There’s no denying that plants love the sun and who can blame them? There’s nothing better than soaking up the warmth in your backyard, but time in the shade is just as essential…for you and your garden!

Finding the perfect balance, like with a lot of things in life, will help keep your plants in pristine condition. There are plenty of benefits associated with working on a shade garden such as:

- Low maintenance: with minimal effort, you can still have a beautiful garden that will flourish!

- Variety on your property: of course, you will need to find plants that are shade tolerant to add this variety. We will talk about what type of plants are best later!

- Comfortable gardening: a garden will only thrive if you are willing to spend the time outside working on it. With a shade garden, you will be able to work outside on it without exposing yourself to the hot sun.

- Fewer weeds: because shade gardens do not receive direct sunlight, there will be fewer of those pesky weeds to worry about and they will be much easier to spot and get rid of in a shade garden.

So what type of plants thrive in a shade garden? Perhaps there’s an area of your garden surrounded by some trees or maybe you’re looking for low-growing plants that will flourish beneath the shade of larger plants, or you simply just want perennial plants that will thrive in the shade within your garden.

- Ligularia, also known as the “leopard plant,” is an excellent choice for any shade garden.

- Hosta is the go-to plant for shady areas with the moist soil. While this is primarily a foliage plant, this can become very small or very large.

- Spiderwort or also called widow’s tears, is a part shade plant. This plant has beautiful purple flowers and will grow anywhere from a foot and a half to two feet tall.

- Sedum Ternatum, as this plant is native to the United States, it is a low-growing plant and typically does well in damp, rocky soil.

- Violas tolerate some sun, but prefers to be part shade rather than full, especially in the heat of summer. You may get lucky because some are fragrant too!

- Asarum Canadense, “Canadian ginger,” is an interesting native plant to choose for your shaded garden. It grows low and prefers the deepest shades with moist soil and it actually does make flowers!

- Ferns pop up even after the toughest winters and typically prefer somewhat moist grounds, but are drought tolerant once established.

There are plenty more plants that will flourish in a shade garden and shade gardens really do have a lot to offer any landscape! They offer a low-maintenance garden for property owners that don’t necessarily have the time to commit to regular yard work. They are also great because they allow you to explore adding variety to your home and garden!

If you want a shade garden or just need a little help with yardwork, give us a call or click here to visit our services page!