Great Info Tips

So you have a spot that’s a bit too shaded for some flowers. I have a list of flowers that will grow and thrive in shady areas. Astilbe can grow up to 4 feet tall. This plant has fern like leaves and flowery plumes in white, red, pink or lavender from summer to fall. Coralbells have small coral, white or green flowers 4 to 30 inches tall. Hosta which has hundreds of varieties with white or lavender flowers. Primrose has clusters of colorful flowers in early spring. These are are perennials.

Annuals such as begonias flower from summer through fall and have waxy-looking leaves. Caladium has white,cream, green and red foliage. Coleus have foliage in red, green, yellow and purple. Forget-me-nots have dainty blue flowers and will reseed themselves. Impatiens come in many colors and will bloom not-stop from summer through fall.

Ground covers such as lily-of-the-valley will grow in dense shade, but these plants are poisonous. Pachysandra is an evergreen that has white flowers in the spring. Sweet woodruff has pretty, fragrant white flowers in the spring.

Shrubs such as hydrangea can grow rather high, depending on the species you purchase. Check the zone you live in as some types won’t be winter hardy. Rhododendron can grow 3 to 40 feet tall depending on the species and the zone you live in. There are over 500 species of this shrub.

Bulbs that love shade include daffodils, Virginia bluebells, wild hyacinths, and squill which has blue, purple or white flowers that bloom in the spring.

You also have to consider the different types of shade. There is light shade where plants have about 4 hours of shade. Dappled or filtered means changing light which comes through the trees.Partial, medium, or semi-shade where plants will receive 4 to 6 hours of sun per day. Full shade means no sun reaches plants. Dense shade in the darkest shade. Only a few shade tolerate ground covers and ferns will grow here.