Perennial Flowers That Grow In Shade

Perennial Flowers That Grow In Shade

Fucshias

I once bought a shade house and its entire contents of Fucshias because the nursery was closing down and I couldn’t bear for all these exquisite ballerinas to die. They are just riveting flowing over hanging baskets or climbing up trellises and their color combinations are many and varied. My personal favorites are the doubles because they look like overblown tutus as they dance in the breeze. I thought the potted Fucshias I had under the Maple tree had all succumbed to the frost but all four are putting out fresh foliage so I guess they are perennial flowers that grow in shade, although I would say that they wouldn’t tolerate too cold a winter so they would have to be stored inside in colder climes. Don’t plant them in dense shade because they like a bit of morning sun.

Columbines

My Cyclamens are thriving and blooming away in a shady corner under a climbing Rose bush and have been since midwinter. And don’t forget Douglas Irises because they can also grow in the shade and make clumps of spring flowers over the years .

There are annual Aquilegias (Columbines) which love some shade, though not too dense. I have discovered since moving here that there are also perennial Aqueligia flowers that grow in shade. Local gardeners covet them for their nodding bonnet heads. I planted a couple of native California species in fall which then disappeared but are showing their new leaves now, under one of the maple trees. I believe they have scarlet flowers which I’ve not seen before. They prefer dappled light to dense shade.

Hellebores

A plant that was never available to me before was the Hellebore (Lenten Rose) although I’d seen it in garden books and magazines, so I went looking for some during my recent nursery visit. I was surprised at how costly they are since, by all accounts, they are easy to grow and multiply very readily under trees. I know that collectors get fetishes about them and start drooling over certain varieties but my question is, where exactly should I plant them so I can see their flowers?

These shade loving perennials don’t grow very high and most of the varieties I saw have drooping flowers so, unless I keep them in pots and sit them on my courtyard table, how will I make the most of them? I still haven’t figured that out and I suspect my husband does NOT want potted plants taking over the dining room table, but I bought one with upstanding flowers and brought it home and am ruminating over it. They are very lovely and the petals are surprisingly tough to the touch.

Clivias

Clivias are glorious flowered perennials that grow in shady South African forests and which have been transplanted to the USA extremely successfully. I spotted them first when we went to the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco where they were lining the pathways. I have an orange and a yellow one in full shade in the driveway and the orange one has already flowered, way too early. I was surprised but shouldn’t have been because San Francisco has very similar in weather conditions to Cape Town in many ways. It has now realized its mistake and is sending up another flower for spring. I think I might plant some violets in the same pot because dark blue and orange make a great combination. The yellow one flowers much later on in the season but mine came with developing seeds which I have just planted. Should give me a flower in a few years! I can wait.

The list goes on – Astilbes, Hostas, Trilliums. Heurcheras (Coral Bells) and, of course, Lilies of the Valley all grow well in the shade in early to late Spring. I can’t have everything but, even with just some of these plants, along with trusty ground covers and their flowers that grow in shade, there should be no more bare patches for me.

Happy gardening and don’t forget your sunscreen.

By the way, here is a link to a list of gopher resistant plants:http://www.groundcoversandgardening.com/gopher resistant plants and if you want to buy plants that deer probably won’t eat, look here.

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