Northern Shade Gardening

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 love 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, a post about Heuchera ‘Mint Frost’, and one about Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’.

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 (foam flower), 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.

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.

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 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.

This  shade garden is under some evergreens. I started it last year under the pine and spruce, and the perennials overwintered very well. This year, I’m expanding the plantings, through to the other side of the tall conifers. I’ve recently added some Pachysandra terminalis ‘Green Sheen’ (Japanese spurge), Hosta ‘Patriot’, Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’ and another Athyrium ‘Ghost’. Some of the plants from last year have also been moved around. I’m aiming for a forest floor or woodland garden look in my front yard.

The soil under the spruce is a pleasure to work in. It has years of decomposing needles and tree debris, making a thick spongy layer. It is difficult to dig with a shovel, because of the lower tree branches getting in the way of the handle, so I ended up scooping some of the holes easily with my hands, since the soil was so soft.

Pachysandra terminalis 'Green Sheen' under evergreen

Do you see how dim it looks at the back of this photo? That’s because it’s right against the spruce trunk with branches coming down within half a metre (under 2 ft) of the plants. Yet, the Pachysandra terminalis ‘Green Sheen’ is glowing in the background, even where the dappled light doesn’t reach.

Pachysandra terminalis 'Green Sheen'

The glossy Pachysandra terminalis ‘Green Sheen’ (Japanese spurge) is reflecting light in the deepest shade. I never had the urge to add Pachysandra to my shade garden before, until I saw the foliage of  ‘Green Sheen’. Like a magpie, I’m attracted to shiny things in the garden. :) This groundcover is recently planted, so I don’t know for sure how it will overwinter in zone 3, but I think it is going to do well in this siting.

Asarum arifolium ginger leaf detail and woodland floor

I just moved the Asarum arifolium (wild ginger) from under the darker spruce tree, where the Pachysandra is now located, to the base of the pine tree. I’ll be able to see the attractive leaves better here, and it will get a bit more light. I’m pleased with how these Asarum have survived so far. I planted them last fall, but they were rated for a warmer zone. The evergreen leaves of the ginger were there in spring, but disappeared at the end of May when we had a snowfall and frosts. Then a few weeks later, one appeared, and now there are five plants showing. I hate to stress them by moving the plants again, but this will be a better position for them, right next to a silver and green grouping, where their faint silver markings will look super.

Asarum arifolium flower detail

As I was moving them, I notice that they already had a flower this year, so they not only survived the winter and the very late spring  frost, they even had enough energy to flower. The flower is the green structure, looking like a pitted olive, on the upper left of the photo.The flower is not showy, just rather interesting, but it’s a good sign that they are actually hardy in zone 3. The flowers of Asarum are usually right on the ground, hidden by the leaves, but this plant has been dug out and is laying sideways, so you get a good view.

front shade garden under evergreens

This is one of my favourite foliage combinations: Athyrium ‘Ghost’ (ghost fern), Hosta ‘Francee’ and Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ (Siberian bugloss). The white edges of the Hosta leaves, with the silver fern fronds, next to the silvery green Brunnera are very attractive. The transplanted Asarum are at the top in the middle, but you have to click the picture to enlarge and see them. This pine is multi stemmed, so I’m planting in the pockets between the small curving trunks.

Asarum arifolium behind other perennials

Here is a closeup, so you can see how nice the leaves look on this ginger. The Asarum arifolium has faint silver markings on it,  so it coordinates beautifully with the perennials that were planted last year in front. If I leave them alone, they should fill in and cover the ground.

Hosta 'Patriot' under evergreens

Hosta ‘Patriot’ gets a spot on the other side of this shade bed. It has a wider white margin than the Hosta ‘Francee’ that is already in this bed, so it reflects more light under the pine. I also added another Athyrium ‘Ghost’ (ghost fern) between the two Hosta. Partly because I love the look of the delicate fern fronds next to the bold Hosta leaves, and partly because it will repeat the silver ferns from the front of the bed.

Heuchera 'Cinnabar Silver'

Another new perennial is Heuchera ‘Cinnabar Silver’, which has fabulous silver leaves, with purple underneath. I especially like leaves where the variegation follows the veins of the plants, making beautiful patterns. I chose this Heuchera because it grows shorter, so it fits underneath the low evergreen branches. Even the red flower wands are shorter, so they won’t get tangled with the overhead boughs.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' with late flower

These Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’ (barrenwort) were planted last year, and they have filled in beautifully. This one even has a late flower on it. There were many of these purple flowers dancing over the leaves back in May and June.

Hepatica nobilis perennial

These Hepatica nobilis (liverleaf) were planted in the late fall last year, when they were dormant. This year they sent up these good looking leaves, but only one flower so far. I’m assuming there will be more of the beautiful blue blooms next year as the plants mature.

Aruncus aethusifolius (dwarf goatsbeard) with Brunnera

The Aruncus aethusifolius (dwarf goatsbeard) was planted last year, too. It has finely cut leaves, like a fern, with small creamy white plumes waving over top.

Cornus canadensis plant

Cornus canadensis (bunchberry) is a very common woodland plant across Canada. This hardy perennial makes a good groundcover under the spruce. I planted these late last summer, and they are starting to spread now.

garden forest floor under evergreens

You can see in this photo that I’m going for a woodsy look, even though the shade garden is on a suburban front lawn. I leave the tree needles and cones here to add to the forest duff, and have been trying to get more moss to grow. The moss is slowly expanding, and should give a nice green setting for the perennials.

The plantings are looking more full, now, and it is greatly improved from the scraggly grass that was here before. This previous post about this shade garden has a good before picture, showing what it looked like when I started planting. I give this garden some supplemental water, but I don’t have to mulch it, since the conifers do that for me. I’m going to continue expanding the bed out more to the next tree.