Not all garden areas are always blessed with sunshine. With the right plants you can also create impressive bright spots in the shade garden. Root competition from larger trees can be problematic. Nevertheless, the play of light and shadow in natural or artificially created shadow areas also has its advantages. Free-standing trees as well as green and flowering plants and those with special leaf or fruit decorations grow here.
Plants for shady areas
Well selected and correctly placed, plants can be used for shady areas to underplant trees or to green slopes, streams and walls. They can act as a background plant, in the foreground or as a flat ground cover. There are several attractive flowering or foliage shade plants for almost any shaded area.
Green and foliage plants
Shrub Ivy 'Arborescens'
Unlike traditional ivy, this shrub ivy is not climbing. With its dark green leaves and decorative fruits and flowers, it can be a very decorative and design element in the garden. The yellow-green flowers appear in very decorative umbels in September. Shrub ivy grows upright and compact with heights of up to 200 cm. It feels comfortable in partial shade and shade.
Tip:
This shrub ivy does not need bed neighbors to emphasize its attractiveness. Even alone it looks very sublime and noble.
Japanese mountain grass (Hakonechloa macra)
The Japanese mountain grass is a decorative ornamental grass for partial shade. Its lush green, long, overhanging leaves make this grass a real eye-catcher. It blends elegantly into shady herbaceous beds and is perfect as a woody underplant. But it is only with the fantastic autumn color of the leaves that the Japanese mountain grass comes into its best. It can be combined very well with black snake's beard, hostas and fairy flowers, which also thrive in shady to semi-shady places.
Table leaf 'Astilboides tabularis'
The table leaf is an exotic candidate that does very well in partial shade in the home garden. Its huge leaves, which can reach a diameter of up to 90 cm, make it an exceptional foliage plant. In contrast, the small greenish-white, panicle-shaped flowers are rather inconspicuous but still beautiful. Flowering time is in June. The table leaf grows approx. 150 cm wide and 100 cm high.
Ferns
Ferns are fascinating plants that have a somewhat bizarre appearance when they sprout. They find ideal conditions in shade and partial shade. They come in different sizes, growth forms and coloring of the leaves. The decorative fern 'Japanese Painting', the brown striped fern (Asplenium trichomanes) but also the brocade fern, glossy shield fern and the up to 130 cm high ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) are particularly beautiful specimens.
Funkia
Funcas, also known as sweetheart lilies, are the stars among the shade and foliage plants. These shade beauties are particularly popular because of their unique leaf colors, whether plain or patterned, and the different leaf shapes. The flower clusters, which rise on long flower stalks above the colorful foliage from July to August, are no less attractive.
Tip:
Funcas are equally effective when placed alone but also in combination with other hostas.
Purple Bells
The purple bell, which belongs to the saxifrage family, is the epitome of an ornamental foliage plant. It is also known as the shadow bell.
- It can be sunny but also in partial shade
- An attractive plant with many leaf shapes and colors
- The foliage is the real decorative value of these magical plants
- Leaves may be lobed, ruffled or curled
The colors of the leaves range from a delicate, dark green to yellow-orange to dark red to silver, violet and bronze tones. The growth heights vary between 15 and 90 cm depending on the variety.
Caucasus Forget-me-not 'Variegata'
This decorative foliage plant has large, heart-shaped, white-edged, green and yellowish-white variegated leaves. Together with the bright blue flowers that appear in spring, it provides spots of light in shady areas. With growth heights of up to 50 cm, the Caucasus forget-me-not remains rather small.
Arum 'Arum italicum'
The large arrow-shaped leaves of this extravagant foliage plant only sprout in autumn and retreat completely after flowering. They are deep green and streaked with silvery leaf veins. Their greatest decoration, however, are the bright red berries that sit on upright stems in autumn. The small, delicate yellow flowers appear in spring. This fascinating arum plant can grow up to 60 cm high.
Flowering plants for shady areas
Silver Candle 'Atropurpurea'
The special thing about the silver candle 'Atropurpurea' is, in addition to the feathery foliage, the slender, bright white flower spikes, which only appear relatively late, around September to October. With the exception of the flowers, the entire perennial shines in a striking crimson red. It reaches heights of up to 180 cm and feels equally comfortable in partial shade and shade.
Moon violet/Wild silver leaf 'Lunaria rediviva'
The moon violet, up to 120 cm high, impresses with its pleasant floral scent, which is particularly intense at night. The light to dark purple flowers that adorn the moon violet from May to July are also beautiful to look at. Even in autumn, this plant is still very decorative thanks to its silvery pods. It thrives in both partial shade and shade.
Toad lily 'Tricyrtis hirta'
The white, red-flecked flowers of this extravagant perennial are very similar to a real orchid. From August to October they stand high above the lush green leaves and reach heights of around 50 cm. Toad lilies are still a rarity in home gardens. It grows very well in both partial shade and shade.
Three-leaf/forest lily Trillium grandiflorum 'Pleno'
This trefoil is an extraordinary beauty. The bright white flowers are double, which is rare for the forest lily. Flowering time is from April to May and the plant height is approx. 40 cm. The white, 8-12 cm flowers add unique accents in dark locations. They are framed by three leaves at the end of the stems.
Tip:
Pretty companion plants for the trefoil include checkerboard flowers or Waldsteinia.
Forest Goat's Beard / Goat's Beard (Aruncus)
The highlight of this long-lasting and stately shade perennial is its magnificent white, very delicate flower spikes, which are very similar to those of astilbe. While the male flowers have a creamy white color, the female flowers are pure white. They form a beautiful contrast to the fresh green pinnate leaves, which are up to 100 cm long. Flowering time is in June/July, when the goat's beard reaches heights of up to 200 cm. It tolerates both partially shaded and shady locations.
Shade-tolerant ground cover plants
Sulphur colored fairy flower Epimedium x versicolor ‘Sulphureum’
The sulphur-colored elf flower quickly forms dense carpets of foliage thanks to its branched growth and runners. The shoots of this plant are bronze-colored with a hint of red. Later the leaves are shiny green with reddish-brown markings. From April onwards, the sulfur-yellow flowers arranged in clusters, each with up to 25 individual flowers, appear above the slightly toothed leaves. They are suitable for semi-shady to shady locations as large ground cover.
Forest Phlox 'Clouds of Perfume'
The first thing you notice about this pretty plant is the intense scent of the large violet-blue, umbel-shaped flowers. Their lush blooms begin as early as April and last until June. In contrast to conventional phlox, this type of phlox has a creeping habit, making it very suitable as an underplant for late-growing perennials and larger trees. This plant does best in a partially shaded spot.
Memorial (Omphalodes verna)
This extremely adaptable ground cover, which is actually a perennial, is dotted with countless small, sky-blue flowers. The memorial is a noble spring bloomer that forms dense stands over time. A single plant grows up to 12 cm high and 25 cm wide. The plants move in around autumn, only the root ball overwinters in the ground. They sprout again in spring. Planting in groups is recommended. It can best unfold its full splendor in partial shade.
Low Fat Man Pachysandra terminalis ‘Compacta’
The evergreen fat man, also known as shadow green, provides dense vegetation in small or large areas with its decorative dark green foliage. It copes very well with root competition from trees or other plants and a place in the shade. Its growth is low and compact with a maximum of 12 cm in height and up to 40 cm in width. From April to May, delicate white flower spikes appear on upright stems.
Different types of shadows
Which hobby gardener doesn't know this; shady areas where nothing simply wants to grow. It's not just large trees that provide shade; walls, hedges and privacy walls also cast shadows. In order to find the right plants for such places, you have to differentiate between partial and full shade, light and open shade, because shade is different in all areas.
The transitions from one type of shadow to the other are usually fluid. Many plants are very flexible and grow in different shade areas. Despite everything, appropriate allocation is important and crucial for the prosperity or failure of the plants. But what exactly are the differences?
Penumbra
Plants that prefer partial shade usually cannot survive completely without sun. They need a few hours of sun either in the morning or evening to be able to carry out vital photosynthesis. Partially shaded areas are created, for example, in front of walls and hedges or under dense treetops. They are sunny for up to four hours during the course of a day and shaded the rest of the time. Most partial shade plants tolerate morning sun better than afternoon sun and also tolerate direct or full sun for short periods.
Full shade
Fully shaded areas are mainly found under deciduous trees, evergreen shrubs and conifers as well as on the north side of tall buildings and walls.
- Plants in full shade get by with a minimum amount of light
- Root competition from larger trees plays an important role
- Tree roots take up a large part of the soil volume
- This makes underplanting sometimes difficult
- Shady areas under coniferous trees are particularly problematic
- Humus created from the needles makes planting almost impossible
- The condition of these soils can be improved
- For example, by incorporating compost, cattle or horse manure
- This can increase the chance of biodiversity
Light shadows
Light shadow means that light constantly falls on the plants through the canopy of leaves. Shorter periods of shade and sunlight constantly alternate. The whole thing is amplified by wind. This sets the treetop in motion, creating a recurring play of light and shadow. Almost all plants that thrive in partial shade grow in light shade.
Open Shadow
Plants that grow in open shade receive sufficient daylight at all times but no direct sunlight. These areas are open to the sky, meaning there is no annoying canopy of leaves to block or significantly restrict light. Typical areas in open shade, also known as sunny locations, are courtyards where the light walls of buildings reflect sunlight. One or two light-hungry plants can also develop well in these locations.
