Learn to Love Your Shade

By Nyle Zikmund, Anoka County Extension Master Gardener

When we built our home in 1988 there was a single clump of oak trees in the front yard.  Ambitious to a fault, we planted lots of trees – more than 30 over the next five years on our one-acre lot.  Well, 37 years later (actually, it was more like 20) we went from full sun to mostly shade with the front yard the only remaining area receiving full sun.  Thus, the journey began!  Over time we have discovered, with a little diligence; there is an overwhelming variety of flower-producing shade perennials, many that have tremendous character given their leaf shape, structure, and color.  It could be a bias, but I believe shade perennials have far more character than sun perennials; when considering the leaves of the plant, along with the flower.  There is far greater distinction; and character in shade perennials such as Bloodroot and Brunerra – to name just two. 

Of note – shade gardening is defined by the amount of sun a plant gets, no more than four hours a day; and that depends if its direct sun for only a couple hours, or filtered sun/dappled shade.  Some love direct sun for a couple hours – Martagon Lily is a perfect example with morning sun being optimum.  Celandine poppy, also detailed and shown below thrives in two to four hours of dappled/filtered sun – especially between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  Bloodroot, on the other hand, does best when it gets a couple hours of later afternoon sun.  If you like to tinker, experiment, and get different results from the same plant – shade gardening is far more rewarding in that adventure!

Over time we have sought out and found an overwhelming abundance of shade-loving flowering perennials – forty-two to be exact!  Of these, I have a handful of my favorites that include Bloodroot, Martagon Lily, Brunnera, Lamium, Virginia Bluebells and Celandine Poppy.  Double bloodroot versus single – because the flower is so spectacular and the leaf (of either) is so unique and lasts the entire season from early may to early fall.  The Martagon Lily is such a unique flower; and has a wide variety of great flowers (over 60, I believe).  The Martagon Lily has one of the longer lasting blooms – sometimes in excess of three weeks.

Lamium is always colorful and changes with the sun amount and age of the plant.  For a ground cover that is mildly invasive, it surpasses all in color variant, leaf texture, and purple flowers.  When it comes to contrast, the Virginia Bluebell flower next to its bright green leaf, and nearly three weeks a bloom is breathtaking – especially when you have a mature “patch” that covers five to ten square feet or more.  Lastly, the Celandine poppy wins the prize for easy to grow, displaying multiple blooms for up to a month on some plants.  The Celandine poppy is a bushy, space -filling flower/almost shrub that will self-propagate once mature and is very easy manage if you don’t like it there; it pulls out pretty easily.  The distinctive yellow blooms brighten’ s up a shade garden nicely. 

Gardening – it’s not the destination, rather the journey.  Assign yourself an unconditional commission to experiment without regret and equivalent joy in the learning experience; whatever you and nature conspire to create!

Virginia Bluebells

Celandine Poppy

Double Flowered Bloodroot

Martagon Lily

Lamium