10 Essential Plants for Dry Shade Gardens
Hellebore – Christmas and Lenten Rose
Helleborus hybrids are ideal for Zones 5 to 8. These plants offer a burst of color when both humans and early pollinators need it most. Newer cultivars stand tall, creating a vibrant display. Once established, they last a long time, and many have beautiful, notched or colored foliage that remains attractive throughout the year in part to full shade. It's important to note that all parts of these plants are toxic if ingested.
Why We Love It:
Hellebores provide deer-resistant blooms from fall through winter, making them a great addition to any garden with dry shade conditions.
Abelia
Abelia x grandiflora hybrids thrive in Zones 4 to 11, depending on the type. This easy-to-grow shrub, which can range from 2 to 8 feet in height, offers multicolored foliage and fragrant white or pink blooms. Its tubular flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, and it can tolerate some dry periods once established.
Why We Love It:
The kaleidoscope-like foliage of abelia makes it an excellent companion plant in the garden or in floral arrangements.
Red-Osier Dogwood
Cornus stolonifera 'Artic Fire' is suitable for Zones 2 to 7. This cultivar of native dogwood adapts well to different seasons. It provides food for birds and pollinators, including specialized species like the short-tongued bee. White spring flowers turn into berries, and when the leaves fall in the fall, the red stalks become a striking feature.
Why We Love It:
Red-osier dogwood adds visual interest and vertical structure to winter containers and window boxes with its colorful stems.
Alexander’s Great Brunnera
Brunnera macrophylla 'Alexander’s Great' is suited for Zones 3 to 7. The large silver-painted leaves are impressive, but the froth of lapis blue star-shaped flowers in spring make this plant even more appealing. It is low-maintenance and thrives in light shade with consistent moisture.
Why We Love It:
Brunnera flowers support bees, and their bold foliage creates a striking edge in shaded gardens.
Hardy Cyclamen
Cyclamen coum (commonly known as eastern sowbread) and Cyclamen hederifolium (ivy-leaved cyclamen) grow well in Zones 4 to 8. These plants thrive under tree roots, producing carpets of nodding bells in pink, white, and lavender, often in the fall. Their marbled and stippled foliage may be the real highlight. They are best paired with slow-growing companions like dwarf hostas.
Why We Love It:
The delicate flowers of cyclamen appear to float above the painted foliage, making them an excellent choice for late-season blooms.
Brilliance Autumn Fern
Dryopteris 'Brilliance' is suitable for Zones 5 to 9. This foolproof fern thrives in a variety of conditions, adding a unique twist to lightly shaded gardens. New fronds emerge in fiery tones, with 'Brilliance' being especially vibrant. It requires extra moisture and only needs a spring trim.
Why We Love It:
Autumn fern is deer-resistant and evergreen, providing year-round foliage. For another winter-evergreen option, consider the Christmas fern.
Variegated Solomon’s Seal
Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum 'Variegatum' is ideal for Zones 3 to 8. This plant features graceful arching stems lined with tiny white bells in spring, creating an unforgettable sight. The flowers emit a fragrance similar to lilies, and the plant produces blue-black berries as the foliage turns soft gold. The white-edged foliage in 'Variegatum' is particularly striking. Solomon’s seal prefers protection from high heat.
Why We Love It:
Solomon’s seal adapts well to varying moisture levels and makes a distinctive accent in floral arrangements.
Cast Iron Plant
Aspidistra eliator is suitable for Zones 7 to 9, or as an annual elsewhere. Known for its hardiness, this plant withstands deer, heat, drought, full shade, and even salt. In colder zones, well-draining soil helps it survive wet winters. Its evergreen foliage comes in solids, stripes, or speckles. If your variegated aspidistra is fading, it may need more sunlight.
Why We Love It:
This plant can be placed almost anywhere, and its flowers emerging between fall and early spring are always a delight.
Spreading Barrenwort
Epimedium hybrids and species thrive in Zones 5 to 9. Creeping or spreading varieties are ideal for dry shade, while clumping types require more moisture. Examples include E. rubra, E. x warleyense 'Orangekonigin', and E. versicolor 'Sulphureum'. Many are semi-evergreen, but some, like 'Orange Queen', are evergreen. The dainty flowers provide a charming contrast to the armor-like foliage.
Why We Love It:
Spreading barrenwort is a tough groundcover that resists deer and rabbit browsing and spreads politely.
Coral Bells
Heuchera hybrids are perfect for Zones 4 to 8. These plants offer a hypnotizing array of colors and leaf patterns, from lime to purple, copper and silver, and of course, green. Their flowers come in white, yellow, pink, or cherry red and attract bees and hummingbirds. They prefer light shade with well-drained soil and flower for months.
Why We Love It:
New compact cultivars, some only 1 foot high and wide, shine in containers or as edgers in small garden beds.
Post a Comment