May, 1915. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



129 



Plants for Shady Places 



J. McPherson Ross, Toronto 



d 



NQUIRY is often made in regard to 

 planting places frequently in promi- 

 nent positions that are partially and 

 often densely shaded by trees and build- 

 ings. Though mostly all plants require 

 sunlight and plenty of it, yet there are 

 many that require a cool, shady spot, 

 while others, though they may not par- 

 ticularly thrive there, still grow and 

 keep green enough to furnish some 

 charm to an otherwise unlovely place.. 

 Many a corner or nook by the house in 

 constant view may be made pleasing and 

 attractive by planting it with certain 

 shrubs and plants that will succeed there 

 sufficiently to warrant a little trouble and 

 care. It must be a very dark corner 

 where ferns will not grow if kept suffi- 

 ciently moist. To procure them may re- 

 quire a little effort and sundry excur- 

 sions to near-by woods. Such trips in 

 early spring are always pleasurable and 

 instructive to those who observe the vari- 

 ous plants in their natural situations and 

 normal conditions of shade and moisture. 

 I am prompted to write this by a re- 

 collection of a delightful little garden ar- 

 ranged in the most unlikely situation and 

 unharmonious surroundings. It was 

 made by an old lady acquaintance with 

 her own hands and the assistance of her 

 daughter. Their first labors had trans- 

 formed an ugly corner of the house 

 on the north side. The space was about 

 five feet by twenty, beginning at the 

 house proper and ending at the kitchen 

 door and under view from the dining- 

 room and kitchen window, and separated 

 from a high board fence by a narrow 

 slat walk. An irregular row of stones 

 formed the edge of the bed, serving to 

 hold the soil and preventing reckless 

 grocer boys from injuring the plants. 

 The place never got the slightest glimpse 

 of sunshine, yet it made the loveliest 

 miniature wild garden imaginable. 



In the extreme corner the soil was 

 piled a foot or two higher than the main 

 bed, and was retained in place by a log 

 covered over with wood moss. A couple 

 of tall shield ferns occupied this niche, 

 while polygonums, aspidum, maiden hair 

 and other wood ferns thickly filled the 

 bed. One or two Thalictrums, Colum- 

 bines, and a couple of fuchsias in bloom 

 also graced the scene, while in conven- 

 ient crannies were stuck dogtooth vio- 

 lets, Clintonias, and wood violets and 

 Tiarellas. The whole formed a picture 

 of greenness and grace you would never 

 tire of admiring. It was so suggestive 

 of the woods and nature that as you 

 looked at it you could easily fancy you 

 heard the sad note of the vesper thrush 

 or the tup-tup of the woodpecker. 



Many such corners exist around our 

 homes that could be similarly beautified 

 by a planting of ferns, columbines, peri- 



winkles, lily of the valley, trilliums, 

 primulas, and other shade-loving plants. 

 Another plant that does well on the 

 north side of buildings or under trees that 

 are not too dense in shade is Mahonia 

 Aquifolia or Holly-leaved Barberry. 

 This is one of the best of the few, too 

 few, hardy broad-leaved evergreen shrubs 

 we have in Canada, and is not as gener- 

 ally planted as it should be. Of a low 

 spreading habit, with sturdy branches 

 thickly covered with dark green, shiny, 

 holly-like leaves, it bears clusters of 

 bright yellow blossoms, followed in the 

 fall with dark blue grape-like berries. 

 In clumps of six or more plants, it has 

 quite an effective appearance. They 

 thrive in moist, shady places, particu- 

 larly on the north side of buildings,, and 

 though it winters well, it helps the foli- 

 age to throw a few pine branches on it 

 in severe weather. The foliage in the 

 fall that is exposed turns a deep purplish 

 brown, and makes effective decorative 

 designs for Christmas. 



The vinca or periwinkle succeeds in 

 shady places, and if left undisturbed soon 

 makes a bank of growth from which 

 springs in summer bright star-like flow- 

 ers of blue. The variegated variety Is 

 extensively employed by florists in hang- 

 ing baskets and window boxes. 



Symphoricarpus Vulgaris, a high- 

 sounding name for a modest shrub, 

 sometimes called Indian currant or coral 

 berry, is a neat, pretty-foliaged shrub 

 that will thrive in places so shaded that 



nothing else will grow. It is exceeding- 

 ly popular with landscape gardeners for 

 massing, as it holds its foliage late, 

 while its stems are massed with bead-like 

 berries late in fall. The sister shrub is 

 the snowberry, so named from the gleam- 

 ing white berries with which it is orna- 

 mented in early winter. Trilliums, vio- 

 lets, spring phlox, pansies, and forget- 

 me-nots can be used to decorate bare, 

 shady spots in early spring before dense 

 shade comes on from overhanging foli- 

 age in later summer. 



In partial shade the lovely tuberous 

 begonia forms very showy beds. Its large 

 sheet-like blossoms in every tint of color 

 make it one of the most popular of bed- 

 ding plants. 



The day lilies also relieve many a 

 dark, shaded situation with their abund- 

 ant grass-like foliage. Unsightly cor- 

 ners may be often hidden by a fringe 

 of evergreens planted across them, but 

 not under trees, unless it is merely a 

 temporary arrangement, as the drip from 

 trees overhead is always fatal to ever- 

 greens. The best ever green to grow 

 in shady places is the hemlock. 



Use of shady places is often made by 

 gardeners to rest outdoors their palms, 

 ferns, azaleas, and so forth. Many other 

 plants do well in shady places, but 

 enough has been said, if acted upon, to 

 improve many a neglected corner that 

 is vacant because it is taken for granted 

 that nothing will do there. Tulips and 

 all spring flowering bulbs will do well 

 in the most shaded places if shade is 

 caused by deciduous trees, as their flow- 

 ering season is generally past before the 

 dense foliage is on. 



Trilliums, growing on the side ot Mount Albion, near Hamilton. The central part of the bacii- 



Bround wa.s a moss-covered stone. 



