Northern Shade Gardening

Here are some foliage plants for the shade garden with pretty leaves. These perennials add beautiful texture, colour and shine to shady areas, even when not in bloom.

spring garden foliage

On the upper left is a combination of Asarum europaeum (European ginger) in front and Athyrium ‘Lady in Red’ (lady in red fern) behind. I especially like the pairing of shiny, rounded heart shaped leaves of the ginger with the feathery fern fronds. ‘Lady in Red’ has a fresh, light green colour, but the centre of each frond is red when they first emerge. The foliage pairing is appealing all season long, and both do well with very little light.

On the upper right is Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ (coral bells). Most of the Heuchera have great foliage, but ‘Green Spice’ stands out for its wonderful contrast of purple red veins on a light silvery green background. The darker green border around each leaf completes the colourful package. The large scalloped leaves look super next any plant with feathery leaves.

In the middle on the left are Tiarella ‘Jeepers Creepers’ (foamflower) leaves with deeply cut lobes and a dark contrasting line down the middle of each section. These perennial leaves make an attractive evergreen groundcover, topped by pretty spikes of flowers.

In the centre of the collage is a  Hosta ‘Patriot’ that is still unfurling. I like the creamy white bands around the margins of the leaves, since get you attention as you scan along in the darker areas of the shade garden. ‘Patriot’ adds a dappled effect in the shadows. The large leaves look good next to delicate or finely cut foliage.

On the right side of the centre row is Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’ (coral bells ) with green and purple leaves that have pronounced vein marks. Not all Heuchera have showy flowers, but these get very attractive red flowers later in the summer. A leftover blue Scilla flower is draped over the ‘Cinnabar Silver’.

On the bottom left is Heucehra ‘Raspberry Ice’ (coral bells), which also has the complete package of both wonderful leaves and flowers. Like many Heuchera, the leaves can change colour through the season, depending on the temperature. You can see some of the silver and green leaves, as well as the purplish red ones. One perk with the Heuchera is that the evergreen leaves will decorate the shady garden all year.

On the bottom right is a closeup of the fantastic foliage of Asarum europaeum (European ginger). These shiny leaves have finally been spreading over the last few years to fill in and create a terrific groundcover. I highly recommend these short plants for the front of the border. Although they are a little slow to start spreading for the first few years, they will gradually fill in to great a really nice edging in even your shadiest areas. The high gloss finish adds some sparkle to the darker sections.

perennials with silver leaves

Above is a collage of  some silver perennial leaves, which are great for bringing highlights to a shady corner. Whether solid, spotted, or patterned silver, the light colour bounces back the few light rays to make it into the shaded sites under the trees, making them stand out and be noticed.

At the top is Pulmonaria ‘Samourai’ (lungwort) with mostly solid silver leaves. Each leaf is long and narrow, with a slender border of green and a central green vein. This make a light coloured background for the blue flowers. These silver grey ‘Samourai’ looks great next to solid green or dark leaves.

In the middle row on the left is Zantedeschia araceae ‘Golden Chalice’ (calla lily). I use these as a centre foliage plant in a planter for a very shady area. They don’t produce much in the way of flowers there, but the tall, silver spotted leaves are a great centre piece for the flowering annuals in the pot. I also have a calla lily in another part shade container, where they produce funnel type blooms.

In the centre of the collage is a Brunnera macropylla ‘Jack Frost’ (bugloss) leaf. This is the king of foliage plants for the shade. Everything about the leaves is perfect, from the beautiful silver colour, to the wonderful patterns of contrasting green along the veins. I always have to stop and admire them when puttering around the garden.

On the right side of the middle row is a Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (lungwort) leaf. ‘Majeste’ starts off as spotted silver in spring, and gets more of an overall silver colour later in summer. The freckles are cute, and keep the green foliage from fading into the background.

On the bottom left is a Heuchera ‘Mint Frost’ leaf. It is a light silver green, with darker green veins. These are highly variable perennials, as in the spring and fall they can have orange, red and purple leaves, too. However for most of the summer this is the standard colour.

On the lower right is the solid silver leaf of  Brunnera macrophylla ‘Looking Glass’. It produces large leaves, with slender green lines along the veins. This is a real knockout in the shade as it reflects a lot of light.

Alocasia calidora elephant ear leaf

Here is a very attractive giant leaf of Alocasia calidora (elephant ear). It’s large, wet, and just look at those patterns. The rubbery leaves are about 50 cm (20 in) long right now, and get bigger all summer. I have these Alocasia in a few of my planters in part shade, where they make super focal point for the centre. Elephant ears bring a wonderfully lush tropical look to a planter. In zone 3 they are treated like an annual, although you could overwinter the bulbs inside.  If you’re wondering what the green ‘worms’ are behind the leaf, those are the catkins that just fell from a willow tree.

These are some of the perennial leaves that caught my eye this week when I was out gardening. Although there are lots of spring flowers right now, the foliage of these plants will look great right through until fall. You can see more pictures of great foliage for your shady garden here, and even more photos of  shade plant leaves here.

Here’s a fern and Heuchera foliage combination I planted a while ago in a shady corner that I’m really enjoying. At the back is an Athyrium ‘Ghost’ (ghost fern), and in front are two different coral bells, Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ and Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’. I love the silver, purple and green colour scheme to these three plants.

At smaller resolutions, you have to click to see the full photo, since the photo overflow is hidden.

Athyrium fern Heuchera coral bells

This is across the walkway from the garden under the evergreens, that I wrote about earlier. This section of garden is extra shady, since it is on the north side of my house with tall conifers. I rearranged this part of the garden bed, and added new Heuchera and the Athyrium ‘Ghost’ at the back in the corner. I’ve planted this fern in a few shady garden areas, since it brightens the bed up with the reflective silvery green fronds.

Heuchera 'Cinnabar Silver' coral bells

To one side in front are three Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’ (coral bells). There are another three of these Heuchera across the walkway. This cultivar will stay fairly short, including the flower stalks. ‘Cinnabar Silver’ has a wonderful silver sheen, with purple tones on the leaves. The veins are a dark contrast to the metallic leaf. I admire the way this foliage looks with the silver fern.

Heuchera 'Green Spice' 'Eco-improved' coral bells

On the other side in front are three Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ (also called ‘Eco-improved’). These coral bells have slightly silver green leaves with purple running along the veins, making beautiful patterns. The newest leaves have a red colouring along the veins. Around the edge of each scalloped leaf is a medium green band. The foliage of ‘Green Spice’ is fantastic, coordinating well with the woodland plants across the walkway, yet having a little extra dazzle.

Athyrium 'Ghost' fern next to Heuchera

The Athyrium ‘Ghost’ fern produces a good number of these light green and silver fronds. They develop a very lush look over the season, since they send up new fronds throughout the summer. It grows about 45 cm (18 inches) to 60 cm (2 feet) tall in my garden. This cross between Athrium filix-femina (lady fern) and Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) is a real winner, both beautiful and hardy.

Athyrium 'Ghost' fern Heuchera 'Green Spice' 'Cinnabar Silver'

I like the green, silver and purple colour scheme in this garden area now, and it coordinates nicely with the green, silver and white scheme on the other side of the walkway. The green and silver fern, green, silver and purple ‘Green Spice’ and silver and purple ‘Cinnabar Silver’ make an attractive trio. This fern and Heuchera combination can handle the shade cast by the house and trees, and provide beautiful colour with their foliage all season.

Here are some more photos and information about coral bells in my garden, including Heuchera ‘Mint Frost’, and Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’. You can see the flowers of ‘Cinnabar Silver’ in this article, and here is a comparison of the different Heuchera foliage.

patio west Heucherella Campanula and planter

Here is a shady garden bed with blue, pink and white flowers that I recently rearranged. It gets some morning sun for a short while, and then some dappled shade. There are perennials in the border, and a pot of annuals on the corner that blends right in. Since I planted the container first, I might have got the colour scheme for the perennial bed from it.

Heucherella 'Tapestry' and Campanula cochlearifolia 'Bavaria Blue'

The pink flowers are Heucherella ‘Tapestry’ (foamy bells). This perennial is a cross between Heuchera (coral bells) and Tiarella (foamflower), showing some of the best traits for both. It has beautiful leaf markings, but the flowers are much showier than most Heuchera. The Heucherella like more light than Heuchera. ‘Tapestry’ is  new to my garden this year. I’m very taken with these beautiful plants, and hope that they are hardy. I’ll definitely be planting more of them.

Update: These Heucherella overwintered just fine, and still look great.

Heucherella 'Tapestry' foamy bells leaves

The leaves of this Heucherella remind me of the foliage of Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ (coral bells), with a green background and dark purple coloured veins. These plants are very attractive. I have some Heuchera with all purple leaves in another part of the garden, and I think ‘Tapestry’ would make a good bridge between them and other green plants if planted next to them.

Heucherella 'Tapestry' foamy bells flower

Here is a closeup of the gorgeous pink flower spikes of ‘Tapestry’. They are thick stalks with very noticeable flowers, in a pretty pink colour. The blooms also last a long time, over six weeks already. You could grow ‘Tapestry’ for the flowers alone, even if they didn’t have decorative leaves. In the background is a Colocasia leaf in the planter with pink and blue flowers.

Campanula cochlearifolia 'Bavaria Blue' flowers

The little blue flowers in the garden bed are Campanula cochlearifolia ‘Bavaria Blue’ (fairy thimble bellflowers). I also have these perennials in another garden section, and added them here for a little more blue colour. With a multitude of tiny blooms, these dwarf bellflowers are colourful and charming.

Campanula portenschlagiana 'Blue Waterfall' flowers by Heucherella

Another dwarf bellflower in this garden bed is Campanula portenschlagiana ‘Blue Waterfall’ (Serbian bellflower). The flowers are just opening, but there are lots more buds to bloom soon. The pretty stars of this Campanula bloom in rows all along the flower stems, which mostly radiate out in sprays along the  ground. This was already planted at the front corner, and you can see how short it is, by the Heucherella towering over it behind.

Actaea ramosa 'Atropurpurea' with Heucherella 'Tapestry'

The tall plant in the middle is Actaea ramosa ‘Atropurpurea’ (bugbane, used to be Cimcifuga). It will grow two metres (six feet) in height by late summer, and will have beautiful tall spikes of cream coloured flowers, high above the other plants. It coordinates well with the Heucherella, because both of them have purple on their leaves. ‘Tapestry’ has conspicuous purple in a pattern along the veins of the leaf, and this Actaea has subtle purple edges to the leaves, as well as purple stems.

Actaea racemosa with Campanula cochlearifolia 'Bavaria Blue'

The photo above shows Actaea racemosa (bugbane) with Campanula flowers underneath. This Actaea also has cream flower wands over 2 metres (6 feet) tall, and was already planted here.  Bugbanes make great plants for some height in a shady garden. I find the scientific naming of Actaea a little confusing, and it might be that these are actually the same. They were switched from Cimicifuga, which is straightforward, but I see ‘Atropurpurea’ listed as a cultivar for both of these species and they look very much alike. You can see photos of Actaea flowering in my garden.

Osmunda regalis royal fern

In between are two Osmunda regalis (royal ferns) in the spotlight above. The fronds of this fern are a light green, which gives them a little glow next to darker leaves. Some lighter coloured foliage show up well in a shady garden. Both of the sections above belong to one plant. The second fern  is behind and can’t really be seen in this photo. This one was originally planted in back, because I thought it would grow taller, so I moved it forward to better enjoy the foliage.

Osmunda regalis royal fern with Campanula cochlearifolia 'Bavaria Blue'

Osmunda regalis has a bit of a shrub appearance. These are supposed to grow quite tall, but don’t get beyond 60 cm (2 feet) tall in my garden. They probably need a longer growing season to reach their full height, or perhaps a warmer climate. One thing they really like is water. They make nice garden plants, even if they don’t get to two metres (6 feet) in my garden. Now that I’ve moved this one to the front of the bed, I hope it doesn’t put on a growth spurt after five years.

Begonia 'Non-Stop Pink' lobelia colocasia esculenta

The planter in the corner has a tall Colocasia esculenta (elephant ear) in the middle. There are Begonia ‘Non-Stop Pink’ putting on a good floral show around it with their double flowers, as well as some pink double Impatiens, and blue Lobelia cascading over the edge.

Begonia 'Non-Stop Pink' and lobelia planter

Here is a closeup of the lovely double begonia flowers. They don’t mind the shade, and seem to thrive in the extra water that the Colocasia gets.

Colocasia esculenta elephant ear plant

This closeup of the Colocasia esculenta leaf shows the wonderful leaf texture and size. If there is anything better than a nice big leaf, it’s a big wet leaf in the rain. It makes an umbrella for the begonia, one of which is peeking out to see if the rain has stopped.

patio west Heucherella 'Tapestry' and pot

This garden bed in part shade has pink and blue flowers, and there will be white from the Actaea in late summer. Continuing along, just to the north of this section, is a Philadelphus (mockorange) shrub with white blooms, while to the south are some Lamprocampnos spectabilis ‘Alba’ (bleeding hearts, used to be Dicentra) with white flowers. You can see a few of the bleeding heart flowers still left at the back of the photo above. I used to have some daylilies where the Heucherella are, but it is more shaded now, and they weren’t doing as well. I instantly liked the new arrangement in the shady garden, as soon as it was finished.