Shade Garden

Native Plant Shade Garden

Dark shadows don’t mean your gardening days are doomed. Numerous options abound for creating eye-catching shade gardens. These easy shade solutions will help turn your shady yard into the colorful retreat you’ve always wanted.

A shade garden can be of lower maintenance than the full sun garden so if you won't need to spend so much time gardening to maintain it. The flowers grow slower in the shade and they don't require as much care.

  Determine the various degrees of shade in your yard. How much sunlight areas receive—and when they receive it—dictates what kind of plants will thrive there.
  Dew dries faster in areas that receive morning sunlight, so use plants there that require moderate or drier conditions.
  Poor soil often hampers shade gardens more than lack of sunlight, so liberally add organic matter in spring, fall or whenever preparing a new garden. Be careful not to disturb tree roots.
  Under deciduous trees, plant bulbs that will bloom before shady canopies develop. Smaller bulbs hat naturalize—or spread on their own—work best, such as crocuses, daffodils, grape hyacinths and winter aconite.
  Help conserve moisture and add nutrients and organic matter by mulching with shredded leaves, evergreen needles and other organic materials.
  When you lay out new flower beds, take heed of the shadows thrown off by nearby buildings, shrubs and trees.
  Use shade-loving shrubs to anchor beds, add height and structure, and provide a dark backdrop off which bright blooms visually pop. Good choices nclude azalea, camellia, dogwood, hydrangea and rhododendron

There are many Wisconsin Native perennials that can live comfortably in shade without needing the same amount of care as other types of plants. You can have a beautiful garden without it taking up so much of your time.

Read more: Wisconsin Native Ferns
Here are 16 suggestions for your shade garden.

Native Shade Garden Plants

Columbine

Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis Benefits: Bees, Birds
Height: 1-3 feet
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 2-8
Soil: Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: Red, Yellow

Fire Pink

Fire Pink, Silene virginica Benefits: Bbirds
Height: 1-2 feet
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 4-8
Soil : Sand, Loam
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: Pink, Red

Tall Bellflower

Tall Bellflower, Campanula americana Benefits: Bees, Birds
Height: 2-5 feet
Bloom Time: Late Summer
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 3-7
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Medium, Moist
Color: Blue

Goat's Beard

Goat's Beard Benefits: Bees, Butterflies
Height: 3-6 feet
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 3-8
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Medium, Moist, Wet
Color: White

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Jack- in-the-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum Benefits: N/A
Height: 1-2 feet
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Partial Shade, Shade
Zones: 4-9
Soil: Clay, Sand, Loam
Moisture: Normal, Moist Wet
Color: Green

Canadian Wild Ginger

Canadian Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense Benefits: N/A
Height: 3-5 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 4-7
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Moist
Color: Green, Purple, Red, Brown

Yellow Trout Lily

Yellow Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum Benefits: Bees
Height: 1-2 feet
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Partial Shade, Shade
Zones: 2-9
Soil: Clay, Loam
Moisture: Medium, Moist
Color: Yellow

Chokecherry

Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana Benefits: Bees, Birds, Butterflies
Height: 15-20 feet
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Partial Shade, Shade
Zones: 2-7
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium, Moist
Color: White

Early Meadow Rue

Early Meadow Rue, Thalictrum dioicum Benefits: N/A
Height: 2-4 feet
Bloom Time: Spring, Early Summer
Sun: Partial Shade, Shade
Zones: 3-7
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: White

Bleeding Heart

Tall Bellflower, Campanula americana Benefits: N/A
Height: 1 to 1.5 feet
Bloom Time: Spring, Early Summer
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 3-9
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Medium
Color: Pink

Calico Aster

Calico Aster, Aster lateriflorum Benefits: Bees,Butterflies
Height: 2-3 feet
Bloom Time: Fall
Sun: Partial Shade, Shade
Zones:4-9
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: White

Heart Leaved Aster

Heart Leaved Aster, Aster cordifolius Benefits: Bees, Butterflies
Height: 2-3feet
Bloom Time: Spring, Early Summer
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 3-9
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: Blue

Trillium

Great White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum Benefits: Bees
Height: 1-2 feet
Bloom Time: Spring, Early Summer
Sun: Partial Shade, Shade
Zones: 3-7
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: Pink,White

Wild Geranium

Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum Benefits: Bees, Butterflies
Height: 1.5-2 feet
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 5-8
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Medium
Color: Pink, Lavender

Common Bluestar

Early Meadow Rue, Thalictrum dioicum Benefits: Bees,Birds,Butterflies
Height: 2-3 feet
Bloom Time: Spring, Early Summer
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 3-8
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Medium
Color: Blue

Palm Sedge

Palm Sedge, Carex muskingumensis Benefits: Bees,Birds,Butterflies
Height: 2-3 feet
Bloom Time: Spring, Early Summer
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 4-9
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Medium, Moist
Color: Gold
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