Few scenes in nature are more picturesque than a woodland garden. A dense, moist woodland setting can play host to chest-deep waves of ferns and carpets of plush green and yellow moss. What a delight it is to wander through the dim, cool shade and come across a golden burst of naturalized narcissus or daffodils, a swirl of delicate lilies of the valley, where a shaft of light cutting through the branches overhead allows them to bloom. Gardeners who count woodland as part of their property – and even those who don’t – can achieve this type of shade garden.
Though a woodland garden appears to grow randomly, it’s subtly structured with an overstory of trees, an understory of shrubs, and a ground level of mosses, ferns and grasses. These are planted in groups to mass and contrast different types of foliage in an area.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Reed Estabrook
Besides its uniquely shaped dark-green foliage, holly also provides a burst of color in winter with its colorful berries.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Tim Butler
Coleus is just one of many foliage plants that cloak themselves with leaves bearing a brilliant palette of color.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Tim Butler
The deeply dentate and fine-cut foliage of Japanese maple turns a brilliant red in autumn, but some cultivars – like ‘Bloodgood’ – sport red-tinged leaves from spring through fall.
Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Reed Estabrook
Such a natural setting can be managed to create just the perfect balance of shade and sun, trees and flowering shrubs, perennials, bulbs and even annuals. There’s a structure to the growth: the tallest trees form the overstory (or canopy); the next tallest trees and tall shrubs make the understory; regular shrubs create the shrub layer; and the lowest growing mosses, ferns and flowers are the ground layer. Careful pruning of the over- and understories allow filtered light to fall on the shrub and ground layers, creating the best conditions for diverse planting.
If you lack a woodland setting, you can plant a miniature grove with as few as three trees. You’ll also have the luxury of choosing your favorites suited to your area and planting them to allow for lower shade plantings.
Imagine, too, a garden composed solely of plants that have been chosen just for their foliage. When you leave flowers out of the equation, you begin to see the garden and its possibilities in a different way. The shapes of the plants, the textures of their leaves and the nuances of their shadings come into clear and intriguing focus. Foliage may take a backseat in a sunny border, but in a shade garden, greenery and unusual leaves can stand front and center.
A great number of plants that are grown for their interesting, unusual and sometimes very colorful foliage thrive in shady conditions. If you want the most lush and cool shade landscape imaginable, plant a palette of greens. Professional colorists will tell you that there are more shades of green than of any other color. Green is a cool color, and green foliage enhances what we like best about shade – its soothing and restful quality.
If you decide to design a shade garden using only greens, your possibilities are vast. You can work within one plant family, for example, hosta, which is prized for its variety of plant size, leaf shape and texture, and shades of color that range from chartreuse to deep green. Some of the hosta group include varieties that feature cream, yellow or chartreuse edgings and variegated swirls as well.
If you’re partial to color, consider the foliage plants that cloak themselves with brilliant hues rivaling those of the most vivid flowers. Coleus, for example, comes in an electrifying palette ranging from acid yellow to deep burgundy, with greens, oranges, maroons and bright pinks in between. The groundcover commonly known as the chameleon plant features heart-shaped leaves splashed with cream, pink and red – and no two of them are alike.
Shade foliage plants can be used in tandem with flowering ones, either to contrast with or echo the flower’s hue. For contrast, plant one of the many coleus varieties. For a complementary effect, mass similarly colored flowers with your shade plantings.
