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FAVORITE SHADE GARDEN PLANTS 



Doug Routley 



SHADE GARDENING may he the most 

 satisfying kind of flower gardening for 

 several reasons. Plants are suhject to less 

 stress because shade moderates air and 

 soil temperatures and prevents rapid mois- 

 ture loss. Insects and diseases are few. Less 

 weeding is required because our worst weeds 

 are sun lovers; the exceptions are shallow- 

 rooted and easily removed. Furthermore, many 

 desirable shade plants have sufficient foliate to 

 suppress weeds on their own. Last but not least 

 gardeners enjoy the shade too. 



A shade garden peaks in the spring, when we long 

 for color most of all. but there's plenty of interest 

 from plant shapes, textures and colors all season. 

 Here are a few of my favorites. Early on, Pulmonaria 

 officinalis and Menensia virginica make a good show for 

 several weeks, Mertensia may be superior in the inten- 

 sity of its blue flowers, but Pulmonaria keeps its hand- 

 some spotted leaves in better condition through the 

 summer. Both are weed-resistant ground covers. 



Among all ground covers. Phlox stolonifera is one 

 of my top favorites. Spectacular in bloom, it stays low, 

 green and neat all year and makes an excellent under- 

 story plant for rhododendrons and other shrubs. 1 pre- 

 fer the blue and white varieties, so put the pink one 

 where its color doesn't clash with other flowers. I also 

 grow P. divancata, but it is untidier and ineffective for 

 suppressing weeds. 



Tiarella cordifolia, equally beautiful in bloom, is 

 more vigorous than phlox and may need restraint. It 

 can invade paths and smother less rambunctious pe- 

 rennials, but being shallow roooted, it's easily moved 

 when necessary. The lacy white flowers have a strong 

 impact in shade. As a New Hampshire native, is 

 seems resistant to pests — with the exception of gypsy 

 moths. 



Lamium maculatum and its varieties 'Beacon Silver' 

 and "White Nancy' also are "musts" in the shade gar- 

 den for their flowers and beautiful leaves. I avoid an- 

 other member of the mint family, Lamiasmim 

 galeobdolon, as it is much too vigorous for my garden. 

 A clumpy variant, 'Herman's Pride', is very desirable, 

 however. 



Although I like Galium odoratum for its leaves and 

 numerous white flowers, I find it overwhelms other 

 perennials. I had to move mine to where it can roam 

 freely among shrubs. It's slow to appear in the spring, 



but then is handsome all summer. 



Quite different in habit and appear- 

 ance is Asarum europaem, a very neat 

 little evergreen perfect as a single speci- 

 men or for the massed edging of a wood- 

 land path. Asarum canadense also covers 

 the ground with large, gray-green leaves, 

 but they disappear in winter and appear 

 slowly in spring. Asarum shuttleworthii 

 "Callaway" with variegated leave may be- 

 come very popular, but my little specimen 

 hasn't been through a New Hampshire 

 winter yet. 



What shade lover blooms all summer long? Coryda- 

 lis lutea will do that with small yellow flowers on quite 

 large clumps of lacy foliage. It freely seeds itself and 

 the seedlings are easily transplanted or potted up. 

 Larger plants resent being moved, however. 



I can't imagine a shade garden without primulas. 

 Not many gardeners realize that one species or an- 

 other can be blooming from April to August. I like all 

 of them but a few excellent and reliable species are P. 

 demiculata (first to bloom), P. veris, P. sieboldii, and 

 several spectacular and later blooming candelabras 

 such as P. japonica, P. pulverulenta , P. bulky ana, and 

 P. burmanica. The latter are really spectacular when 

 blooming in masses, especially in the rich, moist soil 

 they like. There are also many hybrids of these and 

 other species. 



Shade gardeners have a bewildering number of hos- 

 tas and astilbes form which to choose, and all are 

 beautiful in light shade. 1 like every one. Unfortu- 

 nately primulas, hostas, and astilbes are favorite foods 

 for pine or meadow voles and their feeding can result 

 in a total loss. I have found no solution to this prob- 

 lem, although the rodents seem to thrive in loose, or- 

 ganic soil, but avoid heavy wet soil. 



Fortunately, most shade plants seem resistant to ro- 

 dents. These include Polygonatum multiflorum, P. 

 odoratum 'Variegatum' and Smilacina racemosa, all good 

 for adding some verticals to the shade garden. Of 

 course we can't forget Trillium species, and where soil 

 is moist, Arisaema triphyllum will thrive and multiply. 



Ferns too are dependable and their lacy fonds add a 

 different texture to the shade garden. 1 like all of 

 them with two exceptions. Hay-Scented Fern and 

 Sensitive Fern are two invasive natives 1 try to keep 

 out, although not with complete success. 



October/November 1992 25 



