Making a beautiful garden in the shade can be tricky. Many plants don’t grow well in reduced sunlight. Because of this, it’s important to choose plants that grow best in shade. This will help you create a lovely, flourishing garden. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some shady garden ideas to try out.
Clumping Bamboo is one of the Great Shady Garden Ideas
This is a plant recommended for the dedicated gardener. If not cared for it can become invasive so it can potentially backfire if you’re not paying attention.
Clumping bamboo will be sure to thrive and even multiply as your tree’s next strong companion. This bamboo actually grows best in low light and moisture conditions.
Golden Japanese Forest Grass
In most cases, you wouldn’t plant grass under your tree as it doesn’t do well in shade, but this is a special case.
Also known as Hakone Grass, its beautiful arches and bright-colored appearance make it a wonderful pop in your shade garden. It’s a great option if you’re looking for ground cover or as a border plant under your tree.
Shade for Plants: Try Oakleaf Hydrangeas
Any hydrangea will grow strong and look beautiful under your trees, but this underrated hydrangea changes its appearance with the seasons.
Commonly people usually think of its spring blossomed appearance of white flower clusters.
Unlike some of the seasonal plants mentioned, this beauty stays around all year. By midsummer, Oakleaf Hydrangeas will mature into a deep shade of pink. By late fall its leaves will change into a beautiful deep maroon as the foliage sheds into the wintertime exposing its bare branches and exfoliating bark.
Sword Fern
This low-lying perennial is a perfect choice for those who are native to the Pacific Northwest where they actually grow natively in the wild.
This plant thrives in cool and rainy climates. As higher trees like pine or cedar tree give shade to plants under them, this beautiful green can still grow up to three or four feet.
Daffodil
This plant is another one of the great gardening ideas for shaded areas. This crowd favorite is most cozy in environments with low moisture and light. This beautiful flower is so versatile it can grow under any tree under the right conditions. All you need to do is plant the bulbs in the fall and they’ll sprout in the spring.
Although if you’re looking for a plant that’s around all year I’d recommend looking into other options in this list because these only appear during the blooming season.
Edible Plants that Grow in Full Shade: Rosemary
Not only is this a wonderful addition to your kitchen, but it’s also wonderful in your shade garden. This popular herb is very low maintenance and you only need to water it occasionally when the conditions are hot and arid.
Rosemary is happy growing under any tree and you won’t have to buy it at the store anymore! It’s one of the great edible plants that grow in full shade.
Ivory Prince
Ivory Prince is excellent low-spreading hellebore that can find a comfy home under your tree.
Its evergreen foliage can really pop in these shaded areas. It can bloom anytime between early winter to mid-spring which can produce beautiful white flowers.
Climbing Plants to Grow in Shade: Try English Ivy
This ivy is a crowd favorite perennial. It’s ideal because of its dainty appearance. English Ivy is a great plant as it can easily populate over larger areas in comparison to other plants.
If you’re looking for climbing plants to grow in shade, this is a great choice. Planting this under a tree will eventually grow ivy all around the base and can even continue to grow up the trunk of the tree. It’s breathtaking!
White Trillium
This woodland wildflower is a great staple that is very popular with gardeners. It’s one of the flowers that grow in the dark.
These large white flowers bloom during early spring and turn into a beautiful shade of pink before returning to the ground by summer. White Trillium will find itself comfortable at home under a tree with good soil or in an open wooded area.
Takeaway
If you’re looking for shady garden ideas, we hope these ideas will help you. It can be tricky to grow plants under trees, but there are many plants that are ideal for this. We hope these gardening ideas for shady areas help you create your dream garden. Happy planting!
Source: Do It Yourself, Bob Vila