That patch under the silver maple has been bare dirt for three summers running. You’ve tried top of the line grass seed and shade tolerant plants from the store but nothing seems to be working. Kingston has no shortage of yards like this featuring large trees shading a portion of the lot, north facing yards that don’t see much sun to begin with, and fences lined with hedges. This doesn’t have to mean bare dirt. It simply means selecting the right shade loving plants for your yard’s situation.
Full Shade vs. Partial Shade: Know What You’re Working With
When you stand in your yard about noon in July try to keep track of how long sun is landing in the spots where you would like to plant. Anything under three hours is considered full shade while three to six hours, especially obstructed by leaves, is partial shade. The distinction is important to keep in mind as hostas that droop in full sun will be fine in full shade, while an astilbe would bloom well in partial shade. Choosing the wrong plants for different areas can leave you with a year round struggle regardless of your soil or how consistent you’re watering.
Dry Shade Plants Under Mature Trees: The Real Problem
When inspecting the ground under a maple tree you’ll almost inevitably hit a wall of roots rather than six inches of actual soil. This is called dry shade and its a different beast than shade on its own. The tree is not only blocking light but is pulling all available water from the surrounding soil. This rules out any plants that require consistently moist soil no matter how shade tolerant it may be. Heuchera holds up well here as well as most ferns and a good share of Ontario’s native woodland plants.
Best Perennials for Shade: Foliage First
Hostas are an obvious starting point with a variety of leaf sizes and colours including giant varieties in deep blue and green to smaller ones in golden colours you could hold in one hand. Most hostas are able to hold their look from May right through to October. Heuchera brings colours such as lime, caramel, purple, near black, and more depending on the variety. This plant keeps its colour all season and won’t fade after a two week bloom window. Brunnera is also worth considering for its leaves patterned with silver and small blue flowers in spring giving you a plant that has the best of both worlds.
Shade Bloomers Worth Growing
Foliage will do most of the heavy lifting for your bed but with zero flowers it will begin to look monotonous come August. Hellebore blooms early even sometimes by February in a mild year making this a great early candidate to start with before the rest of the garden has woken up. Bleeding heart follows with spring bloom then retreats back again come summer once the heavy heat begins. Astilbe carries its colours throughout summer with plumes of pink, red, white, and lavender and is one of the few shade boomers that prefer to have a bit of partial shade light to perform at its best.
Native Shade Plants for Ontario Yards
White wood aster spreads all on its own and produces the kind of ground cover that most people would pay a premium for. Even better is it does this in dry shade that would kill a hosta within a season while the white wood aster follows in fall with pale blue flowers as the rest of the bed may be winding down. Black cohosh is the answer if the bed needs any height. This plant throws up tall spires of white flowers in late summer rising above foliage that could pass for astilbe’s, and its native to Ontario. This is one of the main appeals of native shade plants as they’ve evolved for the exact dry conditions found in our local summer environment.
Visit Our Garden Centre
Our garden centre stocks almost everything you’ll need including hostas, heuchera, native asters, and black cohosh. If your yards shade has patterns that are making you ask questions feel free to snap a picture and bring the photo when you come to see us. Our team will be able to help you sort out what actually has a chance there and give you some general tips. Don’t miss out on your chance to have a beautiful garden just because of a little shade.
