HARDY FLOWERING PLANTS 
FOR SHADED PLACES 
ARTHUR SMITH 
H E disfigurement of bare ground is endured about 
many a home with the excuse that as the ground is 
fmm'M always shaded grass will not live. But why, then, 
SrfriP^ attempt to grow grass when there are other (and even 
evergreen) ground covers that can be used? 
“ Totally shaded ground ” may mean one of two quite different 
things. First: an area that does not get the direct rays of the 
sun, the shade being produced by overhanging branches of 
trees (and which does get some sunlight in winter, when there 
are no leaves). Second: an area that may be entirely open to 
the sky, but cut off from direct sunshine, as on the north side of a 
building or belt of tall trees. The former condition presents the 
greater difficulties, especially when the shade is caused by Nor¬ 
way Maples, under which it is commonly said nothing permanent 
will grow. As a matter of good gardening this tree should 
never be planted in gardens as it has no intrinsic beauty, and 
sooner or later will kill out grass or anything else under or near it. 
When grass is killed out by shade the usual remedy is to resow 
the plot every spring; it then stays green for a month or so and 
again the grass gradually dies out, one or two more successional 
sowings being made subsequently. But that is unsatisfactory, 
accomplishes very little, and is a continual trouble and expense. 
The nearest approach to the ideal covering for bare ground 
under trees in association with a lawn, where it is desirable that 
plants should be evergreen, and have a close flat habit of growth, 
is the common Myrtle (Vinca minor) with its blue or white 
flowers borne profusely in spring and sparingly throughout the 
year. Another suitable plant, and having exquisite characters, 
light pink fragrant flowers early in the season followed by scarlet 
berries, is the Partridge Berry. This is very much slower grow¬ 
ing than the Vinca, and whether collected clumps or nursery 
pot-grown plants are used, it should be planted closely in a soil 
containing plenty of leaf-mould or humus. It will grow under 
denser and darker shade than Vinca, the latter not doing so well 
under the extremest conditions produced by Norway Maples. 
The Japanese Mountain Spurge (Pachysandra) withstands the 
densest shade perhaps better than anything else and is quick 
to establish itself and is evergreen, but it grows six to eight 
inches tall, and has a loose habit without the flatness of the two 
preceding. Yet its adaptability to all kinds of conditions gives 
it a great measure of merit. Some people find its color too light. 
Hardy Violets, especially the double English, or Russian as it 
is sometimes called, will also take the place of grass under trees. 
Lily-of-the-Valley does well so far as growth is concerned in 
dense shade, but its foliage is not evergreen. Spring-flowering 
bulbs, such as Crocus, Scilla, Muscari, Narcissus, and Dog’s- 
tooth Violet can be added; all these will grow through the ground 
cover, flower, and increase every year, if their foliage is allowed 
to become yellow before being cut—not pulled—away. 
Easy Evergreen Effects 
W HERE the sunlight is shut off by buildings or by a belt of 
trees, with little or no shade from anything overhanging, 
we have far greater opportunities and a much wider range of 
plants to select from. 
If there is room for sunny flower gardens elsewhere, such 
shaded positions frequently are dealt with by the use of broad¬ 
leaved evergreens, too often confined entirely to the native 
Rhododendron maximum, which has white and light pink 
flowers in July. This is not arguing against its use by any 
means, but it has a less floriferous habit than any others of the 
genus, and such flower as it does afford is restricted to a few 
weeks. R. catawbiense produces lilac-purple flowers in June 
and its foliage remains in better condition throughout the winter. 
The Carolina Rhododendron is undoubtedly the gem of our 
native species and, being dwarfer, may be planted in front of 
the two others. It grows in a very compact manner and com¬ 
mences to bloom when small, bearing in the latter part of May 
a proportionately greater abundance of rose-pink flowers, which 
habit renders it a very desirable species for small gardens. 
R. minus is another dwarf, but it has a more open and straggling 
habit than Carolina, its flowers are darker and sparingly pro¬ 
duced over a period from June to August. 
The well known Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) belongs 
to the same family and will thrive under similar conditions 
(i. e., a soil devoid of lime); it will, however, give a better account 
of itself in a gravelly soil. It is very floriferous, its lovely white 
and pink blossoms—individual plants vary considerably in depth 
of color—being borne in great profusion during May and June. 
Flowering Shrubs That Take Kindly to Shade 
A ZALEAS, as popularly understood, include several native 
L species of Rhododendron not evergreen, but which have 
bright flowers, in nearly all cases, appearing before the leaves. 
These can be used among the evergreens, the foliage of the latter 
making an effective background and setting for the gay colors. 
A selection of Azaleas can be made that will give a succession of 
flowers from April until July. 
Worked into the foreground of a massed planting of the fore¬ 
going, the native Andromeda floribunda is very desirable. This 
is sometimes called The Lily-of-the-Valley shrub on account 
of its white flowers, opening on occasion as early as April. A 
valuable feature of this plant is that next season’s drooping 
flower-buds are formed immediately after the current season’s 
flowers are over and it has therefore the appearance of being 
in bloom all the year round. Of similar dwarf habit and suitable 
for use under the same conditions is Leucothoe Catesbaei, which 
also has Lily-of-the-Valley-like flowers borne thickly along 
gracefully drooping stems. This is pleasingly distinctive by 
reason of its handsome, waxy foliage during summer which 
takes on a rich purple throughout the winter. For the extreme 
outside edge of such plantings the lovely Daphne cneorum 
gives an effective finish, and while the spring witnesses the bulk 
of its sweet-scented pink flowers, it blooms more or less through¬ 
out the floral year. A still further extension of brightness with 
mass plantings in the shade may be secured by the Flowering 
Dogwood and its Asiatic counterpart Cornus kousa, both also 
notably brilliant in autumn foliage, followed by scarlet berries 
when outdoor flowers are becoming scarce. The Asiatic species 
differs in being a little smaller and later (June) in its bloom. 
An increase of mid-winter brightness can be provided for by 
the use of the Dogwoods with colored bark, Cornus alba having 
red, and C. stolonifera aurea, yellow bark. They both bear 
white flowers and white berries. 
Flowers for Color in Sunless Spots 
F LORAL effects in these more or less sunless spots may be 
increased during late summer and early autumn by using 
among the shrubs some of the taller kinds of hardy l.ilies, the 
best of all being Lilium superbum, since it is most at home in 
such an environment. This Lily certainly lives up to its name 
and has been known to have a stem eight feet tall carrying as 
many as forty flowers, which are a brilliant scarlet shaded with 
gold, and produced from late July until September. Flowering 
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