Shade Plants for the Garden: 15 Best Blooming All Summer Species

There are always places in the garden that are in the shade most of the day. But even the most shady garden can be decorated with many different plants that will fully develop and delight their owner. Shade-loving plants do not always bloom spectacularly in the garden, but have beautiful foliage.

Popular shade bushes

Experts advise to purchase plant seedlings only in specialized and trusted stores.

Hosta

Hosta is an ornamental and deciduous perennial plant. Hosta bushes are brightly colored. They can be blue, green, gray with a contrasting border or stripes of a lighter color.

Bushes are planted in partial shade, in places protected from the wind. Bushes cover a large area of the earth around them with their foliage. By this they suppress the growth of weeds and almost do not need to loosen the soil. Hosta is a disease resistant shrub, but it is susceptible to frequent attacks by slugs and snails.

You can plant hosta not only in open ground, but also in wide pots, decorating uncomfortable corners of the garden with them.

Astilbe

A perennial plant whose ground part dies off for the winter. Feels comfortable in the shade and tolerates high soil moisture. There are about 400 species. Their size varies from 15 to 400 cm.

The plant begins to bloom in July, flowering lasts 25-35 days. Flowers are collected in panicle-shaped inflorescences 10-60 cm high. Colors also vary, but white, pink, purple and red astilbes look most attractive.

Prolonged drought, poor soil, open and hot sun can kill the plant. In dry weather, it is watered twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.

Astilboides

The birthplace of the plant is China. There, astilboides grows in ravines and forests. The height of the plant is about 30 cm, while the diameter of the leaves is 70 cm, which grow on long petioles. The peduncle grows up to 1.5 m tall. The flowers on it are small, collected in inflorescences, similar to panicles.

The bush is moisture-loving, and if the soil is sufficiently moist, then it tolerates bright sunlight, but it is still better to plant it in partial shade. It tolerates frost well without shelter. Astilboides are fed 2-3 times per season with organic fertilizers. Doesn't need a transplant for years. Old foliage is trimmed.

Buzulnik

Unusual and beautiful plant of the Compositae family, which will decorate any suburban area or garden. Buzulnik blooms with bright yellow-orange inflorescences that attract attention.

Shrub is weather hardy, does not need mulch for winter time. It grows for decades in one place, without needing a transplant. Will be able to grow on any soil, even if it is heavy and clay. But still prefers moist and fertile land in the shade. In direct sunlight, the bush will wither and look unpresentable.

The buzulnik has strong and resilient branches, but during flowering it needs a garter. You also need to tie up the plant if it grows in a windy area.

Brunner (Forget-Me-Not)

Although this perennial shrub blooms, its beauty lies in its foliage. It appears throughout the season, which gives the shrub freshness and elegance. Prefers semi-shady or sunny places with moist fertile soil.

Brunner - frost-resistant bush. In order for it to be lush, the soil is mulched for the winter with compost, humus, peat or peat. In the spring, top dressing is carried out with mineral fertilizer. The plant is extremely rarely sick.

Badan

Badan is also a perennial plant that can grow for a long time without transplants. In the next 10 years after landing, it will definitely not have to be transplanted. The bush has a thick rhizome located close to the surface. It has large, shiny, rounded leaves.

Shrub blooms in purple, hot pink or white, creating a beautiful contrast to the green foliage. This happens at the end of spring and lasts 20 days. Badan fits perfectly into the design of rocky gardens.

Volzhanka

The shrub has sprawling bushes with an abundance of white inflorescences. Flowering period from June to the end of July. Its height is about 2 m. Volzhanka calmly grows both in the sun and in the shade. But growing under the open sun, Volzhanka shrubs develop poorly. The best soil for planting will be moist soil with drainage.

The plant is unpretentious in care. It can grow in one place for 15-20 years. Although it is resistant to cold, gardeners insulate it for the winter. Propagated by dividing the bush, cuttings and through the seed.

Heuchera

The main advantage of this herbaceous plant is its bright and varied palette of foliage. Its leaves come in the most unpredictable colors, such as gray, white or cream, purple, brown or red.

Most of the varieties of geyhera have a presentable appearance, from early spring to late autumn. Often the first snow that falls covers the plant along with the foliage. Gardeners love geykhera not only for its beauty, but also for its unpretentious care and shade tolerance. If the bush grows on good soil, then it does not need top dressing, it is resistant to pests and diseases.

Dicentra (Heartbreak)

Perennial plant with a height of 30 to 100 cm. Its leaves are green with a bluish tinge, the shape is pinnately dissected. Flowers are heart-shaped, reddish or pink, drooping, about 2 cm in diameter. They are collected on an arched branch that is raised above the bush.

The place for planting is prepared in the fall, digging and fertilizing the site with humus. During the season, they feed 2-3 times, remove weeds and loosen the soil. Droughts require additional watering.

If you cut faded brushes from a bush, then the flowering period increases.

Black cohosh (Cimicifuga)

This herbaceous shrub is named for its insecticidal properties. Another name for the shrub is Silver Candles, which best describes the beauty of the plant.

Height is 1-2 m. In dwarf varieties 60 cm. The foliage is pinnately divided burgundy or green. The bush blooms with long thin inflorescences-candles 20 cm high. The inflorescence consists of tiny white flowers with stamens, this creates the effect of lace and translucency.

Often used in modern trends in landscape design.

Kupena

Kupen's genus consists of more than 50 species. Most often in nature they are found in the lowland forests and mountains of the Northern Hemisphere. The plant has a curved stem with bright green leaves arranged in two rows. Flowers hang from the leaf axils.

Outwardly, the kupena is similar to the lily of the valley, but this is not surprising, because they are from the same Liliaceae family. Therefore, kupena is sometimes called a deaf lily of the valley. These pretty bushes have medicinal properties. They are used to treat cardiovascular diseases and back pain.

Fern

Ferns are found in almost every climate, from coniferous forests to the tropics. Thanks to the structure of their branches, which are called fronds, ferns look quite elegant.

This eye-catching plant attracted even our ancestors, who saw in it something magical and bewitching. Many myths and legends have been retold about ferns. But today gardeners use it as an ornamental plant in their flower beds and gardens.

When planting a fern on the site, the main thing is to choose the right place for it, darkened and humid.

Rogersia

Rogersia is a large perennial, belongs to ornamental and deciduous plants. There are 8 species in the genus, whose homeland is Japan and China.

It blooms with white paniculate inflorescences, reaching 120 cm during this period. The leaves are palmate-lobed. When caring for this perennial, you need to not only water and feed it, but also clean the curtain from leaves and stems that have died.

Having planted Rogersia in his garden plot, the owner will immediately note her dominance in the flower garden.

Aquilegia

This is a beautiful flower with a diameter of about 3-8 cm, usually two or three colors. The most common colors are white, yellow, pink, blue, blue and purple. Flowering period May-July.

Reproduction occurs by dispersing the seeds, and the seedlings dive and transplant to a permanent place. They are not propagated by division, as adult plants do not tolerate transplants well.

The flower is planted both in shady corners of the site and under the sun. Aquilegia tolerates any soil well, but thrives best in loose, sandy soils with sufficient moisture.

Geranium garden

These flowers bloom beautifully, forming picturesque thickets. Their leaves retain their decorative appearance from early spring to the first snows in autumn. They endure winter easily, without any preparation. Growing fast.

The flowers of the bush are large, about 4-5 cm in diameter. The leaves are deeply dissected. In spring and summer they are green, and in autumn they are red or red-orange.

Geranium is drought tolerant. It grows in any soil, but prefers well-drained, moist, water-free soil.

Hydrangea

Gardeners love perennial shade-tolerant hydrangea flowers for their beautiful and long blooms that start in spring, last all summer, and end in late fall.A garden in which hydrangea blooms will not be inconspicuous, as the colors of the plant's inflorescences are diverse, ranging from cream to blue and red.

Spruce varieties of hydrangeas grow up to 1-3 meters in height. Lianoid varieties reach 30 meters. Also, the plant can be evergreen or deciduous.

Interesting to know! The color of large-leaved hydrangea depends not only on its variety. It changes depending on the pH of the soil and the amount of aluminum in it.

Features of cultivation and care

To achieve lush greenery and bright flowering in the shady flower garden, you need to properly care for the plants.

Most of the shade-loving species require abundant moisture. They especially need watering in late spring, when hot weather begins. Plants are watered without waiting for them to wilt.

All plants, except for wild ones, also need periodic fertilizing. It is also important to loosen the soil, because then the inhabitants of the shady garden will be able to more easily absorb moisture from the soil.

Rules for creating a beautiful flower bed from shade-loving plants

A variety of flower beds are collected from shade-loving plants. Multi-level plantings and island flower beds are popular. When planting shrubs and flowers, adhere to the scheme. On 1 square meter, plant no more than 10 ground cover bushes, 5 medium-sized, 7 undersized and 3 tall plants. Then the flower bed will not only look harmonious, but the shrubs will also feel good.

Shade-loving plants are in demand among gardeners. This is because they are perennial and will delight the owners with bright colors for many years with minimal and uncomplicated care.

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