I have an area like that filled with Lily of the Valley. In my case, its contained by the sidewalk and the house, so it can't spread too far. I never water that spot, and it always does well.

My spot like that is North between house and sidewalk as well. I threw out some native wildflower mix seeds and hoped-- whatever comes up is a bit smaller than it is on the other side, but I'll let it reseed at will. I also removed daylilies from my veggie garden border and stuffed them in there. Even if they never bloom, it's greenery! It also contains the prettiest and largest foxglove I have in the yard!

Yes, lily of the valley would make a nice groundcover and the scent is wonderful in the spring too. I never thought about foxglove, the 2 grandiflora foxgloves I do have are in full sun. Maybe I should move them.
I was actually hoping for fairly tall plants that will cover the siding of the house, maybe about 3' tall or more? Any thoughts about how cedars or some kind of vine that could go up a trellis? Please keep the ideas coming, I can feel the creative juices churning! :)
Laurie

OK, I've found a few things that Lois Hole has suggested. Has anybody tried Snowberry 'Symphoricarpos albus'? She says it does sucker, but I'm wondering how bad is it? And has anybody had luck with either boxwood or yews? Sumac is also suggested, but I've had one for a few years in full sun and can't say it's amounted to much, maybe it would do better in the shade? A perennial that I found that seemed interesting were epimediums. I have no experience with them either. Anybody? Help!
Laurie

Consider more Ligularias...the tall growing types. Especially nice is L. japonica, L. stenocephala and L. przewalskii. All grow to at least 4-5 tall and some will hit close to 6 feet. All give a nice tropical look. All need several years to reach their full potential but the wait is worth it. Once established, they are a 'no-care' plant....only needing adequate moisture.

Chleome glabra is a nice tall plant (4 feet) that grows in significant shade.

Epimediums are a wonderful perennial known for their tolerance of dry shade. Low growing. Would make a nice front of the border plant. The hardiest of the lot is E. alpinium and E.x rubrum although there are others that survive the northern climates.

My experience with Digitalis grandiflorum and sumacs is that they both prefer at least part sun. Since both do well in full sun, I would be concerned that full shade may not be the best place for them.

Dicentra spectabilis. In deep shade it would retain its foliage throughout the season. Its large size makes it "shrub like". Does need lotza moisture.

Other low growers, with attractive foliage and tolerance of deep shade are the Gingers and Bloodroots. Both well behaved, great groundcovers.

Gallium 'Victor Hugo' does exceedingly well in deep shade and provides a Gyspophilia-like presence with its long-blooming, mass of tiny white blooms in the shade garden. Grows to about 3 feet.

I would hesitate to put Lily of the Valley in an area where other perennials are growing. As a single species planting in a contained area it certainly is nice. But....it is not a nice neighbor with other perennials. In a couple of years it will invade everything in its path!

It sounds like you have not had the greatest of luck with Hostas....but consider H. 'Francis Williams'. This is a hosta that will leaf burn if it gets one ray of sunshine but it is glorious in deep shade.
Jan

Wow, thanks Jan! I do really like the ligularias and they would definitely add the height I'm looking for. I'm thinking I may have to install a soaker hose in this bed for things to do really well, and it won't be hard with the faucet just around the corner.
Chleome glabra and Gallium 'Victor Hugo' are two I'll have to look up as I'm unfamiliar with those, but they do sound interesting! And I will try the epimediums too, thanks for the heads up on the hardier varieties.
I have tried Frances Williams. Planted it last year, but it died over the winter, will maybe have to try it again with the soaker hose in place, hopefully that'll do the trick.
Laurie

Jan wow thanks, great list! I was wondering this too. I have a dry shady area that Lily of the Valley is actually DYING OUT from... needs a major soil overhaul and some new plants put in. I wasn't familiar with ligularias and they look like something I'd like to try.

Things not to try in my experience are: 1) Any ferns I know of aren't gonna cut it in dry shade. I have made this mistake more than once. They like it moist. and 2) Foxgloves like a lot more sun than they are supposed to. Mine grow beautifully in mostly shade but never bloom. I'm moving them next year.

How about rhubarb? I have seen it grow in extreme shade. There are also ornamental varieties available but it is not edible. I have found ligularia likes some moisture and will wilt when the temp get high but that is my experience for my soil type.
Andre

Andre, I've actually started some ornamental rhubarb from seed (that I got from a wonderfully generous member of this forum!) and I never thought of using it in shade. The rhubarb you've seen grown in shade, was it leggy at all?
Yes, ligularia does like it's moisture and I was thinking of maybe digging out large planting holes for it and lining it with plastic sheeting, kind of like a bog. It's a bit of extra work, but I've seen some really cool looking ligularias on the net, so they may be worth it.
Gillian, I've got ferns about 15' away from this bed and they do wonderfully, but the ones I've tried in the bed have struggled, then croaked. Maybe I should line the whole bed with plastic and make a huge bog! That could be interesting too.
Thanks for the great ideas,
Laurie

Laurie - maybe the reason you never heard of Chleome glabra is because there is no such plant? Keyboard and brain had a dysfunctional moment. You gotta remember....I am the person that typed 'Avalanche' three times without the 'h'! Try Chelone glabra, AKA as Turtlehead.

Most perennials that do well in the shade do need consistent moisture and soil rich in humus. Even Epimedium needs water during the establishment period and literally flourishes thereafter if watered. It survives and does O.K. in dry shade...but is gangbusters with moisture. Your thoughts on a soaker hose is a good idea.

I forgot Pulmonarias. I also have Tiarellas in deep shade that do very well in that setting.

Sorry to hear you lost 'Francis Williams'.
Jan

Ahhh, turtlehead, I have heard of that one! On another post tiarellas were mentioned and a link posted. The pictures were stunning! They are definitely on my list too along with the epimedium.
Do you have ligularias that are actually 6 feet tall? That kind of height in a couple of places is exactly what I need.
Laurie

I've planted some 'angelica' this year...it's doing pretty well, have to see if it'll come back next year. It's supposed to get pretty tall and be hardy to Z3. Again though, most shade plants like the water...so does the angelica.

Good luck, sounds like you've gotten some great suggestions. I'm going to be starting some new areas in shade, so I'll be checking this thread again too...

-S

Sha_Sha,
Angelicas are generally biennials...which I find a little disappointing about them - they get spectacular in their second year, and then you have to depend on reseeding for the third year.
My ligularias get 6' with the flower stalks. Some cimicifugas also get very tall (8'), but again, you'd need to work on a soaker hose arrangement to make some of these plants happy.
Lori

North side of my house under the overhang (lots of shade, very little water).

- Dead Nettle (Lamium)
- Periwinkle (Vinca Minor)
- Forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvestris)

-Andrew

Lori, the one cimicifuga that I have there is 'Brunette' and it's only about 2', maybe 2 1/2' tops now. Have had it for 3 years now, maybe if I lay the soaker right under it, it'll do better.
Andrew, I have lamium 'Hermans Pride' in another bed and I love the leaves on it. I may have to divide it and use it in this bed too. I also picked up a white flowering periwinkle awhile back that maybe would do well there too. Thanks for the suggestions.
Laurie

Pachysandra procumbens or Japanese Spurge does not need much water once established and gives you an evergreen carpet.

Bergenias are also evergreen and can survive off low rations of water.

As mentioned Epimediums are fantastic, you just have to be careful where you shop so you don't destroy your budget.

Did you try Ostrich fern or Matteuccia struthiopteris? I transplanted some established specimens into the shade underneath my houses overhang and they have required little water from the beginning. Both this species and bergenia should be easy to obtain from other gardeners.

Ligularias love to have pond liner under them. I've done this in my yard and it's enabled me to plant them in almost full sun. If you don't have leftover pond liner from constructing your own water feature you could probably get away with using some kind of plastic. It's ok to have some leaks. A word of warning; I had ligularias in almost full shade and they barely bloomed. After I moved them into sun the change was dramatic.

Actaea (Bugbanes or Cimicifuga) would enjoy having wet feet.

Primulas actually do better then I thought they would in complete shade. They bloom decently and have the fastest rate of foliage increase in my full shade beds.

I don't know if Tiarellas know how to stop blooming. They probably wouldn't want either wet or really dry roots.

Asarum europeaum (European Ginger), Convallaria (Lily of the Valley), Lamiastrum, Vinca minor, and Phlox stolonifera have all been ok for me with almost complete shade and sparse watering. Only the Ginger has flowered much (you have to lift up the leaves to see them).

Established plain green hostas have done well for me with no water and complete shade. A Blue leaved cultivar with cream edges has disappointed so far. Although it's tempting to use white variegated hostas remember that they reflect that much more sunlight than their non-variegated counterparts.

Although I haven't tried them I've read that Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry), Viola canadensis (Canadian Violet), Arisaema (Jack-in-the-pulpit), Hepatica, Polygonatum (False Soloman's Seal), Sanguinaria (Blood root), and Lamium would all work in full shade with little water once established.

Don't feel too despaired about plants not growing very quickly-that's just what happens with such little light this far north. The difference between the same species of plant grown in complete shade vs. shade with a few hours of direct sun has been quite dramatic in my yard.

The very tall cimicifugas I have are C. ramosa 'Atropurpurea' (in full shade) and C. racemosa (in full sun); the latter two plants are huge! I also have the C. ramosa selections, 'White Pearl', 'Hillside Black Beauty' and 'Brunette' but they are all quite short.
A few others that work for me in deep shade: Dicentra formosa and/or eximia (haven't figured out which is which!); the different color forms of Ajuga and Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' really brighten up the shade; columbines; Corydalis lutea; Calamintha grandiflora; Hepatica nobilis and H. transylvanica are fantastic; you can even grow some species of grass - Luzula nivea does fine for me in deep shade; don't limit yourself to ostrich fern - Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern) and Dryopteris filix-mas (male fern) are really tough, and a good place to start exploring ferns; Chelidonium majus 'Flore Pleno' grows everywhere equally well -a good space filler.
Oh, and don't forget thalictrums (if they have not been mentioned yet).

Holy cow, I need a bigger bed!! I'm stunned at how many plants I could try here. When I posted I didn't think there would be a whole lot of plant material that would thrive in dense shade. I guess my biggest frustration is that some of the hostas and one ligularia seemed like they were doing fine for the first couple years and the last 2 years have been diminishing in size. Could this be because the nearby tree roots have gotten in there?
I'm making notes of everything listed here and will be re-doing this bed over the winter while perusing the plant catalogues ;)
Laurie

If you're having a hard time getting hostas to grow there, I think there is more than a shade problem. It must be really dry there, so that would be a major hurdle. Also, maybe there is some other problem, like animals using the area or salt or snowmelt from the sidewalk getting in the soil or some other chemical runoff or substance under the soil, like oil or paint. I know black walnut trees and tree roots don't hurt hostas....I would suggest enriching your soil with some composted manure, garden topsoil and canadian sphagnum peat and watering regularly and deeply until your plantings have established themselves. With enriched, well watered garden soil, a couple of ferns and hostas should be easily able to get established. Then limit your plantings so the moisture isn't used up by overplanting. Tiarella with the brown centered varigation would go well with the cimicifuga, also maybe some bronze colored coral bells for foliage color. After planting , mulch very well with some woody mulch. Just adding three to five annual impatiens for the summer would really set off the whole thing.