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Rocky Mountain Gardening

Shrub ideas for full shade north side of house?

16 years ago

Some of you may recall that last spring we had all of the 30+ year old junipers removed from around the perimeter of the house.

I'm having a hard time choosing foundation shrubs for the north side of our house which gets full shade all year except when the sun is highest in summer the area gets a bit of afternoon sun (if that's a problem for shade plants, I was thinking I could plant a well placed small tree to shade.)

I don't really frequent this north side of the house often and I don't want to spend a lot of time over there. The way our house is situated though, it is the only side visible from the street.

I kind of want a simple "modern" look for this area (like one type of shrub all along with ground cover and a nice looking mulch.) The bed is about five feet deep. I don't want the shrubs too tall because I don't want them to block the windows. Xeriscape would be a huge bonus.

What I've come up with so far is Spreading Yew, Black Chokeberry or large hostas which I'm afraid will take too much water.

I will lay a line of soaker hose along this area and cover with thick mulch so as to not water this area often.

Any ideas or successes you've had growing in shade?

Thanks!

Charlene

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Comments (4)

singcharlene
Original Author
16 years ago
Just around the corner from this north facing shrub border is the east facing border along our front walk (about 30 feet long x 5 feet deep.) I'm thinking of ordering this today and getting them in the ground asap.

I was thinking of using this preplanned garden from High Country Gardens and then filling in with the xeric plants I got from the plant swap (which are planted in one of my veggie beds mulched thickly with straw for the winter.)

Here is a link that might be useful: High Country Gardens 'Colors & Textures' Preplanned garden
david52 Zone 6
16 years ago
I have a long, nor-nor-nor-west facing side of the garage, that only rarely gets sun. The roof also has no gutter, and drips directly onto the bed. I have burning bush (forget the Latin name), Some Euonymus species, which is basically evergreen, and then things one wouldn't expect to work but do rather nicely. Budlea, (butterfly bush), spreading asters, spirea, which is spectacular from July - Sept, and blue mist spirea, which is on the western end of the building and gets a lot of heat. They all get enough moisture from the roof to keep them going, with only an occasional shot from the garden hose.
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I was going to recommend Kerria Japonica 'Picta' as well. I just got one this year for a nearly full shade area (2-3 hours morning sun) and I love it. I think it would be just as pretty in full shade. And it suckers so it should fill out a good size fairly quickly. I couldn't believe I had so many suckers first year. Could be due to soil amendments I added. Another hydrangea possibility is H. Paniculata 'Limelight'. The leaves are bright lime green. whiteish flowers, June to now. For an evergreen, try Chamaecyperis 'Gold Mop'. I moved my gold mop from sun to shade and I much prefer the more subdued chartreuse color in shade than the gold in sun. A perennial that thinks it is a shrub, is Caryopteris 'Snow Fairy'. I had mine in sun and it was so bright white, it was distracting (well, I might be exaggerating a tad...). I moved it to shade and it is just perfect! I also have a small Jap Maple in my shade border to add some color. I plan to add some puple coral bells later to complement the JM.
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Many thanks to all of you who very kindly sent me advice. Tiffy, - yes, I checked at various times of the day, and there is a little dappled sunlight and later in the day a little direct sun. Bev - your suggestions were interesting - I do like firethorn - I have three at the other end of the garden against a fence and I had just one at our last house. I love kerria, especially the single flowering one. I looked up Itea virginica, and it would be an ideal choice, but the problem is the narrowness of the border, also pieris, which is so pretty. MG - Your suggestions are lovely, but I don't think they would survive very well in this location. Lots of snow taking a long time to melt in the spring, along with the shade. Orchidguy4ever - That is quite a list, and thank-you! I will have to google to find their familiar names, I'm embarrassed to say!! Which ones are vines or smallish shrubs? Thanks again, everyone! What a great forum this is!
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On the north side of an older home near me used to be the most beautiful cedars. The yard had shade from trees, as well, and these small cedars looked good all the time, winter & summer, and didn't seem to be bothered that they maybe saw the sun for an hour at 5 a.m. and another hour at 8 p.m. in the summer. Additionally, the house was empty for a few years and so there was no supplemental watering, care, pruning, etc - they thrived and looked beautiful. I often thought a planting of a brightly coloured hosta in front of those cedars, or a mass planting of variegated goutweed (I know, I know, but it really is a superb plant in certain situations) would have looked stunning. The smaller cedars, a group of 3 of them, were like a small global. There was also a Brandon and another unknown larger one. At another house near me on the north side quite close to the foundation is a dwarf Alberta spruce, planted haphazardly by an inexperienced gardener grass growing right up to the trunk, knocked weekly by the lawnmower, and when it's not shaded by the house, it's shaded by a large Manitoba Maple tree. It's thriving. Go figure.
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Some shrubs i grow in partial shade that the deer haven't bothered around my house: Deutzia Chardonnay pearls Weigela false Cypress Fothergillia How about some tradescantia, st john's wort, foam flower, toad lily.
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aliceg8
16 years ago
Charlene, I've been pondering the same thing. I have a smallish garden on the north side with a window at ground level as well. I am hoping at some point to find a smallish shrub for it. I've got a few hostas, a bleeding heart, forget-me-not and then groundcovers in it right now. This is the first year. I have a native clematis at one end where there's a little more shade. I've been considering a red twig dogwood and maybe a yew.

David, you're comment on the spirea has me intrigued. We have a spirea in an area where it's completely hidden. I was thinking about trying to dig it out and transplant. It's a nice compact shrub, so maybe I'll give it a try out back.

Oh, and that preplanned garden looks great Charlene! What a cool idea.
highalttransplant
16 years ago
Kerria japonica does well in the shade, but I'm not sure how xeric it is. Mine was in too much sun and wind, and was withering away, then I moved it to a more protected, more shady spot, and it has taken off now. It's a spring bloomer, yellow roselike blossoms.

Some of the Viburnums tolerate a good bit of shade, but they aren't xeric, and may be too tall for your location. I looked up spireas and euonymus and they both tolerate shade, but again, I'm not sure of how much water they need.

Bonnie

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