Shade Loving Garden Plants

Selecting plants that grow in the shade can be intimidating, but my friend Doyce in Tupelo, Mississippi successfully grows beautiful plants in her shady backyard. As you enter the backyard, multiple levels of garden areas are visible with plants that do well in part shade and full shade. Let’s take a closer look at some of the plants. Sensitive ferns, also known as the bead ferns, are coarse-textured, medium to large-sized deciduous perennial ferns. They feature long-stalked, bright green fronds with leathery leaflets, which have distinctively netted veins. A wide variety of different hostas are planted in the ground and containers throughout the gardens. Hostas provide visual interest in the gardens with their different shades of green leaves and bell-shaped lavender flowers. Oakleaf hydrangeas, lacecap hydrangeas, and mophead hydrangeas brighten up shady areas with their stunning display of white, pink, purple, and blue clusters of flowers that provide an undeniable “wow” factor. Their striking effect will draw the eye and add a pop of color wherever they are placed. Gold Dust aucuba, with its dense and glossy foliage that appears to be splattered creamy yellow, also brightens up shady areas of the garden. Doyce uses shade-loving annuals, such as coleus and impatiens to add color during the spring, summer, and fall. The bright flower colors of the impatiens and the kaleidoscope of leaf colors of the coleus are sure to pop in the shade. Select some of these plants to put in shady areas of your landscape, and you are sure to be pleased. I am Eddie Smith, and I will see you next time on Southern Gardening.