Wednesday, May 21, 2014

What to do With a Shade Flower Bed?

The view from the window. I get disturbed every time I look at this bed compared to the perennial bed out front. Is there anything to plant besides hosta, heuchera, and fern? I can't chop down the trees because they don't belong to me. I know there are many shade plants but there are so many more beautiful flowering perennials for the sun. From reading I find many like moist shade and I ran into this problem with the astible. They do fine this time of year but when it heats up and gets humid they're gone. I love brunnera Jack Frost especially the blue flowers in the spring but it also likes moist shade, so does the ligularia (the rocket). Neither one are inexpensive if you buy it from a good online nursery. Never have seen it in a garden center. 

Perennial geranium may be possible but I don't want that as ground cover. I hear so much about trillium but I hate to kill something I payed too much money for.  My history for plant survival isn't great. There's also pulmonaria and helleborus, lamium, bergenia, and primula which also likes moisture. I haven't read the requirements for the other 4 yet. I'm sure there are a multitude of plants for dry shade but they don't make me excited except for the rocket and it may take years to build a clump of it and fill out a space, if it lives. Will I go out every day in the summer to water, no... What ever the plant, it has to be able to survive mainly on rain water. That's tough but realist for me. 

Don't want the whole yard to be hosta although I love them and there are so many varieties and colors.  I'd like the bed to be full like out front and have varying heights of plants and some color from blooms. Blooms that stagger throughout the season would be nice. I will have to continue my research before fall. Hopefully I can plant during the summer so they have time to be established since the perennials I planted last fall didn't survive. Do you have any suggestions?

Started to clean up the yard last Saturday but not finished. Trash bag still in the yard until then.

You can see how big the fern is from above. A few of these in the flower bed would take over the bed. That's an option and I love ferns but I want more planted than ferns.
Still have to put the hydrangea in the corner. I have to find the ceramic container in the packed shed.


Waiting to be planted but still looking okay. Broccoli that should have been planted long ago, Swiss chard, blueberry, sage, chives, and some annuals left in a flat. Cucumbers and one tomato were planted.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting. Comment will be published after review.