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Shade Gardens - Using A Variety Of Trees, Shrubs And FlowersA shade garden is a great place for adding color and texture into your landscape plan. There are a variety of different trees, shrubs and flowers available today. If you have existing trees, this style of garden could just be right for you. The nice thing is you can also create one yourself by incorporating new trees and other plant specimens. I love designing a specific garden like this as it can illustrate shadows at different times of the day. Lets think about areas in your front, side or backyard that could become a shady paradise. You can implement a single bed or have several different shape beds throughout one particular part of your yard. Many people have a lot of older trees in their front yard or woods in their backyard. Define a few beds or leave it natural and plant some shrubs and flowers that will match the tone of your home. Below are a few examples and ideas of different plants you could use. A lot of evergreen trees are known for needing sunlight. There are some that can create a wonderful backdrop and also give you that natural garden look.
Pine trees can take all different light requirement. In some locations pines are used to produce a privacy shield. Pines can add acid to your soil so keep that in mind when planning your garden beds. Redwoods and Deodar Cedars are great for the base of the shade garden.
The Crepe Myrtle and the Rhododendron release an enormous amount of color during the summertime months. Another option using the Crepe Myrtle is to plant them along your driveway or by a street. Stunning two or three bark less trunks extend upwards and clumps of different flowers bloom until the cooler fall temperatures arrive. The Rhododendron is famous for its natural beauty in mountainous areas. Mass plantings of this specimen will create an array of colors in late spring and throughout the warm summer months. Other possibilities for shade gardens are some ornamental trees such as a flowering Cherry, Rose of Sharon, Winged Euonymus, and Dogwoods. These varieties bloom in spring and summer and produce different tints of colored leaves in the autumn. Placing these properly in a garden bed is very important before planting.
This garden project page will give you some tips on placing shrubs and flowers in an area with shade.
Any of the trees listed above will work well. Shade Shrubs can accent the trees and there are many different colors and textures for you to think about. The Mountain Fire is in the family of Pieris Japonica. I love using this plant specimen throughout a shaded area. The flowers appear during the late winter months and creates an introduction for the springtime ahead. The Pieris has white or pink blooms and drape down the shrub in a flowing fashion. This shrub is great near solid color trees or other shrubs. The Japonica can also be planted in mass plantings. It is an evergreen.
The Burning Bush is a deciduous shrub. Green leaves appear in the spring though out the entire summer. Berries begin to show in the early fall and a spectacular red color takes over the entire bush as the fall season gets into full swing. The picture above is the Burning bush just beginning to change colors as well as the first berries becoming visible. This is a great shrub to plant in and around evergreens as well as on the top of a small bank or berm area. Browse through some
pictures of evergreen plants as it will also give you options for other variegated shrubs.
The Mountain Laurel and Viburnum look striking planted with the Variegated Privet and Aucuba. Here is another photo of an Aucuba plant. Notice the beautiful color tones. The Aucuba is a great accent plant for a shady area. Perennial and annual flowers can add the finishing touches to your garden or landscape area. Many geographic locations have a lot of varieties that are available. Colorado is known for the wild Columbine in the foothills and mountains. Other flowers you can use are Bleeding Heart, Purple Coneflower, Geranium, Phlox, Wild Ginger, and Fern. The Lady Fern is a very popular plant to plant around some natural rocks, in a hanging planter, or container. One of the most exciting specimen is the Hosta. An elegant flower with the Hosta is the Astilbe. Here are a couple of photos for you to see what each look like. Ground covers can play an important role in filling in empty spaces as well as along pathways and hillsides. Bishops Caps, St. Johnswort, Irish Moss and Woolly Thyme are just a couple you might want to consider. All these plants are just a small suggestion of what you can plant if you are thinking about doing a shade garden. Even if you don't have any sunny area on your property, there are plenty of different trees, shrubs and flowers available. Give your yard a brand new look and enjoy great colors all year long. |
