Plants We Used in a Large Shade Garden

What native plants work in shady sites, from moist to dry soils? Last week our team installed a 2,500′ backyard meadow, which replaced a hosta monoculture. Our dense planting of layered plants will help improve runoff issues while increasing pollinator habitat and helping out the overstory trees.

Keep in mine that not all of these plants will be suited to your site conditions, and their respective behaviors might not automatically mesh with any other plant on the list (think clumper vs spreader). We place plants intentionally in the landscape, to match the site and even microclimates as well as the nearby plant community. So having a list of “shade plants” is simply just a starting point — do your research.

For example, Carex pensylvanica pairs well with a more aggressive runner (and runners run more in looser / richer soil) like the Conoclinium or Solidago, while Aquilegia goes semi dormant by mid summer so it works well among a more behaved clumper like Carex albicans.

What plants did we use?

Packera aurea — golden groundsel

Aquilegia canadensis — wild columbine

Polygonatum biflorum — solomon’s seal

Mertensia virginica (ephemeral) — Virignia bluebells

Geranium maculatum — wild geranium

Thalictrum dioicum — early meadow rue

Heuchera richardsonii (in part sun spots) — prairie alumroot

Amsonia illustris (in a spot that gets some late afternoon sun that will be hedge like) — ozark bluestarBlephilia hirsuta — hairy wood mint

Rudbeckia laciniata — cutleaf coneflower

Campanula americana (biennial) — tall bellflower

Eutrochium purpureum (again, in a part sun spot) — sweet joe pye weed

Eurybia macrophylla — bigleaf aster

Conoclinium coelestinum (hoping the site isn’t too shady, but it’s not dense, deep, dark shade) — blue mistflower

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum — calico aster

Solidago flexicaulis — zigzag goldenrod

Carex albicans (main matrix) — white-tinged sedge

Carex pensylvanica (main matrix — primarily used on slopes or erosion-prone spots) — penn sedge

Carex sprengelii (drifts) — sprengel’s sedge

Carex blanda (scattered masses to create visual interest / texture) — common woodland sedge A few of these plants aren’t strictly native to eastern Nebraska, but they are close enough — their habitat value, garden aesthetic, and site benefits are well suited to the larger community. What else could we have used, though? Certainly more spring ephemerals like Uvularia grandiflora. One could always use more sedge species — Carex radiata, Carex rosea, Carex eburnea just for starters. As for perennials: Asarum canadense would look nice for contrast, and there are other goldenrods and asters like Symphyotrichum cordiflium. Oh, and there’s goat’s beard, Aruncus dioicus. Phlox divaricata (to feed the bunnies, alas). Mitella diphylla (underused). Hepatica acutiloba. Frankly, there are just too many to list!

Shade gardens aren’t difficult. Really. There are many, many options for a variety of site conditions — especially for the eastern U.S. (what we know best here). Maybe we give up too easy and settle for what’s available at the big box — like wildlife-snoozing Astilbe and Hosta. If you have a shady or part-shade space that’s giving you fits, we can help you design the space, but if you’re DIY check out the online classes on how to create layered landscapes for various sites.