Shade Garden Challange..

Here is the area I have to work with..I want color spring until fall..
What can I do..
graphs and pictures would help me also.Must be dog friendly(have Greyhound)
Thanks

I started mine 2 summers ago. This is what I have in there (so far) - each has several varieties and all have names but I am making dinner right now so don't have the attention span to be too specific :)

Astilbe
Bleeding Hearts
Ferns
Heuchera
Hellebores
lamium - white Nancy & Hermanns Pride
Astrantia
Hostas, hostas, hostas
pulmonaria
lilies (day and oriental)
alium
muscari (on the border - gets some sun)
tradescantia
a wooden barrel of chameleon (invasive - has to be kept controlled)
an oxalis (can't remember which - but it is the only one hardy to zone 5a)
hardy cyclamen
hardy geranium (also n the edge)
caladium as annuals
bugbane
candytuft
dianthus (on the border - gets some sun)
Rose of Sharon
tricyrtus (can't make them grow though - rabbits chow down)
hyacinth (on a border - gets some sun)
crocus

theres probably more - I know theres a yellow flower one that I can't remember for the life of me and another upside down looking one that deer hate







This message was edited Mar 2, 2008 6:36 PM

How shady is shady?

Could I suggest that you put hydrangeas against the fence if there is enough sun for them? There are many now that bloom on both old and new wood. That would make a good back drop for the smaller shade plants.

oh and columbine are something I added last year - very fun!

Ligularias are another wonderful and very underused shade plant. They do like it damp though so you'd have to have adequate water.
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Ligularia

May I humbly suggest a few evergreens (like Emerald green arborvitae) that don't get too huge - to screen out the commercial building, & act as the "bones" of your new garden area? Samantha

I agree Samantha. That would be better than the hydrangeas. Again, it depends on the amount of shade there.

Hi Garden4birds - I agree with the others - looks like you have medium shade into sun? Here's a few pics of some of the plants already mentioned - This was taken in mid-June - the Astilbe is interspersed with hosta. You can just see the Caladium beginning to grow on the left, and on the right is a Bleeding Heart.
Dax

This message was edited Mar 3, 2008 12:39 PM

Later in summer, the caladium have become the dominant color.

Impatiens always provide color - moving from small mounds to massive stands surrounding elephant ears -

And here is a bed from shade to sun - ferns and hosta in the back area. An Annabelle hydrangea to the left among hosta. Daylilies, silver mound, and lilium as the bed moves into the sun. The trumpet vine is the focal point at this point in mid-summer. - Hope this helps - Dax

This message was edited Mar 3, 2008 12:59 PM

This message was edited Mar 3, 2008 1:01 PM

Oh, and here is a pic of my baby (Sherlock) amongst the ferns and ornamental onion. We had a greyhound ten years ago, and I do love them also. The plants in the pictures are generally dog friendly.

Dax - I pray mine look half as lovely as yours this year! My favorite, though, is Sherlock ;)

Thanks, pegzhere - Yes, Sherlock is my prince charming (excluding my DH, of course). I'm just glad to be able to look at some pics to get my head out of winter! We got another inch last night, and are having a record breaking year - AARGH!! Here's a recent pic of that last bed - hard to believe there are gardens under all that snow! Dax