I have a lovely barren flower bed under a maple and cedar tree. Full total shade all day. A nice focal point of the garden but the soil is clay, lots of fine roots and probably has needles from the cedar.
Is there a plant that I can plant here? Preferably flowering, but I'll be happy just to have something growing there!
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Just to say thank you for all the help and suggestions. I have built up the area under the trees and planted hostas and astibles.
It looks so cool and pretty there now. Thanks all. :D
that was a house I owned in a previous life (if you get what I mean) I have loads of photos but none are digital. I will try and discribe it for you. The house was red brick two storey with the attached gagage on the side so no garage was sticking out from the house, it sat very near the side walk about 20 feet. There were two very huge maple trees on the front lawn and over the years the roots had made the front lawn into two hills. First the landscaper installed a walkway leading from the drive to the front door. Then he installed a retaining wall made of very large stone around the maples curving in then out again, and back filled with top soil then he planted the hostas etc. under the maple trees, he also included some boxwood in front of the wall between the rock and also the iris went around there too, not in a row, but scattered. It really was a simple design, the only hard part is the stone. Now we had taken out some of the branches of the maples to allow some light to filter through, but Maples continue to grow and the sunlight usually was gone in a year. Hope this helps, I wish I had a digital camera then but didn't.
[B]any chance of a pic of your shady area? [/B]
any chance of a pic of your shady area?
well I know exactly what you are going through. My last house had clay soil, very huge maple trees and more shade then I needed. However, I had a landscaper come in one year and he made a beautiful very simple design using huge rock and loads of varigated hostas and siberian iris with some pg hydrangia (sp.). I then planted some annuals for shade for colour like tuberious begonias and impatience (spelling is not my thing, so forgive me). Build up the soil get a couple of yards delived make a nice big garden and if the budget allows get some huge rocks. Another idea would be to paint the fence a light colour to reflect the light and remove some of the branches out of the maple to add dappled sunlight.
Hi Catherine,
I just happened to be reading the May 2005 issue of Canadian gardening and they have an article on the various types of lungwort (pulmonaria spp.) which might be just the ticket for your shady area. It has green foliage with white spots and pink, blue or white flowers. You might want to check out the article if this sounds appealing.
Apparently it does best in deep shade, is low maintenance and grows 20-40 cm tall with a spread of 30-35 cm. Most seem to survive in zone 4 and up areas.
Kate
about the trees and watering. I don't seem to have that problem in my shade garden, but a small tree in one of my front gardens really deprives most everything I grow near it.
yes you will have to improve the soil as Mary Anne said. I have Evening Primrose (flamingo) growing in shade and it does well. Gets about 12" tall and quite bushy with pink on the leaves.
there are certainly things that wil grow, provided you have good moisture and a rich soil. First, let me ask, where are you? (that is, do you know the zone). And then, for your soil you will definitely need to amend it by adding peat moss and compost. Are you keen on keeping the cedar? Because it looks as if it is quite old and could go, frankly...
You might want to have the soil, such as it is, tested to see where you are starting from. This will help you determine what plants will do well there, and what other amendments you may need ot make besides adding organic material.
Hostas, tiarella, Sweet Woodruff, Lily of the Valley, Bleeding Hearts, Lamium, corydalis are all things that could do well there, possibly. You want to look for things that are drought tolerant as well as shade tolerant, because the trees will suck up every bit of moisture. And if you plant things there, you will want to be sure and water them regularly. And you would probably want to use a mulch to help retain the moisture too - I use a shredded pine bark under my Linden tree, and it helps a lot. Have a look at my garden phot of hostas and stuff under my Linden tree.... http://groups.msn.com/HouseHomeMemberAlbums/maryannesunrulygarden.msnw?a...
Whatever you do DO NOT be persuaded to plant something called *goutweed*. It will cover everything and will invade all your grass and other beds and all and you will never get rid of it. Having said that, it does trhive in those kinds of conditions, and if you didn't care, it would cover the ground quite effectively....
but it's gone..huh..weird...anyhew...the first thing that comes to mind to me is hosta's...atleast that's all i can think of when i looked at your pic.....
any sun at all through the cracks, from the other side? I'm thinking you may be able to find a spot away from the pine needles and train one up a trellis against the fence, and along a wire/screw eyes system rigged along the top of the fence. Some varieties, like Nelly Moser, prefer their roots in shade and their flowers with a bit of sun-but too much sun fades the flowers quicker. If you can find a spot about 2 feet from the fence where you can dig 18x18x18, plant one there and tilt it toward a trellis on the fence. It would be lovely to have flowers all along the top of the fence. I'm trying a Nelly Moser in a corner that gets no sun, so hopefully it will reach up my new trellis there.
It is difficult and sometimes impossible to grow among evergreen needles. I'd start at the other side beneath the other trees, and find spots where roots allow hosta and ferns, if you can grow them in your area. The leaf interest is quite spectacular, in both shape and colour. I think Francee and Patriot are just two hostas that have white-edged green leaves that are very pretty. In time you will find a few other things to plant there too, and it will really take off. Accent your shade garden with a few stepping stones, maybe a large rock or two for sculptural interest, or even a statue. Many ferns and hostas require full to part shade, so do try a few there. If there is a bit of dappled shade in the foreground where a wee bit of sun gets through the shadows of the leaves. primroses are just one option you might try.
I have an almost completely shady area against a fence where I am working on a new garden bed, and I built up the soil. I've got cherry trees that are quite old, so I'm not terribly attached to them-can replace them if they die eventually. I added more soil depth in 2 steps, hopeful that the density would not instantly kill the trees as I raised the soil level quite a bit. In my case it worked out, as I think the soil level used to be higher there in the early days of the trees anyway. Another thing I did is remove a couple of bigger roots in places where I really wanted a bit of room for planting, like where I put a rhodo. It's a bit of a risk, but as I only removed a few I don't think the integrity of the trees was compromised. Still, I suppose there is some risk.
One more thing: It appears that your trees are planted right near the fence. I might add soil that mounds high in the middle of the bed, with low areas along both the fence and the foreground of the bed. This will give you a bit of depth along the middle of the bed, where your main plantings will appreciate the extra room.
Good luck. Where there's a will, there's a way!
pic of sad barren bed