Northern Shade Gardening

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 they are planted 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 into the shade.

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 for the shade: 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 shady 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 garden. It has a wider white margin than the Hosta ‘Francee’ that is already in this bed, so it reflects more light under the shade of the pine. I also added another Athyrium ‘Ghost’ (ghost fern) between the two Hosta. Partly because I appreciate 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. Heuchera are great in a shade garden, because their patterned, colourful leaves add interest even when the plants are not in flower.

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. This plant is terrific for the shade garden, as a nice groundcover.

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. Mine bloom well in the shadiest areas of the garden.

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.

Here are some of my favourite colours of the shade garden in late May. I love the combination of blue and white flowers in spring, with silver leaves to showcase them. If the overflow of the photos are hidden at a smaller resolution, just click them to see the full picture.

blue flowers of late May

Above are some of the blue perennial flowers of spring, bringing a bit of the sky into the garden and making the beds a little more serene. On the upper left is the beautiful sky blue of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ (Siberian bugloss). Three established, large plants of these can produce a square metre (around a square yard) of airy blue flowers. On the upper right are the pretty light blue flowers of Muscari azureum (grape hyacinth) bulbs.  The flowers over the spotted leaves are Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (lungwort). They emerge pink, but quickly turn this bright blue shade. The fern fronds behind make a good background for them.

silver leaves of May

Silver leaves are my favourite with blue and white flowers. The steely tones pull together the cooler coloured blooms, and show them off . The top left picture is of Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern), with its first silvery green frond. These ferns are slow to come up in my garden in spring. On the top right is the silver grey foliage of Pulmonaria ‘Samourai’. The bottom of the picture shows the king of shade foliage, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. The exquisite silver and green pattern make this my favourite leaf. The silver colours of these perennials add an extra glow in the shady areas of the garden.

white flowers of late May

White flowers are a stand out in the darker areas of the garden. On the upper left of the above picture are the white flowers of Tulipa ‘Foxtrot’ when they first open. As the flowers of these bulbs age, they turn pink. These are in a part shade location, so I’m not sure how they’ll return next year.  On the upper right are the sweetest smelling Conavallaria majalis (lily of the valley) flower bells. The garden is full of this wonderful scent right now. Along the bottom of the photo are the pure white flowers of Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot). This perennials bloomed briefly, but shone while they were out. Another white woodland flower coming out now is the Trillium grandiflorum (great white trillium).

Purple leaves and flowers in May

This image shows some purple leaves and flowers. On the upper left are the newly opening Syringa vulgaris ‘Wedgewood Blue’ (lilac) flowers. These blooms get more blue as they develop. If you’re wondering why the lilac flowers are drooping, it’s because I had just shook off the wet snow that bent the branches over. The top right perennial is Heuchera ‘Mint Frost’, which has green and silver leaves for most of the summer, but includes lots of purple and red shades in the cold. With our colder late May temperatures, they have lots of colour in them still. On the bottom of the picture is the intense silvery purple foliage of Heuchera ‘Plum Pudding’. It is another super foliage plant.

My favourite colours are repeated in groups around the different shady garden beds. What are your favourite garden colours for late spring?

Hydrangea and birdbath fall leaves

Hydrangea shrubs have enough room underneath, that you can make a beautiful layered garden by underplanting them with shorter plants. In summer I have some dwarf Campanula (bellflowers) producing purplish blue star shaped flowers in a low carpet under this Hydrangea paniculata. I love the look, and wanted to extend it to spring, so I’ve planted some Chionodoxa forbesii (glory of the snow) bulbs underneath. These early spring bulbs should flower before the bellflowers bloom, with their own version of starry flowers.

Campanula porscharskyana (bellflower) in flower

Above is  a photo of  Campanula poscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) from this summer. They start flowering midway through June, and continue intermittently all summer, and into fall. They look especially pretty under the Hydrangea, even before it flowers,  twinkling up through the branches. They are a gorgeous shade of purplish blue, with five narrow petals and white towards the centre. These bellflowers grows quite low to the ground, so they don’t interfere with the Hydrangea branches, and they fill the bare area underneath with beauty. Then in August and September, when the Hydrangea blooms in white, the little blue flowers of the Campanula look lovely paired with the large panicles. However, there are no flowers underneath the shrub before mid June, just the bellflower foliage.

Chionodoxa luciliae (glory of the snow) flowers spring

I  added some glory of the snow bulbs to bring some early blooms to this area. The blue stars are reminiscent of the Campanula and should have a similar effect. These have six petals, a dark line down each petal, and a white centre. The Chionodoxa luciliae start flowering during May in my zone 3 garden, so the Chionodoxa forbesii should start the colour show early too, before the bellflowers. These two Chionodoxa species seem interchangeable now. The pretty blue bulbs will bring some spring cheer, while the Hydrangea stems are still leafless. Then when the glory of the snow flowers fade, the bellflower groundcover should easily hide the slender bulb foliage as it dies back for the season. Usually the  Chionodoxa foliage disappears quickly.

planting Chionodoxa forbesii (glory of the snow)bulbs

Here is one of the bulb planting holes, in between the Campanula poscharskyana plants. I dug narrow holes among the perennials, to minimize the root damage. Then I planted 5 to 10 bulbs in each hole. Altogether I planted 50 Chionodoxa forbesii, but I could have planted more. These bulbs cover the  ground under the front half of the Hydrangea, and a bit around the sides. I could plant another 50 to really carpet the ground under the PG Hydrangea.

fall leaves under Hydrangea

The fall leaves were already covering the garden bed, as I watered in the newly planted bulbs. This will be some of my last outdoor gardening fun for the year, since the temperatures are so cool now. It is probably a little late to be planting bulbs in zone 3, but the weather warmed above freezing this week, the bulbs were on sale, and the picture of more blue flowers was running through my mind. Soon, a white quilt will be spread over top of the brown and green patchwork one. However, come spring, the flower parade will start as soon as the snow melts, and the early spring bulbs bloom.