Northern Shade Gardening

Despite the cool June, the shade plants I’ve planted in pots have been blooming beautifully. I’ve chosen ones that produce lots of flowers all season long, or wonderfully large leaves for a tropical look. I especially like the tall Alocasia (elephant ear) or Zantedeschia (calla lily) for the centre of the planter. Their showy foliage adds height, while the other annuals provide lots of blooms. Technically some of these are not really annuals, but the tender perennials are treated as annuals in zone 3.

shade annuals in flower pot

The pot above is in a mostly shady area, with some morning sun and then dappled light during the rest of the day. It sits on a ledge that runs around my patio. In the middle is an Alocasia x calidora (elephant ear), at the front a Begonia Solenia Light Pink, at the back some Impatiens walleriana (double impatiens), and tucked in around the sides some Lobelia erinus ‘Regatta Sky Blue’.

Alocasia x calidora elephant ear leaf

In the centre of the pot is an Alocasia x calidora (elephant ear) with heart shaped leaves and textured ribs. This hybrid has giant eye-catching foliage that add an exotic tropical look to the planter. These are growing a little slower than the Colacasia that I planted last year, and I think it is because our weather has been so cool for the past 6 weeks. We’ve had very few days that made it as high as 25º C (77º F). Still, they are wonderfully textured, with light green patterns and of course their size adds presence to a container.

Lobelia erinus 'Regatta Sky Blue' pretty flowers in pot

Draped over the sides of the pot are some Lobelia erinus ‘Regatta Sky Blue’. These annuals with such generous light blue flowers might be a common plant for pots, but that’s because they look super as they sprawl over the sides of a container. I particularly enjoy the waterfall effect of their pretty sky blue colour, and the fact that they will flower past the first light frosts. Plus, they don’t mind a part shade siting. I use the trailing ‘Regatta’ in my pots, since it tumbles and drapes so nicely, and Riviera in my shade beds, as it is a more upright dwarf.

Begonia solenia light pink with dark leaves

The double pink flowers in this planter are Begonia ‘Solenia Light Pink’. Although the Solenia are a tuberous begonia developed for the hotter and sunnier climates, they have been doing fantastic in this part shade area through the cooler weather. The double tuberous begonias are great for a pot, since they flower right up until the frost, and you get a lot of petals per plant. These are a  shorter begonia, so they work well under the taller foliage at the centre. Solenia Light Pink begonias have darker, almost wine coloured foliage, which looks good next to the other green leaves in the planter.

Impatiens walleriana' Fiesta White' double flowers in pot

At the back are some Impatiens walleriana with pretty double flowered blooms. The flowers look like tiny roses, and are great in a pot, because the more petals the better. The white petals show up particularly well in a shady garden area. These are another plant that will bloom continuously right up until the first frosts.

Alocasia Fuchsia Lobelia Begonia Impatiens in shade pot

Here is another pot that is very similar at the other end of my patio, getting the dappled light that is common for most of the day. It has the same Alocasia x calidora for a focus in the centre, and Lobelia erinus ‘Regatta Sky Blue’ billowing around the edges. The container also has a Begonia ‘Nonstop Pink’, a Fuchsia ‘Swingtime’, and Impatiens walleriana ‘Fiesta White’. I like the combination of giant leaves, surrounded by lots of double flowers. The fuchsia is very large and hangs down towards the right, so is mostly out of this shot, but I’ve got some more pictures of it down below. This container is loaded with flowers that extend almost 1 m (3 ft) across in a 45 cm (18 in ) pot, but they are all doing really well.

Begonia 'Nonstop Pink' flowers in pot

This double tuberous begonia is ‘Nonstop Pink’.The flowers are very generous, and especially showy. Like Solenia it is a shorter Begonia, so it works well under the elephant ear plant. As with other double tuberous begonia, your get a maximum number of pretty petals per plant.

Fuchsia 'Swingtime' with red and white flowers dangling

In the photo above you can see how gorgeous the  fuchsia ‘Swingtime’ double flowers look. This is a fairly large plant, and it shows well as it dangles over the front of the pot, since it is on a raised ledge around the patio. ‘Swingtime’ has red sepals at the top of each flower, and the corolla of white petals inside. The lantern shaped buds are bright red, and attractive in their own right. The long stigmas are suspended below each flower. These are very appealing flowers, and are terrific draped over the front of a pot.

Fuchsia 'Swingtime' with red and white petals

I’m very pleased with the pink, white and blue colours together. The multitude of pretty flowers protected by the giant leaves makes an engaging miniature scene.

flower pot with annuals in shade

You can see that I carried a similar theme with this third pot on the patio, except there is a calla lily in the centre. There is a small Fuchsia ‘Swingtime’, a Begonia ‘Nonstop Pink’, some Impatiens wallerina with double pink flowers, and the ubiquitous Lobelia making itself comfortable around the edges of the planter.

Zantedeschia 'Fire Glow' calla lily with Begonia and Lobelia

The plant with the nice long leaves that appear speckled in silver with pink tubular flowers is Zantedeschia ‘Fire Glow’ (calla lily). You can see one of the flowers at the front of the picture above. It has a pink spathe shaped like a funnel,  with a yellow spadix in the centre. Although this plant is really for a sunnier site, it actually does fairly well in shade with dappled light. It has about 4 or 5 flowers on it, but mostly I added it for the long tall leaves, which it has produced in abundance. I especially like calla lilies with silver spots on the green foliage, as they add some interest in the dappled shade. While gardeners in warmer zones get to grow these as a perennial, here we have to treat them as annuals, or overwinter them indoors.

shade annuals in pot with calla lily begonia lobelia and impatiens

This fourth  pot is sited on my front porch, but got it’s picture taken when I was planting it near my front spruce. It is more lush now, with lots of the requisite lobelia cascading down, and more double begonia flowers. In the centre is a Zantedeschia ‘Golden Chalice’ (calla lily). Since it is situated in total shade on my front porch, the calla lily doesn’t have any flowers, but I planted it for those tall, speckled, arrow-shaped leaves. I wanted to show you this early shot, before the begonia flowers developed, so you can see the foliage of the Begonia ‘Solenia Light Pink’ better. It is very attractive in dark burgundy with green veins, and makes a nice contrast with the other green leaves. Although the Solenia begonias are supposed to be tolerant of  a hot, sunny location, this has done very well in total shade. As it has matured, there are a lot more of the double pink flowers than the leaves now. This pot also has a Fuchsia ‘Swingtime’ at the back.

Begonia rose pink with picotee petals

Here is the flower of a tall begonia from a fifth pot on my front porch. It is a pink picotee, so the petals are light pink with a dark rose pink edging. This begonia is very tall, and forms the centre focal point to the pot, which is in complete shade. It has many of the usual suspects planted with it.

pot with double begonia and other shade annuals

This sixth planter has a pink begonia, but in the evening light of this photo it appears almost red. It wasn’t identified when I bought it, but is your basic tall begonia. It has grown a great deal in the last two months, and is now 60 cm (2 ft) tall. The underplantings have been squeezed to the sides, but get to send out some flowers around the edges.

Begonia 'Nonstop White' with Lobelia 'Regatta Sky Blue'

This is a smaller pot, about 30 cm (1 foot) across, that is situated on my front steps just down from a larger container. In the middle is a Begonia ‘Nonstop White’, and of course the pushy Lobelia erinus ‘Regatta Sky Blue’ insisted on climbing into this pot, too. On the other side is a Lobelia erinus ‘Regatta Blue Splash’ with white and blue flowers. On the right side is an Impatiens ‘Fiesta Stardust Pink’ with double pink flowers, that have a bit of white in them. The little Fuchsia flower on the upper right is actually hanging down from the pot on the step above.

We’ve had such a rainy June, that I haven’t had to water the containers in the open since I planted them over 6 weeks ago, so they’ve been very low maintenance. All I’ve had to do is remove the odd spent bloom, and the Fire Glow calla lily needed staking.

Those are my annual pots for this year. You can see photos of last year’s flower containers and shade planters in these posts. They are a lot of fun to plant, and make an appealing show when heaped with flowers. I carried many similar plants and colours through the planters, with a few variations in each one. The sweet colours of pink, blue and white brighten up the shady areas, while the bold foliage gives them heft.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' foam flower mostly open

Tiarella (foam flower) are a new favourite shade perennial of mine. In spring they send up short spikes of pretty blooms over top of very decorative leaves. These plants are very tolerant of growing under the trees, and in other shadowy garden areas. All of mine have survived a zone 3 winter with no problems. Of the three that I grow, ‘Sugar and Spice’ and ‘Pink Skyrocket’ are my favourites. ‘Jeepers Creepers’ might just need another year to settle in and produce more flowers.

Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice' foamflower up close detail

Above is Tiarella ‘Sugar and Spice’, which gets a good number of flowers. These have been in bloom for over a month now. Each flower spike starts with tight buds, and then gradually the buds open from the bottom. As they open, they produce tiny starry shaped, white flowers. From a distance the combination of pink buds and white flowers have a light pink appearance, living up to their ‘Sugar and Spice’ name. It takes a while for all of the buds to open, and then they appear as very pale pink.

Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice' foamflower with pine needles

I have one group of ‘Sugar and Spice’ right under the low branches of a pine tree, which you can see on the left of the above picture. Despite the challenging shade conditions, they are still producing these pretty blooms. The other group of ‘Sugar and Spice’ have an eastern exposure, and get an hour or so of light in the morning, and then a bit of dappled light throughout the day.

Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice' foamflower close up of leaf markings

The leaves of ‘Sugar and Spice’ are cut into lobes, with very dark, almost black, markings down the centre of each lobe. They have  a reflective finish, especially the new leaves, which helps them show up even more in a shady nook. The photo above was taken in the rain, but even without extra water, they still have a nice sheen.

Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice' foamflower with Convallaria

Here is a pink  ‘Sugar and Spice’ foam flower plant with some white Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley) blooms behind. It is a sweet springtime combination that I took earlier in the month.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' foam flower in front of birdbath

Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’ bloomed for quite a while last year, and they are doing the same this year. Each plant has a large number of these floral spikes. They start as narrow spikes of dark salmon pink buds, and then open to cylinders of light, fluffy pink. The foam flowers are covered in blooms, even in shady conditions.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' foam flower with Pulmonaria flowers

The leaves of ‘Pink Skyrocket’ are especially deeply cut, with the lobes going almost to the centre. They have a glossy finish, with narrow dark markings down the middle of each lobe.  The plant above is next to some Pulmonaria ‘Samourai’ (lungwort) which has the beautiful blue flowers.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' with buds at top

The photo above shows the fireworks appearance that is an inspiration for their name. I have two separate groups of ‘Pink Skyrocket’, and both get little direct light, yet they still make a great flower show and have wonderfully healthy foliage. One group is on the north side of a fence, at the edge of a tall pine, with a birdbath behind, and a Hydrangea shrub beside them. The other group is in a bed at the side of the house, next to a tall Aruncus (goat’s beard) with mostly indirect light.

Tiarella 'Jeepers Creepers' foam flower with bloom

This year my Tiarella ‘Jeepers Creepers’ are later than the others in blooming. I’m not sure if this is their normal schedule, or if it is because they were planted last fall. They also have a smaller number of blooms, even though they are in about the same light conditions as my other Tiarella. It could be that this hybrid is less floriferous, they don’t bloom quite as well in very low light conditions, or they just need another year to get established.

Tiarella 'Jeepers Creepers' foam flower wet leaves

Despite the smaller flower show, the leaves of  ‘Jeepers Creepers’ are particularly attractive. They have very nice noticeable markings, that looks really sharp in the shade garden, making them stand out against other solid coloured leaves. Plus they are tactile, being covered in tiny hairs. I have some ‘Jeepers Creepers’ planted between some purple leafed Heuchera and some green Cornus canadensis, and like how the darkest purple centres of the Tiarella look with the more solid purple Heuchera. The combination of light and dark on the Tiarella makes a nice bridge between them.

Each Tiarella plant is about 30 cm (12 in ) tall and 40 cm (15 in ) across. The foliage is semi-evergreen, though not quite as hardy as Heuchera leaves. Still, they kept many of their leaves over the winter, giving a fast start to the garden colour in spring. Tiarella foliage still looks great at the end of fall, when many perennials had already died back. These are another super perennial for extending your gardening time in a short growing season.

Tiarella 'Pink Skyrocket' pink flowers with pulmonaria blue flowers

You can see how beautifully Tiarella combine with blue flowers. I particularly like them with the Pulmonaria.  So far, ‘Pink Skyrocket’ and ‘Sugar and Spice’ are my favourite for their flowers. However,  ‘Sugar and Spice’ and ‘Jeepers Creepers’ have the nicest leaves. I can highly recommend Tiarella if you are gardening in the shade. They will grow under trees and shrubs, while producing lovely flowers and showy leaves. Here are more photos of Tiarella and Heuchera.

I’ve added a gallery, so you can see more shots. Just click on any small photo to enlarge it to full size.

Here are some brilliant white flowers blooming in the spring shade garden. Each one of these perennials have distinctly different flower shapes and arrangements. With their light colour they show up well in the  darker garden beds, while other flowers might fade into the background. White and ivory colours can also be noticed better when viewing from a distance, and are the last flowers visible in the twilight.

white flowers in spring

At the top is Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’, formerly Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’  (bleeding heart), with those unmistakable hearts strung along the stems. The buds start off green, while the mature flowers are luminescent in the shadows. You can see the buds closest to the bottom of the stems have already opened, while the ones at the top ares still waiting to swell into pure white hearts. I love these old fashioned perennials that don’t mind a darker garden spot and have such a distinctive display of white flowers.

Trillium grandiflorum (large trillium) are on the left of the middle row. The little woodland blooms only flower for a short time, but then the other surrounding perennials take over for the rest of the summer, as these die back. The three white petals, centred against the three leaves, are incandescent in a shady garden area under the trees. These ones have no problems growing underneath the maple, and seem to appreciate the tree debris that decomposes into the soil below.

The Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley) in the middle have the purest white flowers, in clusters of suspended open bells. However, it is their scent that I notice first when I go out into the garden now. I have groups of these flowers in different garden beds, so the wonderful perfume is swirling around as I bend over to tend to the gardens. Although they spread, I find it very easy to pull them out where I don’t want them. Usually I wait until after they have flowered if I need to pull them back. They are so low maintenance, so entrancing in bloom, and the scent is so delightful, that I don’t mind them trying out a new garden bed when I’m not watching. When lily of the valley like their location and produce lots of flowers, their little bells light up the shade garden.

The Polygonatum (solomon’s seal) are on the right side of the middle row. They are just starting to flower, but they haven’t opened into their bell shape yet. The pretty buds are dangling from the stems that curve over. The solomon’s seal flowers are not really white, but there will be pairs of creamy coloured, flared bells dangling all along the stems in a week. Some plants seem to have the bells in pairs, and some are solitary. Mine grow under the branches of a willow tree and compete very well against that giant.

Brunnera macrophylla ‘Mr. Morse’ (Siberian bugloss) have a mist of tiny white flowers for about six weeks in spring. The little starry flowers give a white cloud effect. In darker areas, the white blooms and silver leaves of Mr. Morse add some light. Those beautiful  leaves look just like ‘Jack Frost’, with distinctive green veins on a silvery background. In my garden these Brunnera grow less than a metre (a foot and a half) from the trunk of a maple. Their large leaves suppress the sprouting of the maple keys, which is an added bonus. After picking up a couple hundred maple keys, I often don’t bother with the ones under these perennials. The Brunnera are perfect plants for the shade garden.

Another white spring flower that has finished blooming is Sanguinaria canadensis f multiplex (double bloodroot). Which has many petals in a waterlily shape.

Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Alba', formerly Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba', (bleeding heart)

Here the bleeding heart flowers are strung like miniature patio lanterns. There is such a wide variety of flower shapes that add interest if you are gardening in the shade. My little spring bulbs have faded away, but the woodland shade lovers have taken over, and their white flowers are like little lights under the trees. As I peer out the window for a final look at the garden in late evening, these luminous flowers still glow, illuminated by the last few rays.