How to Make a Beautiful Landscape in the Shade

Shade doesn’t have to be about hostas and ferns. Instead, how about a sedge meadow, where a tapestry of textures supports delicate flowering perennials and architectural shrubs?

In a land of forests, most of us have patches of shade, areas that get sun for a few hours each day, or places where light peeks through the tree canopy. These shadier spots can support plants, except perhaps the deep, dry shade under a stand of hemlocks. The challenge then is to create a landscape that holds our attention and is valuable to wildlife.

The meadow tapestry

We start, as with all our designs, with the groundcover matrix, that important yet often ignored plant layer underpinning the design. For shade, consider the magic of sedges.

Plants in the genus Carex go under the radar, yet they’re everywhere. There are 2,000 known species worldwide, about 500 in North America, each suited to different conditions and each with different physical characteristics.

Common in the Highlands is Carex rosea (Woodland or Rosy Sedge). Its thin leaves form delicate bunches, and in June subtle green flowers sprout. It’s versatile, coping with dry, sandy ground as well as loamy woodland edges.

Or consider Carex gracilima (Graceful Sedge). This plant lives up to its name, with thicker arching leaves.
Also on the radar are Carex vulpinoidea (Fox Sedge), with foxtail-like seed heads, and Carex muhlenbergii (Muhlenberg’s Sedge), which loves dry, sandy spots.

The main characters

Shade gardens are places for texture over color. Flowers can exist, but mostly the blooms are demure and appear in spring.

Violets can join the sedges in the matrix. Consider Viola canadensis, with its juicy leaves and white flowers, or the more aggressive Viola sororia, which will happily spread with its familiar blue flowers.

Think about adding ephemerals, those plants that bloom before the trees leaf out then go dormant in summer. Most famous is Trillium grandiflorum (Large-flowered Trillium). But don’t forget the delicate flowers of Claytonia virginica (Spring Beauty), the curious blooms of Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches), and the tropical-looking Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-Pulpit).

As the season starts to get going, it’s time to think about the vignette layer. Thalictrum dioicum (Early Meadowrue) has delicate leaves that contrast with the sedges. And Phlox divaricata (Wild Blue Phlox), with its clusters of pale blue flowers.

Moving into summer, the standout is the yellow flowers of Helianthus divaricatus (Woodland Sunflower). But it’s only suitable in places with room to spread. Wetter conditions, such as a shaded shoreline, might be perfect for Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead).

As we move towards fall, we have Solidago flexicaulis (Zigzag Goldenrod), one of the least aggressive goldenrods with delicate yellow flowers. Pair that with Symphyotrichum cordifolium (Heart-leaved Aster), which forms colonies of pale blue flowers in fall.

The bold forms

Finally, we come to the structure layer – the shrubs. Consider Rubus odoratus (Purple-flowering Raspberry), with its broad leaves and lack of thorns. Or Diervilla lonicera (Bush Honeysuckle), which thrives in various locations and rewards with delicate yellow flowers. Or Lindera benzoin (Spicebush), which is very happy nestled under trees.

The more shaded landscapes I work on, the more I am coming to love their subtle beauty.