shade garden Archives - Powerful Perennials

Tree Root Competition In Shade Gardens

April 2, 2019 Gardening Tips

Joyful childhood memories are always remembered as happening under the friendly shade of the huge trees that encircled our yard. The enormous homemade teeter-totter where we sang made-up nonsense songs as we teetered up and down would never have been as enjoyable sitting out in a full sun spot. The thick rope tire swings and nailed board ladder to reach high to “I dare you spots” in the trees were the best toys imaginable. Not only are trees where children play but beneath them is where families hang-out for relaxing time or picnics. Trees are valuable! They perform as a protective barrier from the outside world while they provide air...

Ostrich Fern – Matteuccia Fern, Struthiopteris

February 20, 2018 Spring Perennials

Ferns are the oldest surviving perennial on the planet and the feathery fronds of an ostrich fern create an unequaled lush beauty in a shady garden.

Foamflower – Tiarella: A Great Ground Cover for Shady Areas

May 7, 2016 Spring Perennials

Image above Courtesy Walters Gardens. Want a different look in your shade garden? Then Foamflower is your answer. This underused, little know perennial is a perfect plant for creating a woodland garden under trees. Foamflowers grow as clumps and as spreaders so check the labels. If you need a spreader to cover over tree roots, choose Tiarella wherryi. Wherryi blooms with creamy-pink, feathery spikes, and is so enchanting it won the Royal Horticultural Societies Award of Garden Merit.. The clumping Tiarella or cordifolia, mounds and blooms in foamy white flower stalks and also won the same award for they are both excellent choices for filling in difficult areas in shade and...

Lungwort – Pulmonaria: Ethereal Color for the Perennial Shade Garden

April 18, 2016 Cold-Hardy Spring Perennials, Spring Perennials

Lungwort (Pulmonaria) image courtesy Walters Gardens Pulmonaria is a very desirable perennial for shady low-light gardens not only for its original flowers but for its matchless foliage. The perennial’s early spring buds are one color and when they open into delightful tiny ethereal funnel bells they are another color. The flower buds are usually pink, salmon or raspberry and open into shades of blue to purple or red to white when fully mature. Flowers form before the basal leaves barely break dormancy and start to grow. The fascinating flowers last for over a month and it’s not until they finish blooming that plant growth occurs. As soon as the flowers...