Many perennials can grow in shade and partial shade; here it is important not only to choose an assortment of plants, but also to place them correctly. We may need:
- Cover the trunk circles under the dense crowns of trees;
- Fill large areas of shady areas in the park or forest area of the site;
- Plant attractive plants in places shaded by buildings or fences;
- Arrange spectacular shady flower beds or flower beds.
Queen of the Shadow – Hosta
In an article devoted to perennials for shade or partial shade, hosta occupies a special place. It grows well in shady areas. Variegated varieties with leaves containing large amounts of yellow or white can tolerate even some direct sunlight. Varieties and species whose leaves are colored gray or blue prefer dull shade. International standards divide hosts into six groups:
- Miniature (Mini);
- Dwarf (D);
- Small (S;
- Medium (M);
- Large (L);
- Giant(G).
The shortest hostas without a peduncle barely reach ten centimeters in height, the giant bush reaches up to a meter. Also keep in mind that this perennial usually takes up much more space in width. Hostas bloom very beautifully with large or small flowers reminiscent of lilies. They are collected on tall peduncles and are white, purple, lilac or lilac in color.
Miniature hostas are planted on flower beds, planted in shade or partial shade, larger specimens can be used as a wide border, and large and giant ones can be used as focal plants. They can be planted in the shade of large trees.
Flowering perennials for shade and partial shade
Here we will look at perennial flowering in the shade or partial shade of the plant. We will give their brief characteristics and advise where it is best to place them. After all, you shouldn’t plant a rare perennial where no one will see it, but let it be an attractive, but aggressively growing plant in a place where in a couple of years you will have to fight with it, often unsuccessfully.It must be said that the division into decorative-flowering and decorative-deciduous perennials for shade or partial shade is very arbitrary; they all bloom from several days to several weeks, but their leaves should remain attractive throughout the growing season.
Aquilegia
This perennial is more commonly called columbine. Grows well in partial shade. Varietal aquilegias will look great in flower beds and ridges, and species plants will look great in large forests under openwork crowns. Care for varietal aquilegia is minimal, and for species - none at all. It reproduces by self-seeding, and in a couple of years it can “dilute” the most dull landscape with its blue, white or pink flowers.
Anemone
Among the numerous perennial anemones there are species that grow in shade and partial shade. They are all attractive, do not require maintenance, and oak anemone, which is called anemone, reproduces well on its own and can form entire flowering tracts under the closed crowns of trees.
Shade-loving species include:
- Altai anemone;
- Amur anemone;
- flexible anemone;
- smooth anemone;
- buttercup anemone;
- oak anemone;
- shadow anemone.
Shade-tolerant perennials include:
- forest anemone;
- anemone;
- forked anemone;
- hybrid anemone.
Astilbe
About 40 species of this perennial are grown in culture. Astilbe reaches 15-200 cm, depending on the type, and can grow in shade or partial shade. Tolerates severe waterlogging, blooms for a long time, its large species resemble bush, but the entire above-ground part freezes out in the winter, and quickly grows back in the spring. It can be grown not only in flower beds or ridges, but also as undergrowth under large trees.
The most common types of this perennial:
- Arends astilbe and its many varieties;
- Chinese astilbe;
- Korean astilbe;
- Japanese astilbe;
- Astilbe Thunberg.
Badan
This perennial in Altai is called Chigir tea, in Siberia or Mongolian.
This evergreen, winter-hardy perennial with cabbage-like leaves produces pink flowers. It can be used both in shady flower beds or ridges, and for decorating tree trunks. Later in autumn Bergenia leaves turn purple.
Periwinkle
Extraordinarily durable, unpretentious shade-loving evergreen perennial. In spring it blooms with blue or light blue (depending on the soil) flowers. If you like it, it will bloom again in the fall, although not so abundantly. It tolerates drought well, but prefers high soil moisture. Grows well in partial shade or shade. It can even take root under an allelopathic nut.
Doronicum
Most species of this frost-resistant, moisture-loving perennial prefer partial shade, only plantain plant loves the sun. Yellow flowers it is often used for cutting, and the plant itself feels great in flower beds or garden beds. But Doronicum does not like to grow close to tree trunks.
Dicentra
This unpretentious perennial, often called “broken heart,” is one of the most beautiful and original plants for partial shade. The only difficulty is that dicentra needs well-drained soils - it loves frequent watering, but cannot tolerate stagnant moisture at the roots.Depending on the species, the height can reach from 30 to 150 cm. Interestingly, the more shade there is in the area with the dicenter, the longer it blooms.
The following types of this perennial are most often cultivated:
- the dicentra is magnificent;
- dicentra canadensis;
- dicentra exceptional;
- dicentra beautiful or Taiwanese.
Duchesnea indica
Very similar to strawberries with a round red berry, only it blooms with yellow flowers. The berry is absolutely tasteless, but stays on the bush for a very long time. This perennial is very unpretentious and will quickly cover a large area in partial shade.
Forest bell
If the mountain species of this perennial feel great under the scorching sun, then the bells, whose natural habitat is woodland, prefer shade or partial shade. They are suitable for creating flower beds and ridges, but they look especially impressive in large tracts under the canopy of large trees.
Shade-loving bells:
- nettle-leaved bell;
- Campanula latifolia.
Shade-tolerant perennials include:
- crowded bell;
- bellflower peach.
Kupena
A perennial that prefers to grow in shade or partial shade, depending on the species it grows from 10 cm to 1.5 m. It is a close relative of the lily of the valley and does not tolerate bright sun and close groundwater.
But in the shade of large trees, even with the densest crown, the kupena forms beautiful thickets.
Lily of the valley
This perennial is a real invasive plant that grows well in the shade. Plant a lily of the valley in the darkest and most unsightly corner of the garden and soon you won’t recognize it.
Hellebore
One of the rarest, most beautiful, original and expensive perennials for shade and partial shade. Hellebore is remarkable because it blooms in winter or at the very beginning of spring with greenish, white-green or greenish-pink flowers. Very beautiful, has many garden forms. It is recommended for planting as a single plant or in groups in a clearly visible place near the entrance to the house - it is so beautiful that you simply cannot miss the moment of its flowering.
We grow the following types of this perennial:
- black hellebore is the most heat-loving;
- oriental hellebore;
- reddish hellebore;
- Hellebore Corsican;
- Hellebore is stinky.
Primrose
Unpretentious perennial for partial shade and shade. Interestingly, in the southern regions primrose prefers shade, and as it moves north, it chooses increasingly bright places. Does not tolerate drying out of the soil.
Decorative deciduous perennials for shade
All of the perennials listed above can boast beautiful leaves after flowering. But there are also plants growing in shade and partial shade that do not bloom at all or their leaves are so much more beautiful than the flowers that we classify them as decorative deciduous perennials.
Heuchera
This perennial growing in shade and partial shade is one of the most expensive and beautiful. Numerous varieties and hybrids are most often bred to decorate shaded areas. The color of the leaves varies from all shades of green to purple, orange, gray, red, pink. They are so spectacular that they rarely pay attention to the flowering of heucheras and are planted in well-visible shady flower beds and ridges.
Almost all varieties are descended from the following species of this perennial:
- heuchera blood red;
- Heuchera pilosa;
- Heuchera cylindrical;
- heuchera americana;
- Heuchera parviflora.
Tenacious
The tenacious creature lives everywhere, and in any conditions; it fully lives up to its name and quickly covers a large territory. But the leaves of variegated forms will fade in partial shade, and in the shade they will turn green.
Kopyten
One of the most beautiful decorative deciduous perennials for shade and partial shade. Looks great in the shade of large tree groups. Quite unpretentious, but it prefers limestone soil. The most commonly used species in culture:
- European hoof;
- Siebold's hoof;
- tailed hoof;
- Canadian clefthoof.
Cuff
The shade-tolerant cultivated mantle was Queen Victoria's favorite plant. It is quite capricious, yet elegant and can be used next to almost all plants of suitable size. But if you like this perennial, she will quickly remember that she has malicious ones in her family. weeds and litter the entire area. The following types are most often used in culture:
- alpine cuff - great for rockeries if planted in the shade;
- soft cuff;
- Siberian cuff.
Fern
It grows in shade and partial shade - sunny places are contraindicated for this perennial. Being the oldest inhabitant of the planet, he inhabited the Earth long before the appearance of man. The fern will look great against the background of a fence, against a dark wall of a building or between large trees, the main thing is not to plant it in the sun and water it regularly.
Most often, the following types of perennials are grown in garden plots:
- Common ostrich;
- Common bracken;
- Female Kochedyzhnik;
- Nippon Kochedyzhnik.
Conclusion
This is not the entire list of perennials for shade and partial shade. We hope that now you will not think that arranging shadow areas is an insoluble problem. Using a little imagination and armed with knowledge, you can turn the entire area, regardless of its lighting, into a piece of paradise. Perhaps we helped you with this too.
