Garden idea for AKJ

For the first time in a long time, I have a really slow day at work. And hey, AKJ is looking for ideas for a shade garden! Hello timing. :-) For the record, I'm just screwing around here. I like building imaginary gardens.

Veggie is right that your soil will collapse a little as the roots die. Plus you have a maple that's going to want to compete for nutrients. So I say bring in a nice pile of fresh dirt and compost and make a subtle berm. (Of course I say that! I don't have to do the work!) If you want the garden to be viewable from all sides, you could make it highest in the center, or you can pick a side to be the "back" and make that the high point.

Here's what I would plant at said high point: Actaea (formerly Cimicifuga) racemosa "Hillside Black Beauty". It has handsome black-purple foliage, gets 4 feet tall (the flower spikes can go up to 7') and makes a nice, dramatic backdrop for all sorts of other shade-loving plants.



I couldn't have a shade garden without Polygonatum variegata (Solomon's Seal). Two to three feet tall, so you can plant underneath them.



Maybe something like the ridiculously charming Galium odorata (Sweet Woodruff)! It's cute, tiny, loves the shade, repels bugs and you can dry it and use it as potpourri. It can spread a bit, but the solution to that is to not water it. Seriously. About 6" tall.



Or if you want a groundcover with a little more substance, there's always Vinca minor (Periwinkle). Like the woodruff, it might try to take over your lawn a bit though. (That's what groundcovers do.) Grows close to the ground.



Of course, hosta are the ultimate can't-kill-it shade plant. And they're not so boring if you use them as a backdrop to show off your Athyrium (Japanese fern). (Maybe a foot high)



For funky foliage, you really can't beat Heuchera (coral bells) — drop these on the sunnier side. They'll do fine in shade, but you get the best color with some sun.





What? You want flowers? Well, okay, but you'd have to work for them a little. (By "work for" I mean water. Regularly.) Enter the Astilbe.



Yay. That was fun. :-)