What are some good plants for a shade garden?

I am planting a meditation garden, that has moderate to deep shade. I already have Kentucky Bluegrass and Hostas installed, but am looking for some other ideas for color. Suggestions, anybody?

What are some good plants for a shade garden?
Here are just a few suggestions:





Coleus-has lots of different foliage colors


http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...


Fuchsia-lots of choices


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Ferns


Vinca minor (periwinkle)-a few options


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Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' (creeping Jenny, moneywort)-to trail with gold leaves


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Bacopa/Sutera-ground cover, available with white, pink, lavender or blue flowers


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Lobelia-provides an abundance of flowers, annual and perennial varieties; ground cover or upright plants


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Impatiens-lots to choose from


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Dicentra (bleeding heart)


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Polemonium (Jacob's ladder)-get the variegated kinds, so pretty!


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Corydalis-so pretty ususally you find the blue and yellow kinds


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Heuchera (coral bells)-lots of foliage colors to choose from


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Tiarella (foam flower)-a few choices


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Heucherella (foamy bells)-a cross of Heuchera and Tiarella


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Lamium maculatum (dead nettle)-to allow to trail


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Torenia (wishbone flower)-pretty


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Begonia-lots of choices


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Hedera (ivy)-good for filler, be sure to get non-invasive kind!


Campanula (bell flower)-lots to choose from


http://www.wildgingerfarm.com/Campanula....


some Ornamental grasses will do well


Erodium (heron's bill)


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Geranium (crane's bill) - true geraniums


http://www.daytonnursery.com/Encyclopedi...


Pelargonium peltatum (ivy geranium)


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Pelargonium x hortorum - fancy leaf types


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Viola and pansy


Pulmonaria (lungwort)


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Digitalis (foxglove)


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Helleborus (lenten rose)


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Trollius (globeflower)


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Abutilon (flowering maple)-lots of options


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Hydrangea-lots!


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Ceratostigma (leadwort)-great blue flowers!


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Sambucus-nice lacy foliage, look for purple leaf varieties or gold ones!


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Viburnum (snowball bush)-can't beat them in full bloom


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Thalictrum (meadow rue)-nice dainty flowers


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Acer (Japanese maples)-many to choose from!





You will want to double check with a good local nursery to see if these are good in your area. You can also add a few mixed containers on different height levels to add instant color and pop. I change mine up about every 3 months so that they are fresh and providing the bulk of "color" in the shady areas. These can be assorted shade annuals if you want. You can also add some specimen plants in pots and if they are elevated will create a nice focal point.





Good luck!
Reply:The soil moisture is the determining factor when deciding between these ideas I and others are presenting you. Wet shade and dry shade produce very very different palettes. Your state's native plant society will have some awesome suggestions too.





For perennials, I like coral bells, barrenwort (there's even a variety that's evergreen), columbine, wood poppy, tiarella, black cohosh (also known as bugbane), Virginia bluebells, dutchman's breeches, spring beauty, bloodroot, %26amp; bunchberry (and ferns, of course)





For shrubs, I like bottlebrush buckeye, hydrangeas, leucothoe (aka dog hobble or sweet bells), %26amp; wintergreen





For meditation, I like a very subdued place, with very subtle color shifts and not a lot of varigation and other bells %26amp; whistles. The red japanese maples turn some lovely shades of bronze and green in the shade, and there are some green ones that near chartreuse. These, and other trees, are often short enough to ride the line between small tree and large shrub.





You may also find a fun source of color by setting up logs and impregnanting them with mushroom spore. There are lots of options (once you find a source- that's a separate question), just be sure to have a good system for separating logs which grow edibles vs logs that grow poisonous mushrooms.
Reply:I am afraid your Kentucky bluegrass will not survive if the shade is truly deep.


That being said - acuba does well in deep shade, astibe if the site is moist enough, foxglove in the moderate shade, lenten rose will do well in complete shade, so will Nandinas which are a clumping bamboo - control it just be removing the berries in the spring, Pachysandra will do Ok in deep shade (groundcover), camellias in moderate shade (shrub), ajuga reptans in moderate shade (groundcover), Yaupon Holly will do well in moderate shade and forms nice horizontal Asian looking levels when allowed to grow naturally, maybe a Kouza Dogwood as well.


Your camellia, foxglove and dogwood will add color - most deep shade plants do not provide much color, though. Try Painted Ferns and Autumn ferns.
Reply:My shade garden includes bleeding hearts, astilbe, hosta, monkshood, jacobs ladder, lenton rose, campanula, columbine in the slightly sunnier section, foamflower; and impatients as an annual. If you want something that spreads, look at snow on the mountain or lily of the valley.





Asilbe comes in pink, red, white, and purple.


Bleeding hearts are pink or white.


Jacobs ladder is blue or white.


My campanula and monkshoods are purple.


Foamflower is white, very pretty in groups.


You can always get different varieties of hosta too.





I think foxglove will also do well in shade, they are very showy spikes in all sorts of color.





Good luck!
Reply:Bleeding hearts love the shade. They have a lovely green leaf with various shades of pink or red hearts that drip from the stem structure. They can get to a good size and add the little splash of color you like.





Hydrangeas do well in the shade too. At least mine do. They have lovely blossoms with nice leafy green backgrounds too.
Reply:For color these two plants





http://images.google.com/images?q=astilb...





http://images.google.com/images?um=1%26amp;hl=...
Reply:Astilbe is a pretty plant, and looks eerily pretty in low-light conditions. Mine are starting to flower now in Massachusetts. Varied colors from pink, white, perhaps blue.
Reply:Try impatiens, coleus, vinca
Reply:Impatiens. And you might try wood violets.





Good luck!