Eagle Lake Nurseries Gardening Tips August 2007 Perennials for Your Shade Garden There are so many perennials available now to grace that shady spot in your garden. Morning sun fulfills the light requirements of these plants, and most of them appreciate moist soil so prepare your site well by digging in plenty of compost [bagged or homemade] and peat moss. For the back of your flowerbed, or center of an island bed, consider some of the spectacular shade tolerant plants, such as Ligularia [rayflower], goat’s beard, monkshood and bugbane. Astilbe adds welcome summer colour with its graceful plumes of purple, pink, red or white, and bleeding heart - both pink and white flowered - is an old favourite. The bloom season of bleeding heart is extended if it is protected from afternoon sun. While our native ostrich fern does not provide flowers, its arching stems contribute wonderfully long-lasting ornamental foliage. Hostas are always a popular choice for shade. Leaf colours range from blue, to green and golden yellow, with attractive new cream or white variegated leaf varieties. Interestingly, there are many different shapes of leaf, and the textures may vary from smooth to longitudinally ribbed. The pale, bell shaped flowers of some hostas are deliciously fragrant. The delicate white flowers of lily of the valley will perfume a shady area for several weeks in early summer, and team well with the silver dappled leaves of lungwort [pulmonaria]. New varieties of lungwort are available now, with the pretty, nodding flowers in shades of blue to complement traditional pink and mauve varieties. Many plants that originated in woodland settings flower early in the year, before being totally shaded by deciduous trees: woodland phlox and foam flower are examples. Primulas appreciate morning sun and moist soil, flowering in yellow, pink mauve and purple. The evergreen hellebores, with greenish-white blooms in March, and hepatica with dainty, blue, star-shaped flowers in April, are welcome signs of spring. Several perennials will act as low maintenance ground covers in a difficult shady area: ajuga, bearberry, sweet woodruff, lamium and vinca will grow successfully. Care should be taken to contain aggressively spreading goutweed with an impenetrable barrier, such as concrete pavers, although this plant is useful in a tough spot. These are just a few of the dependable plants which can brighten a shady corner of your garden for years, although once you start to explore the possibilities you will always find space to try just one more interesting specimen. Caroline Fine Eagle Lake Nurseries Ltd.