Northern Shade Gardening

Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern) with broad leafed plants

The Athyrium ferns add delightful lacy foliage to the shadows in the garden. Their foliage adds movement to the garden, swaying in the breezes. The finely divided fronds of ferns look especially nice next to large, solid leaves. These ones are all hardy, and thrive in the shade.

In this photo, the Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern) are planted with Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’, Brunnera and Hosta ‘Francee’. Their fresh green colour looks good with silver leafed plants.

Athyrium filix-femina are wonderfully robust ferns for the garden. These are the second ferns to unfurl in spring in my garden, right after the Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich ferns). However, the fronds of the lady fern last longer in the fall. The lady ferns continually unroll new fronds through the summer, making substantial clumps. They are very easy to divide.

My lady ferns came to the garden of their own accord, showing up as tiny ferns in the spaces between my patio stones at my last garden. I had no other ferns at the time, so they must have drifted in. I haven’t had any self spore since then, but the groups have grown, and I’ve divided them to form new plants.

Athyrium filix-femina 'Lady in Red' full fronds

Athyrium filix-femina ‘Lady in Red’ are an especially attractive version of the lady fern, with darker red stems. These contrast nicely with the lighter green foliage, and give them a little pizazz. These have been very hardy in my garden, and they are up reasonably early in the spring too.

Athyrium filix-femina comparison with 'Lady in Red' on right

Above is a collage of the two ferns side by side.You can see the midrib of the A. filix-femina on the left is green, while the midrib of  ‘Lady in Red’ on the right is a dark red. This red colour is most pronounced on new growth.

Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum' a few fronds

Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’ (Japanese painted fern) is a very slow plant to come up in spring in my garden. It sends up a single frond quite late, and then tentatively, a few others. I moved these plant last fall to a site with a bit more  morning sun, hoping that it would bulk them up. Perhaps the move set them back, so we’ll see next year.

Athyrium x 'Ghost' (ghost fern) new fronds

I particularly admire the light silver fronds of Athyrium x ‘Ghost’ (ghost fern), with the contrasting red coloured midrib. These ferns form a good sized clump, and their light colour shows up well in the darker areas of shade. They make a great background to show off other plants in front of them. They are more robust then the painted ferns, but not quite as vigorous as the lady ferns.

Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern) June

All of these Athyrium make great garden plants for the shady areas. The variations in colour of their foliage and midribs add variety to the garden, while the lacy fronds of these ferns add a fine texture.

You can read more about my hardy ferns in this post, about fern combinations in another post, and see photos of new fiddlehead ferns in this post.

Phlox divaricata 'Clouds of Perfume' (woodland phlox) plant

Phlox divaricata ‘Clouds of Perfume’ (woodland phlox) is covered in showy blooms in spring. The wonderful flowers are a bluish lavender colour, and make a focal point when they are in bloom. This plant does well in part shade or medium shade, but won’t bloom in deep shade. If you have a smaller monitor, you’ll have to click the top picture to see the whole photo.

I used it have the woodland phlox for a couple of years in deeper shade, where it had to compete hard with a willow. The plant survived at the same size, but never bloomed. Then I moved it to this medium shade area, where it gets about 2 hours of sunlight, or so, and it is very happy. The Phlox puts on a great floral display, and is about four times the size now.

Depending on the angle of the sun, the ‘Clouds of Perfume’ blooms can appear more bluish or more lavender, but they always look marvelous. Their name is more of a metaphor for beauty, than a description of their scent, since I never detect much of a fragrance.

Phlox divaricata 'Clouds of Perfume' and ostrich fern

I love the way the Phlox divaricata looks in front of this Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern). The lacy fronds make a great backdrop for the flowers, while their narrow vase shape gives lots of room at the bottom for the phlox. The plants spread out nicely over time, but not in an annoying way. It’s very easy to pull it back if you want to, and not insistent about returning. I’m happy to have the woodland phlox fill out the space here. The groundcover is gradually moving towards the edge of the Hydrangea shrub, and makes a good underplanting for it, since the Hydrangea is slow to leaf out in spring.

We had a number of frosts in May, and many of the leaves of this perennial turned a tan colour, I thought that it might die back, or lose its buds and not bloom, but it recovered just fine. There are so many new green leaves, that I can’t even see the damaged ones, and the plant is full of these beautiful blooms. This plant handles zone 3 and a cold spring very well.

Woodland phlox blooms for about three weeks in late spring, and as they fade, I always wish that the flowers would continue to enliven the garden. After the blooms are finished, I cut them and the flower stalks back. The foliage afterwards is short, around 15 cm (6 in), and although it has a nice green colour, it fades into the background. I planted some Heuchera in front of it last fall, to add interest for the rest of the season. I think this should work well, as the Heuchera has much showier leaves. I’m delighted by the splash Phlox divaricata ‘Clouds of Perfume’ makes when in bloom, so it’s definitely worth adding to the garden, but you might want something in front for the rest of the season.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' (white bleeding heart) 5 hearts

The strings of white hearts, suspended from the stems of Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ (white bleeding heart) add elegance to the shade garden. These medium sized perennials bloom from spring to early summer.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' (white bleeding heart) new buds

Here the new buds are dangling under the stem in early spring. The white outer petals are still held tight against the bud.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' (white bleeding heart) buds and flower

Now the first heart is open, and the other little buds are starting. The buds closest to the main stem start first, and gradually the whole necklace of hearts opens. These little white flowers look great in the shade, and last about 6 weeks. You can see a few lily of the valley flowers behind this plant, and a tiny peek of Brunnera blue. I also have some Epimedium in front. All three plants look good with white bleeding hearts, and their blooming times overlap, so they make a nice grouping together.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' string of flowers

The bleeding heart foliage stays fresh through the summer in my garden, since it doesn’t get too hot or dry for it. In fall, after the frost, the leaves turn yellow, and stay colourful for a while before dropping.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' (white bleeding heart) 6 hearts

These elegant perennials are about 60 to 90 cm (2 to 3 feet), making a nice sized plant for the middle of the border. My two  ‘Alba’ plants have a number of stems of hearts, that make a good show.

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' (white bleeding heart) 8 hearts

The pure white flowers are highly visible in the shade areas, and look graceful against the medium green leaves. These are one of those perennials that looks attractive at dusk.  As other plants start blending into the shadows, Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ is glowing. Bleeding hearts are a classic plant for the shade garden, and this white form looks especially nice under the trees .