Newbie with a shade garden

I've been lurking around on this forum and a couple of others for quite some time and I finally decided to join in. Here are some photos of my shade garden next to the woods behind my house.

Very pretty, great job.

Thanks Smokey

How do lilies and daylilies grow in a shade garden. I need to do something with the north side of my house. I have a strip 40 ft long or so, 3 ft wide on the north side of my house. Because of where I live there is no wind break and i get his broad side in the winter. Since it is a trailer my intentions were to plant and grow yew to help windbreak the skirting. WELL lets say in mostly shade there are not growing much in the last yrs they have been there. So now I have a huge strip with yews planted down the center of it and I'm thinking I need to make it nicer. At one end I do have a patch of hostas otherwise put in a few big pots this year but that only seems to make it choppy looking. Anyway I have been browsing various sights for ideas of stuff to plant in there and came across predesigned beds from Michigan Bulb. And one the the beds has lilies and daylilies. Don't they require more sun than a shade garden would have? http://michiganbulb.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_76258_A_Woodland+Shade+Garden_E__A_sid_E_800049_A_eid_E_ here is another http://michiganbulb.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_66566_A_Colorful+Shade+Garden_E_ I will try to get my camera back from my daughter and get a picture posted. I would greatly appreciate some ideas.

You may get a few blooms on the daylilies, but they really need to be in the sun. You won't be happy with them in the shade. Try some Astilbe, they love the shade and come in many varieties. I have lilies on the north-west side of my house, and they aren't too happy either. They do bloom, but tend to stretch for the light, get leggy, and fall over after a rain.

I have to disagree with pastime. I have daylilies in a shade garden that only get a little morning sun and they do great. I also have daylilies and Stargazer lilies down the sidewalk in front of the house and it gets even less sun due to a huge oak tree in front and they bloom like crazy every year. You could always try it and if they don't satisfy your needs they are easily transplanted. Just my two cents!

Doug

Debbie, your shade garden looks wonderful.

I'm relatively happy with the daylilies that I have, which are grown in more shade than they want. Yes, they do lean...but they bloom quite a bit, so I don't mind. My shade is high, so it doesn't feel deep and dark or anything. They don't multiply like gangbusters like the ones in the sun, but they do bloom quite a bit. I know the DL's WOULD be happier in more sun, but since I can't give it to them, I'm just happy to have them at all.


I moved one to the side of my house which gets sun til 1, then total shade from the house for the rest of the day, and one of those clumps has put out tons of scapes already..very early for me. So that one appears happy there.

I completely redid my DL bed last year and will be curious to see what I get this year. This is a pic from last year...I've gotten rid of the yellow-orange ones and added more purples. I've also added some to a predominately hosta bed, so I am anxious to see what happens there, too. Hopefully they will bloom because I really want some color in with the hosta. This bed only gets late afternoon sun..

We were having a similar discussion in the Mid Atlantic forum about putting sun loving plants in the shade garden. I hadn't even thought to give them a try, but stormyla has had a lot of luck with iris, lillies, peach leafed bellflowers, and even roses. She plants a few to see how they do, moves them around until she finds spots that they like. Opens up a lot more possibility - I just ordered a few casa blanca lillies and bought some bellflowers at the local nursery for mine. I'm also trying a few clematis. Worth a try. DebbieLou, your gardens are looking great... Terri

My daylilies get morning sun only and are doing great. My columbine and bee balm do great in the shade garden.

The daylilies that I have in the shade don't see any sun until late afternoon. That area never used to be shady, but my Corkscrew willow, two Locust trees and a River Birch now block the sun most of the day. That DL bed was there before I planted the trees. Fifteen years later, it's turned into a shade garden. I get a few flowers on the DL's but nothing like the same plants in the sun. If I could find a Monkey with a saw I'd have him trim the Corkscrew Willow. It needs it. It's the main culprit blocking the afternoon sun. Plus the bed is on the north side of the house to boot.

Yeah, I feel like my DL's get less and less sun every year, from the tall trees continuing to grow around our property. It bums me out..soon the whole yard will be very dark and there isn't anything I can do about it since they aren't our trees. :(

Those look wonderful, flowerjen.

Thanks, Noreaster

Nice start, DebbieLou. What is that tree in the foreground?
If you'd like a groundcover to fill in while you purchase your major plants I'd recommend tiarella, which spreads by runners, then takes root. It makes a low, thick cover that erupts in small, foamy stalks of tiny flowers in spring. As for daylilies, they do better in sun, but I'm sitting here looking at a large orange hybrid that gets about five hours of sun a day at most.
If you want a bush for the background, the Korean lilac does well in partial shade. It only grows to about four feet tall. The smell in the spring carries for a distance. I also have spirea 'Anthony Waterer' and a small deutzia gracilis. If you have soil that is moist enough, pulmonarias are a delight in early spring. For some reason the red one (Mrs Moon?) goes bonkers.
Let us see your garden after you populate it further!

Thanks Jean. That is a paw paw tree.