Perennial Shrubs for Shade

Planning and Design

• Careful planning with design, shrub and plant selection starts with thinking about height and considering the visual impact multiple levels of foliage and flowering plantings provide.

  Woodland garden settings have a natural coziness as the trees create an intimate ceiling, helping to diffuse the sunlight, which, in turn, casts changing beams of sunlight, creating dramatic shadows.

  Think of steps or levels of foliage impact. As the eye draws down from the canopy, shrubs of taller and medium height add interest. These evergreen and deciduous shrubs provide a backdrop for lower shrubs, flowering plants and ground cover.

  Think of color, shades of green, variegated leaves, flowering shrubs and berries. Mix textures, light and lacy, thick and shiny, evergreen and deciduous.

Mid-level Shrubbery

• Conifers, such as varieties of cedar and cypress, are smaller evergreens that don't block out more of the light for the lower level plantings.

  Boxwoods add contrast to evergreens and remain leafed throughout the year. For a bit of whimsy, boxwoods can be shaped and trimmed into animal or geometrical topiaries.

  Rhododendrons, with large, shiny leaves and blooms in shades of pink, lavenders and reds, do well in their natural shade settings and provide splashes of color.
  Azaleas flourish in shade, and their delicate flowers provide interest and contrast.

  Hydrangeas make perfect woodland shrubs. Sizes range from 2 to 10 feet, and their acid-loving blooms in different intensities of blues and pinks pop in color against the greens of foliage. From the lacy-capped variety to the oversized mop-head blossoms, they are a "must have" in shady settings.

  Berried shrubbery adds contrast and interest. Holly bushes add structure and texture, and if paired (male/female), produce beautiful red berries; Juneberry shrubs have masses of tiny spring flowers, followed by small red berries. Barberry bushes, with their yellow flowers, spiky thorns and clumps of orange-red berries, are a nice addition, as are Hawthorne bushes and their clumps of orange berries that prosper in shade.

Lower Level Plants and Ground Cover

• Hostas are a perfect choice for shaded areas. With varieties of color (green, yellow tipped, variegated and blues), they make perfect woodland path border plantings, or in clumps scattered beneath mid-level shrubs.

  Bleeding hearts add contrast and color with their fuchsia colored blossoms in spring. Clumps of sweet woodruff are quick to establish and have pretty white flowers amid their star-like leaves. Fragrant lily of the valley is a natural in shaded areas. Maiden hair ferns add a feathery texture and contrast.

  Ground cover is the woodland carpeting. Variegated pachysandra spreads readily in a thick carpet of contrast and color. Elegant European ginger, with its glossy leaves, brightens a shady area as it catches the sunlight reflecting it back. A low vine, European ginger creeps around other plantings without strangling them out. Solomon's seal meanders through the terrain in long vines, laddered with small, shiny oval leaves.