A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Full Shaded Area

We moved to our house last July and I'm starting to personalize my landscape. I have an area that's on the North side of my house that I have no idea what to do. This area gets no sun, maybe a tad in the summer, but there's a tree nearby that supplies some shade. We have a fireplace and the gas pipe that leads to the house is exposed outside. With amount of shade, I was going to plant Vinca (periwinkle) as a ground cover. My husband wants to hide the pipe, so I'm thinking shrubs. I've been online and have gone to my local nursery. One friend told me about Chockeberry. I love Honeysuckle. Maybe an evergreen. I don't want to plant annuals in this area since I'm putting some in other areas. I'm an impatient gardener, so I want something that's fast growing. The size of area is about 10 feet by 3 feet in some areas, 2 feet in other parts.

Thanks!
Laura

the vinca does better when it gets a decent amount of sun...with the shade you're describing it will take a few years for the vinca to start taking off.

hosta's (flowering plant) do really well in the shade - they will also spread out (i don't know how quickly that happens tho).

ferns are another good shade plant and they will also spread out.

if you want to put in a shrub or two, hydrangea are good - they have really beautiful flowers, too.

hosta, fern and hydrangea come in multiple varieties - so you'd have a nice choice when it comes to flower color and leaf color. you could do some nice mixing of textures.

Thanks Joclyn!

I have a fair amount of hostas around my property already. I was looking for something different. I've been looking at hydrangeas - I may consider that plant. I already have some ferns growing around in that area - I want to give this space some color since it's the first thing people see when they drive up my driveway.

Laura

Here are some other choices you may want to look at.

Maple, Dwarf Vine
Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' - Daphne, Winter Variegated
Disanthus cercidifolius - Redbud Hazel
Fuchsia erecta - Fuchsia, Hardy: Not all fuchsia are hardy in your zone but some are so it has to be these particular types.
Fuchsia magellanica 'Riccartonii' - Fuchsia, Hardy
Common Mallow
Kerria japonica 'Chiba Gold' - Kerria
Mahonia aquifolium - Oregon Grape: These are aggressive growers so a root barrier would be a really good idea. But if you want to make the best jam in the world every fall this is the plant you want.

Well this should give you some to take a look at. If none of these are what you are looking for let me know and I'll see what else I can find that might be better suited. Could you tell me which growing zone you are in? That would help me some. I'm figuring either 5 or 6 but boy could I be wrong lol. Good luck with your search.

I would for sure go with the Hydrangaes. They get large and have such beautiful flowers!

I have an area just like yours and am planning on putting those in.

hydrangea has always been my fav - ever since i was a kid (we had one in the yard).

lol, when i finally bought a house...the first thing i did was find a spot for a hydrangea!!

check out this site for info on them...there are a TON of different types. you can purchase from this site too.

i've got a type of geranium that needs a bit of shade...it doesn't look at all like the usual red/pink kind that you usually see...it's kind of ferny looking and has pretty purple flowers. i don't remember the name of it...i'll post a pic of it tho...it just bloomed.

you could also throw in some lily of the valley...they'd be a nice ground level accent.

clematis is another one - again, there are a TON of varieties...some do very well in the shade. and there's at least one that can be used as ground cover (the others would need a trellis) here's a site with info on them.

Thanks TK for all those suggestions! You are correct, I'm in zone 5.

Jocyln, I love clematis, but I wasn't sure about the location. My mom had clematis in our backyard and that was one of my first choices. But I saw that they like sun, however, I wasn't aware of the varieties that like shade. I'll give it a try. But after seeing that hydrangea website, I think I'll give those a try. I might have some room to do both. Oooo decisions, decisions . . . .

Laura

i know, i know!! there's just SO many things that are absolutely beautiful...makes it hard to stick with just one or two things!!

lol, let me add on (again) to the selections that need to be decided upon...

fuschia is another GORGEOUS plant. (sorry, no website for info for that one)

I have ferns, hostas, lily of the valley, coral bells, astilbes, and bleeding heart in my shade garden and they all do very well there. I wish the bleeding hearts would last longer, but I enjoy while they are there.

I love honeysuckle too,

I grow just about everything in the shade! daisies to fern ... it may not bloom as long but it does bloom... even the roses bloom!

hi,i was wondering if anyone could help me with information on fuchsia,i had 2 very tiny plants that were mailed to me and they got hit by a light frost and now they look almost dead ,is there any hope for them ,or is there someone who can tell me what to do to bring them back to life,thank you,also a angel trumpet plant