Read 'Summer Blooming Plants for Gardens in Afternoon Shade' at http://www.KarensGardenTips.com.

Have you ever noticed how many plant labels tell you that the plant needs 6-8 hours of sun? Many plants do have high light needs but many other beautiful plants love afternoon shade. You need to carefully evaluate your shade and plan accordingly. You have to make sure that they are getting adequate water (1” per week is normal); mulching will help retain moisture as well as provide nutrients.  Here are some beautiful plants that will bloom during the summer in a site with afternoon shade, or to turn it around, morning sun.

For height at the back of the border try Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra ‘Venusta”) with its pink airy flowers. Hardy in zones 3-9, it grows over 5’ tall.

Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) with its large plume-like inflorescence of creamy white flowers has foliage that remains attractive all season. Growing to 4’ it is hardy in zones 3-7.

You can’t beat garden phlox ‘Mt. Fuji’ (Phlox paniculata) for the shear beauty of their outstanding flowers. Twelve to fifteen inch panicles arise on 3’ stems. Hardy in zones 4-8.

There are many astilbes that do well in afternoon shade but most bloom in the spring. Astilbe taquetii ‘Superba’ is summer blooming. It is tall, growing up to 4’ and have beautiful fern like foliage and lilac panicles of small flowers. It is hardy in zones 4-8.

Beebalm (Monarda didyma) offers unusual flowers in a variety of colors including ceres, scarlet, pink, violet-blue, purple, and creamy white. Growing to 3-4’ tall they are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees and are hardy in zones 4-9.

Hollyhock mallow ‘Fastigiata’  (Malva  alcea) grows about 2’ tall and carries rose-pink flowers. It is hardy in zones 4-8 and has a long bloom season. Dwarf forms are available too.

Lobelia, both Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and Great Blue (Lobelia syphilitica), are good plants for middle of the border. Cardinal flower grows 2-4’ tall and is hardy in zones 2-9.

Great Blue Lobelia grows 2-3’ and is hardy in zones 4-8.

False dragonhead (Physostegia virginiana) also known as Obedient plant because of the way the flower can be turned on the stem and stay that way, grows up to 3’ tall and is hardy in zones 2-9. The cultivar ‘Vivid’ is shorter and more compact so may be more useful in the shade garden.

Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) grows up to 2’ tall and comes with blue, purple, red, or white flowers. It is a trooper of a plant, very adaptable, and begins blooming in spring. It is hardy in zones 4-9.

Campanula carpatica “Blue Chip’ is a very low growing powerhouse of blooms. It produces vivid blue bells over a mounded cushion of heart-shaped foliage. It multiples rapidly but is easy to keep in bounds, is deer resistant, and hardy in zones 3-8. This is a great plant for the front of the border.

There are many kinds of sedum and this is one that really stands out. ‘Dragon’s Blood’ (Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood ) is a prostrate ground cover with red flowers and dark green leaves suffused with purplish bronze that turn red in the winter. It is hardy in zones 3-8.

Most lists of this kind include hostas but I am not doing so because I think they are grown more for their foliage than their flowers. That is not to say that their flowers are not lovely; they are and I include many of them in my shade garden. Just remember that blue green hosta like a lot of shade while yellow green hostas prefer more sun. This a generalization so check with your local nurseryman/women when purchasing a hosta.

There are many bright colored flowers that can bring color to a garden with afternoon shade.  Give some a try!

Read 'Seven Secrets to a Successful Shade Garden' at http://www.KarensGardenTips.com.

Garden of Wyatt LeFever

People often tell me that they love to garden but that the trees on their lot create so much shade they can’t do much. I usually smile sympathetically and listen to their sad stories about their deer or slug eaten hostas. Then one day I read an article in Carolina Gardener magazine about the garden of Wyatt LeFever in the Piedmont area of North Carolina that included an invitation to see his garden. I called, made an appointment, and went to see it. Wow! I will never smile sympathetically again and listen to sad stories of shade gardeners! This was a garden to die for and provides a source of shade gardens secrets for success.

The garden occupies a wooded area on a hill with many large trees that provided different kinds of shade and ecological niches for a huge variety of understory plants. The garden is at its peak in mid April through May when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom but at the same time it is a treasure trove of spring ephemerals, other herbaceous perennials, and ferns.

As we entered the garden we were greeted by large breath taking blossoms of rhododendrons and saw more bushes in bloom through out the woodland in an array of delicate colors. It is hard to pick a favorite because there are so many to choose from.

A variety of inviting paths led us through the garden. The main grassy path is wide and encourages visitors to enter. It can accommodate many guests at one time and facilitates conversation and sharing.

The understory creates woodland rooms under the forest canopy each with its own character created by the selection of plants and garden ornaments. A huge number of interesting and unusual plants in beautiful combinations enhance each other and create a natural wonderland in the cathedral like edifice created by the tall trees overhead.

Plants attract the eye by their unusual color or form like these iris, Arisaema, variegated lily of the valley and Trillium.

The grass like leaves of Hakonechloa contrast in form and color with those of lungwort and arisaema.

Many interesting trees are included like this Acer griseum, known for its beautiful exfoliating bark and unusual branching.

Numerous statues placed in strategic sites led the eye from one woodland room to another. Here is one of the more whimsical ones and my personal favorite.

Potted plants are situated in strategic spots to lead the eye to new vistas; note how the mottling in the center of the Heuchera picks up the color of its pot.

A large wind chime hanging from the lower branch of a large tree brings dulcet sounds to the visitor’s ears, adding another dimension to the garden experience.

A bench in the shade near an armillary sundial invite the visitor to sit and enjoy the surroundings with old fashioned bleeding heart bloom profusely in the area behind.

Now that you have had a look at this beautiful garden, let’s list the secrets to successful shade gardening.
1. Embrace shade, recognize all its different kinds, and see it as many opportunities, rather than as a problem. Evaluate the shade in various parts of the garden and identify the different niches that exist.
2. Plan the garden so that you have a variety of plants including trees, shrubs, bulbs, vines, and herbaceous annuals and perennials.
3. Create garden rooms each with its own character created by the use of color, textures, size and shape.
4. Meet the needs of your plants; locate each one so that its light requirements are met, provide water when needed, and keep the weeds out.
5. Provide a path so that you can move through your garden both when you work in it and enjoy it.
6. Add statuary, plants in decorative pots, wind chimes, and other accessories to enhance you experience.
7. Provide benches or other seating so that you can rest, relax and enjoy your garden.

Next time you feel that shade is a problem and standing in the way of your gardening, think of this garden, gain inspiration and renew your creativity.

N.B. Mr. LeFever is a noted breeder. He has developed and named 100 daylilies, six hostas, bearded iris and rhododendrons, and is well known for creating and developing butterfly koi at Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery, his wholesale fish farm.

Read 'The Beauty of Spring Ephemerals' at http://www.KarensGardenTips.com.

Trillium and Bluebells

If you are lucky enough to have woodland of deciduous trees you might be enjoying spring ephemerals. These delightful plants are especially adapted to live in the forest so that they bloom and set seed very early, before the trees leaf out, and then disappear until next year. Although they are wildflowers many can be purchased so that gardeners can enjoy them if they have a shady area in which to plant them.

The spring ephemerals grow quickly while conditions are especially favorable for them. They have a high photosynthetic rate that allows them to use the light available on the forest floor while the trees are bare. By the time the leaves cover the trees and block the light they have completed the reproductive phase of their life cycle and go dormant, living off food stored in their underground organs. Conditions other than light are also optimal at this time. Soil moisture is high due to spring rains and the fact that the leafless trees are not soaking up large quantities of water. In addition, the soil is rich in nutrients from the addition of organic matter in the form of decayed leaves.

Dog Tooth Violet

One of my favorite spring ephemerals is Dog Tooth Violet (Erythronium americanum), also known as Trout lily. The lily shaped yellow flowers have long red stamens and recurved petal. They are carried on slender stems above gray-green foliage with beautiful silver mottling. Another spring ephemeral with recurved petals is Shooting Star (Dodecatheon sp.) It bears it nodding white, rose or purple flowers in rounded

Shooting Star

clusters above basal leaves. The stamens are joined to create a beak-like projection that gives the plant its name. Another interesting plant is Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). The small white flowers resemble a pair of pants, hence the name, and dangle from gracefully arched stems above lacey gray-green foliage. Wild bleeding heart (Dicentra exima) and Squirrel (Dicentra canadensis) are both white flowered cousins of Dutchman’s Breeches and also an unusual flower shape and attractive foliage. The trilliums, (T. grandiflorum, T. luteum, and T. erectum) have three part flowers and three part coarse shiny green leaves that contrast nicely with the fine foliage of the Dicentras. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) bear their bell shaped blue flowers in graceful nodding clusters. The buds are pink and contrast nicely with the blue flowers. Bluebells look especially nice with white trillium.

Dutchman's Breeches	Squirrel Corn	Wild Bleeding Heart
White Trillium	Red Trillium	Yellow Trillium

Spring Beauty

There are many other spring ephemerals that provide delicate white,  pink, or blue flowers. These include Spring Beauty (Claytonia sp), Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa), Hepatica (H. nobilis), Azure Bluet (Houstonia caerulea), Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides). The shiny lobed leaves of Hepatica are especially attractive.

Harbinger of Spring	Azure Bluet	Hepatica
Twinleaf	Rue Anemone	Bloodroot

Ostrich Fern

Good companion plants for spring ephemerals are other woodland species that will cover the bare spots after they have gone dormant in May or June. Native ferns are an especially good choice in this regard. Other interesting plants that go well are Jack- in-the-pulpit, Woodland Phlox, Jacob’s Ladder, Woodland Spiderwort, and columbine.

Jack-in-the-pulpit

If you choose to cultivate spring ephemerals or any wildflowers buy your plants from reputable nurseries that propagate their own plants. Harvesting the plants from the wild may endanger the plants and damage the environment. Check with your county extension service or local native plant society for sources of wild flowers.

To grow spring ephemerals successfully, pick a site that has deciduous trees to provide the proper amount of sun and shade. Prepare the soil so that it resembles good, rich forest soil by adding 4”-6” of compost to the top “4-6” of soil. The pH should be about neutral or slightly acid or slightly alkaline and water should be available to keep the soil moist(but well drained). Plant in late summer or early spring and mulch with compost every spring before the plants emerge. Remember to take a walk in your woodland in early Spring and enjoy the beauty there.