What is a good ground cover and/or plants for shady flower beds?
Front οf duplex іѕ іn thе shade mοѕt οf thе time.
Center steps tο common porch wіth enough space tο each side οf porch tο plant something…ANYTHING…thаt wіll give a visual brеаk frοm thе lawn аnd perhaps even flower.
I haven’t сrеаtеd a flower bed before, bυt I saw Martha Stewart dο one οn TV…
I follow directions well.
BUDGET: I wουld lіkе tο keep іt low, bесаυѕе I don’t οwn thе property, bυt I wουld bе willing tο plant a couple οf shrubs (evergreens?) οr οthеr plants thаt wіll thrive іn shade.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee.
It іѕ still early spring, аѕ wе јυѕt hаd a late freeze.
Thе building іѕ аll brick, аnd thаt wουld bе thе backdrop fοr thе plants.
Thank уου fοr уουr thoughtful rерlу.
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Tags: and/or, Backdrop, Beds, Break, Brick, Budget, cover, Duplex, Early Spring, Enough Space, Evergreens, Flower, Flower Bed, Flower Beds, Good, ground, ground cover, Martha Stewart, Nashville Tennessee, Plants, porch, shady, Shrubs, Thoughtful Reply, Time Center
6 Responses to “What is a good ground cover and/or plants for shady flower beds?”
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I plant impatients. They come in all pretty colors like purple, pink, red, salmon,Lavendar and they are very hardy plant +beautiful and they love the shade..
Asian Jasmine
Monkey Grass …even has a pretty little blue/purple flower
For additional color you could plant Caladiums (a bulb which will come back every year) or impatiens, which are a pretty green plant with brightly colored flowers. Coleus would also work well.
Both the impatiens and coleus should be available as “starter” plants so you can see what you are buying.
I like Red Dragon Sedum. It establishes fast and it’s evergreen. In the fall it turns a really bright red. It’s winter hardy, and chokes out weeds.
Moss roses are always cool. They are low lying and have a variety of colors available. They also spread so if you are under a strict budget just buy one for each spot and soon they will fill it in. Plus it is kind of cool to watch them in the morning when the flowers open up.
here are some evergreen shade grndcovers that will bloom:
vinca minor “bowles vinca” – blue flowers in fall
vinca minor “jekyll’s white” – white flowers in fall
liriope muscari variegata – purple in summer
himalayan sarcococcoa
nonblooming groundcovers for shade:
pachysandra
asiatic jasmine
lamium
selaginella
all are about 1$ per 2″ pot
or 7 to 8$ for a 1 gallon pot
some cheap shade loving shrubs:
cleyera
aucuba
camellia (needs a little sun)
hydrangea (needs a littlle sun)
rhododendron (kinda expensive)
cast iron plant
a dwarf variety of japanese maple
evergreen ferns (autumn fern, arborvitae fern, christmas fern)
or you can go to a reputable garden center (i would go to Mcminville) and ask them to show you their perennial shade groundcovers. i would use perennial groundcovers surrounding an evergreen shrub on each side because they will give you color year round and you wont have to replant as you would with annuals. also other shade pernnials that are non-groundcovers are hosta, astilbe, or dicentra (bleeding heart). another good pernnial evergreen is lenten rose( helleborus). hopes this gives you some ideas.
Hostas. If you know any friends that have some large specimens you can ask if you can divide the plant and take some home. It grows bigger and better each year and it makes a wonderful accent to a front porch. (It also flowers late in the summer.)