What should I plant in a flower bed that is in complete shade?
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Coleus, hostas, impatiens, liriope, ivy, some types of lilies.
tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, lily of the valley, impatiens, hosta, wax begonia, bellflower
Ferns do well. Hostas are a strong survivor of the lack of sunshine areas. I have chives under my trees and they have suprised me with beautiful purple blossoms for 3 years. I have in hanging baskets fushias in my shady areas of the rock garden. Also in my outhouse/garden shed I have oxalis(flowering shamrocks) that are forever blossoming...they get only a glimps of sunlight. Happy planting!
hosta, begonia, inpatient's, bugleweed, lenten rose, columbine, toad lillie's (a favorite), foxglove, spiderwort...to name a few. it really depends on the area of the country you are in.
hope this helps
I have several shade gardens; I use many different color hostas and flox. Layer the flox on top of stones and use ferns to compliment the area.
Beautiful to look at and very little weeding! Enjoy.
In my shade areas I plant tiger lilies, hostas, ferns, hydrangea, lily-of-the-valley, astilbe, clematis, coleus, columbine, bleeding heart, impatients, toad lily, iris.there are a bunch more depending on your tastes. A lot of your plants that are for partial shade will do just fine in complete shade. I really haven't found too many plants that won't adapt unless it's a "full sun" only variety.
All of the plants suggested are beautiful and do well in a lot of areas of the country. You can also tour your neighborhood for some unusual local favorites or natives. If a tree is causing the shade, do some research on it and how it lives in nature. are there any companion plants often found beneath them?
There are different types of shade: dry shade, damp shade, bright shade, deep shade. Also, what causes the shade? Some trees don't just hog all of the sunshine, they also hog all the water and nutrients and are difficult to grow plants beneath. Some even produce toxins to keep plants from growing beneath them, such as walnut trees.
Experiment with part-sun plants too. Plants that prefer more sun respond to shade in different ways, some acceptable, some not. Some will try to grow towards light and will get leggy and ugly. Others just won't grow at all. Others will still look great, they just won't get as many flowers or grow as abundantly.
One fun and cheap thing to do is to buy a bunch of seeds or seed collections and see what does well.
First find out what zone you are in. I'm in the midatlantic area and I have impatients, ferns, hostas, bleeding heart, and astilbe planted. You also want to consider the seasons. You'll want to find plants that bloom at different times of the season so you'll have a continual show of flowers. I would also check out your local book store for shade blooming plants in your region. Happy gardening!
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