Shade garden suggestions?

Great roses.......insect and disease resistent....continuous blooming. Not the large flower. When they are in peak blooming.......outstanding

They need their space......we cut them all the way down in the fall and by end of summer they can occupy a 4 foot radius, more if you are feeding frequently.

This was the first year we haven't fed any....happy with the results...they did not get so leggy

they perform very well in a mulched bed....

One Day what do you think of the KNOCK OUT ROSES that are all the hype right now? (Full sun)  I am totally impressed at their growth and flowering.  We are thinking of planting them. They kind of remind me of wild roses where they just bloom and spread and go crazy after a while.

Perriwinkle is nice for ground cover as well.....not deep shade.

I have it in the front....against a short retaining wall...gets almost full sun....Lots of flowers in the spring

I'm not knocking Pachysandra....I much prefer to Ivy

What we do with Pachysandra time to time with some customers is....Spring we cut them down....this makes it much easier to clean the area out well and it rejuvinates them....

Pachysandra as with Ivy....is a collector of debris.

One ground cover I realy do appreciate....."Ajuga"  Lovely purple flowers in the spring.....look into those

My Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart is still in bloom and my Astilbe's are beautiful this year. Also, Rose Campion and Lily of the Valley are great for shade. If you're looking for ground cover you can't beat pachysandra.

yes Blue......you are in the upper midwest correct?

Shorter growing season.......go down a couple latitudes. Have dealt with Lilly of the Valley that has gone under an obsruction that has been 4, some 6 inches deep

Lilly of the Valley is a nice perennial....from my experience it has been nothing of a problem.....I don't use them, won't plant them.....have removed more than I care to think about over the years.

Confession.....there is a post that I had mentioned I own a small business....well.....it's in this field.

Shade gardening is not all that difficult...there are numerous shrubs, perennials and annuals that do well in the shade.

Your best resource......Cooperative Extension.....as well as local nurseries.

Hostas...yeah I know...they may seem played out....There are more than 200 varieties of Hostas.....unfortunately some 3 or 4 are over utilized. I currently have 15 varieties in my back yard

Becarefull of invasive type plants...lilly of the valley...very difficult to control and get rid of as is the ostrich fern

A shade garden can be done that there is no spacing.....as well as negative space (meaning open space)....Rocks, boulders. Water features as well. Nice thing of water in the shade is that, the water stays clear. Algae needs sun light

Always mulch....it's a much nicer finished look, cuts down on weeds...though not completely....Besides, mulch where grass can't grow looks much better than the grass that can't grow.....mulch also is cleaner when working the planting bed....less mud on the shoes/boots

We finally just built a ground level deck in one area of our yard.  Nothing would grow there because of the deep shade.   And now nothing will grow period because of drought.

Not to sound like a smart aleck, but what about a rock garden? Maybe a nice fountain in the middle? Bench with ivy growing on it? I'm seeing a nice little cool spot in the shade that could be quiet and green and peaceful.

I have the saddest little hydrangea planted there, in two years, it's not even a foot tall. In California, it would have been as tall as me by now! I honestly don't even think I could get mint to grow in that spot! And that's my go to weed.

I need shade plants for the north side of the house that are alkaline soil and drought tolerant. At least you people with water can grow stuff in the shade!

What about Lillies of the Valley?  They are thick and fast growing, and can fill in an area in no time.  Although they flower for only a short time in the spring, their dark green leaves are attractive right through until freezing.  And do they smell good?   Absolutely dreamy, even better than the bank of lilacs!  And they take winters very well.

What about hostas?

I have pacasandra in the shaded area.  It has green and white varigated leaves and is a higher ground cover in the shade.  Not flowers but looks nice and isn't all green.

Another good website to look at is White Flower Farm.  They have really good descriptions of their plants and I subscribe to their email to sometimes get some good ideas.  Their plants are expensive, but you can get some ideas and then shop locally to find what you need.

here's a link to some full shade perennials. I am sure you could find these locally.  I have primrose, bleeding hearts, Japanese Ferns and astilbe in my shade areas. Though after husband trimmed last year..I don't have much shade left

http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/perennials/full_shade_perennials.aspx

Oops, sorry, perennials. I don't want to redo this every year. But, thanks for those ideas for the containers I'll put out.

What about Impatiens.  It sounds like a good place and the colors should blend right in...or just get white to pull out the other flower colors.  Impatiens like mostly shade but they do like a little sun, morning sun is the best - mid day the worst.  They like to keep their feet damp so watering is needed unless your area gets rain like we do.  If your area gets more sun than you think the impatiens will tolerate, try the fairly new Guinea Impatiens. 

If you do not like the issue of watering, think about begonias.  They are a little more flexable regarding sun, like a good watering then they like to dry out before getting a soaking again.  They like loose fertile soil that drains well.  So many varieties -some with very dark green leaves and others with very light - celery colored leaves... flowers will blend in perfect with your current colors. 

Happy planting!!!

Coleus are an annual that come in a variety of colors and love the shade.  I'm partial to the ones with the purple leaves with a hot pink center, they just pop against a background of darker green plants.