Big, Bright, and Hardy in the Shade

Amy Walker and Emma Rich

Let me first mention that my flowerbeds are a hobby, I am not an expert but enjoy working in the beds, hands in the dirt, and the inevitable trial and error. I have large and small beds, shade to full sun; all being primarily perennial. I very rarely use pesticides on my plants, instead benefit from generations of praying mantis (native and invasive), other predatory insects, and a plethora of lizards and toads.

My favorite bed is the shade bed. It was the easiest to establish, requires minimal maintenance, and the plants are forgiving and generous. 

My shade bed includes the following

Red Twig Dogwoods – Ivory Halo

Heuchera - Peppermint Spice

Variegated Solomon’s Seal

Hosta – Stained Glass

Hosta – Abiqua Drinking Gourd

Fern – Autumn Brilliance

Fern - Japanese Painted/Burgundy Lace

Hellebore – Pine Knot Strain

Astilbe – Montgomery

Columbine – red and various colors

Easy to Establish

If you have the patience, plant small and provide adequate space. I chose smaller, less expensive sizes, but tried to be careful to allow each plant adequate space to reach full size (Fig. 1). The red twig dogwoods, hostas, and ferns will all grow to fill their space in time. The variegated Solomon’s seal and hellebores (Fig. 2) can spread quickly by rhizome (Solomon’s seal) and by seed (once the hellebores are old enough to flower). The hellebores required the most patience, as baby plants can take several years to reach full flower. Purchasing mature plants is absolutely an option, if/when I replace anything now I choose full size plants.

Figure 1. My shade garden when it was first planted.

Figure 2. Pine Knot Strain hellebores.

Requires minimal maintenance

My shade bed is often the fullest, deals with the heat and drought the best, and is nearly zero maintenance (Fig. 3). In early winter, generally November/December/January, after hard frosts and the leaves have come off the trees, I pull the fallen leaves off the bed and remove the dead material (Solomon’s seal, hostas, astilbe). This is necessary so that the hellebore flower stalks can easily emerge and bloom. I then prune old leaves from the hellebore, prune the red twig dogwoods if needed, and that’s it. There’s no regular deadheading, shape shearing, pruning, jubilee cuts, stem suckers, or excessive reseeding to deal with. When the Solomon’s seal and the hostas start to spread too much, I will split the plants and give the cuttings away. Most of the plants are not palatable, deer and rabbits haven’t been an issue (my hostas are surrounded by ferns which may be a deterrent). However, I’ve run into a problem with voles but use a commercially available pelletized caster oil product that seems to work. I found out the hard way reapplication annually is required.

Figure 3. Both are photographs of my well-established shade garden.

Plants are forgiving and generous

As I mentioned, I am not an expert and have learned things the hard way. I have found the plants in my bed to be fairly forgiving if I prune wrong (red twig dogwoods) or clear the bed too late. The huechera may be the exception, I’ve had to replace several due to planting too low and the voles. Getting leaves off the bed is the one thing I have learned cannot be delayed. Under the mat of leaves and dead material conditions can get too wet, the mold/fungus gets going, and can result in rot. Also, the mat can be too heavy for the hellebore stalks to get through easily. 

I would say the shade bed is generous due to the spreading rhizome of the Solomon’s seal, the self-seeding nature of the hellebore and columbine, and the spread of the hosta. I can either move plants around in my beds, or more commonly provide cuttings, splits, and seedlings to friends. The Solomon’s seal spreads quickly once established and it can encroach on everything around it. Every other year I cut a line and pull up the rhizomes from the neighboring plants. The hostas I split every couple of years as they outgrow their space. The hellebore and columbine, once mature and flowering, readily seed. I simply remove seedlings from areas I don’t want them, pot or wrap them up, and give the seedlings away.

Native alternatives

When I established the shade bed, native plants were not a priority. If I were to reestablish the bed, I would look for suitable native varieties (like the list below) that may provide similar aesthetics but contribute more to the ecosystem around my house. 

Native plants have co-evolved with indigenous insects and other animals over millennia making them a critical part of a balanced ecosystem. The nutritional value of foliage, pollen, nectar, fruits, and seeds of native species are known and measurable, which is not necessarily true of most cultivated varieties. Cultivars and nativars are selected for a specific human-desired trait through intentional breeding or hybridization which, in most cases, results in sterile or no seeds and produces no nectar or pollen—making them unusable to native fauna. 

Unlike their cultivated counterparts, native species don’t require fertilization or irrigation (post-establishment) because they have also co-evolved with our local climate, soil morphology, and geomorphology. This also makes them a formidable defense against stormwater issues such as standing water from excess runoff and denuded ground from erosion. Indigenous plants have longer roots that help stabilize loose soil, acting as nets which hold soil in place. Besides all of their obvious benefits, native plants are typically easier to maintain and grow more beautiful and bountiful over time.

Instead of this:	Plant this:
Red Twig Dogwood	Silky Dogwood, Cornus amomum or  Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida (Fig. 4)
Heuchera Peppermint Spice	American Alum Root, Heuchera americana
Variegated Solomon’s seal	False Solomon’s Seal, Maianthemum racemosum or Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum biflorum (Fig. 5)
Hosta	Lizard’s-tail, Saururus cernuus
Burgundy Lace Fern	Purple Love Grass, Eragrostis spectabilis
Autumn Brilliance Fern	Cinnamon Fern, Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (Fig. 6)
Pine Knot Hellebore	Tall Anemone, Anemone virginiana
Montgomery Astilbe	Heart-leaved Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia (Fig. 7)

Figure 4a. Red Twig Dogwood. Photograph © Timothy Valentine (flickr)

Figure 4b. Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum). Photograph © Patrick Coin (flickr)

Figure 5a. Variegated Solomon’s Seal. Photograph © J Biochemist. (flickr)

Figure 5b. Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum). Photograph © Kristi. (flickr)

Figure 6a. Autumn Brilliance Fern. Photograph © Rosewoman. (flickr)

Figure 6b. Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum). Photograph © Virginia State Parks. (flickr)

Figure 7a. Montgomery Astilbe. Photograph © Bernard Blanc. (flickr)

Figure 7b. Heart-leaved Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia). Photograph © BlueRidgeKitties. (flickr)

Read more articles in the Summer 2025 CSWCD Newsletter here.