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The best time and method to propagate plants can be found on our image-intensive PROPAGATION page.

To help your plants grow their best, check out our FERTILIZATION page.

To create your own plant partnerships based on tried and true color theory, check out our GARDEN COLOR page.

To see if a particular plant is on this page press Ctrl+F, type in the name, then click the Find button.

POLYGONATUM

All Solomon's Seal forms have a graceful look about them. Alternate leaves grow all along the arching stems, and clusters of bell-shaped white or greenish flowers dangle beneath in late spring. Give them moist humus-rich soil in part to full shade.

Polygonatum:  Solomon's Seal

with:  Astilbe x arendsii, Bergenia cordifolia including 'Bressingham Ruby', Phlox divaricata
including 'Laphamii' (a rich crystal blue)

with:  Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' (cream-striped leaves)

synonym:  Polygonatum giganteum
where :  moist woodlands, borders

with:  Asarum europaeum

where:  shade or woodland gardens, under shrubs
prefers:  constantly moist sites but will grow in dry shade of trees
with:  Polygonatum biflorum (a more vigorous form)
with:  Astilbe, Hosta, Pulmonaria, Iris, Dicentra
with:  Tulipa (white & green)
with:  wildflowers, ferns, Iris x germanica

combined with:  Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila', Asarum europaeum, Athyrium goeringianum 'Pictum',
Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans' & Convallaria majalis

where :  shady sites
generally with :  bold foliage plants (to compliment its architectural quality)
with :  Hosta, ferns, Heuchera, Alchemilla mollis
combined with :  Adiantum pedatum & Hosta spp.

PULMONARIA

Lovely Lungwort will enchant in spring with often spotted foliage and variously-coloured nodding flowers. Some forms have blooms that start out pink, then change to blue. Other forms have flowers whose colour remains consistently white, pink, blue or red. If your plants go dormant early, your soil is too dry. Move them into evenly moist conditions in partial to full shade.

Pulmonaria:  Lungwort, Bethlehem Sage

foliage contrast with :  Alchemilla mollis, Bergenia cordifolia, Hosta
with:  Primula including Primula x polyantha
with shade-loving forms of:  Ornamental Grasses, Phlox including P. divaricata
in woodlands with:  ferns, Erythronium, Polygonatum odoratum
with :  Anemone blanda, Aquilegia, Astilbe, Aster (shade-loving forms)
with:  Brunnera macrophylla, Dicentra eximia, Heuchera, Iris x germanica,
combined with:  Heuchera 'Chocolate Ruffles', Heuchera 'Ruby Veil', Hosta & Astilbe

over:  Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'

picture this beauty anywhere in your shaded garden with the companions suggested above

in front of:  Eremurus himalaicus (white) & Tulipa (cream)

with:  Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple'

combined with:  Delphinium elatum 'Blue Connecticut Yankee' & Liatris spicata (rosy-purple)

RANUNCULUS

Let the word "fast-spreading" forewarn you about this perennial for partial shade. Keep it out of your formal gardens and put it with companions that aren't apt to be overcome by its aggressively creeping nature.

Ranunculus repens:  Buttercup, 18-24" tall

with:  ferns, Hosta

RODGERSIA

Magnificent Rodgersia, also known as Roger's Flower, is a bold foliage perennial that demands consistently moist to wet soil. If you possess such conditions, such as a bog or water garden, consider this plant. Its airy plumes when in bloom are a sight not available to those of us with mostly sunny and dry gardens.

Rodgersia:  Rodgersia, Roger's Flower

where:  bog and water gardens, along streams, in dappled shade of high trees
with:  Iris x germanica
with:  water-loving Iris, Filipendula, Trollius, Astilbe, Hosta, Primula, ferns
with:  Ligularia stenocephala 'The Rocket'

SMILACINA

Another perennial for shade that has arching leaf-clothed stems is Solomon's Plume, or False Solomon's Seal. Sometimes known also as False Spikenard, Solomon's Zigzag and Treacleberry, this spring-blooming native wildflower prefers neutral to acidic soil in light to full shade, although bloom will be better with some sun. Correct pronunciation for this genus can be either smye-luh-SEE-nuh or smye-luh-SIGH-nuh.

Smilacina:  Solomon's Plume, False Solomon's Seal, 2-4' tall

where:  light to full shade, under trees and flowering shrubs
with woodland plants:  ferns, Epimedium, wildflowers
with:  Aquilegia, Hosta, Dicentra, Pulmonaria

TIARELLA

Foamflower, or Allegheny Foamflower, provides wonderful fuzzy spring flowers on stalks rising out of somewhat heart-shaped foliage. If your soil is slightly acidic, so much the better since this is what they prefer. Try this plant soon. You won't be disappointed.

Tiarella cordifolia:  Allegheny Foamflower, 6-10"x12" tall

where:  groundcover in shade, under shrubs and flowering trees, woodland gardens
with shade-loving types of:  Phlox i.e. P. divaricata including 'Laphamii, P. stolonifera
with:  ferns, woodland plants, wildflowers
with:  Uvularia grandiflora
with:  Pulmonaria, Aquilegia canadensis, Dicentra eximia, Hosta, Iris, Sanguinaria canadensis
with:  Anemone blanda, Asarum canadense, Dicentra, x Heucherella, Iris cristata 'Abbey's Violet' (the best blue form)
combined with:  Trillium (white), Polemonium reptans & Phlox divaricata
in light shade with:  Iris x germanica

with:  Phlox stolonifera

TRICYRTIS

For light to partial shade, you just can't beat Common Toad Lily. Flowers are purple-spotted white and appear, unlike those of many shade perennials, in late summer and fall. Plant them where they can be seen up close.

Tricyrtis hirta:  Toad Lily, Common Toad Lily, Japanese Toad Lily, 2-3'x1-2'

where:  shady areas where they can be seen up close
with:  Astilbe, Dicentra, Hosta ferns, woodland plants

TRILLIUM

A native wildflower, Trillium makes any shaded area come alive with its white, sometimes red, spring flowers.

Trillium grandiflorum:  Trillium, White Wake-robin, 18-24"

where:  along woodland paths, shade gardens, under shrubs, especially spring-blooming ones
with:  wildflowers, ferns i.e. Adiantum pedatum
with shade perennials:  Phlox maculata (wild Sweet William), Phlox divaricata, Geranium maculatum,
small Hosta i.e. 'Louisa'
combined with:  Aquilegia canadensis, Asarum canadense, Brunnera macrophylla, Epimedium, Mertensia virginica
with other bulbs:  Endymion hispanicus (a white form), Galanthus nivalis
with:  Polemonium caeruleum
combined with:  Polemonium reptans, Phlox divaricata & Tiarella cordifolia
combined with:  Phlox divaricata, Asarum & Pulmonaria

where:  shady bowers
with:  Anemone blanda 'White Splendor' (pure white with yellow centres)

UVULARIA

Merrybells or Bellwort grows well in moist humus-rich soil. A woodland wildflower, it has nodding lemon-yellow flowers. The foliage continues to grow after the flowering period is over.

Uvularia grandiflora:  Bellwort, Merrybells, Great Merrybells, 18-24"x12"

for partnership ideas follow the link to Yellow Perennials & Their Companions - 2

VINCA

Common Periwinkle, whether its foliage is a shiny solid green or a lovely white-variegated form, is an excellent ground-cover plant for shade. Many forms have blue-purple flowers, but there are choices in white, red-violet, light blue or purple as well.

Vinca minor:  Common Periwinkle, blue-purple flowers, 4-6" tall

seen above left:  surrounding emerging Hosta foliage
seen above right:  a variegated clump-forming type

• blue Vinca

FOR MORE PERENNIALS THAT PREFER SHADY SPOTS IN YOUR GARDEN, FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW.

• Aegopodium to Erythronium
• Ferns to Polemonium

All of our own Gardens By The Bay pages can be accessed by clicking on the links below.

HOME

GARDEN POETRY  |  GARDEN POETRY MUSE

GEORGIAN BAY VIEW

BOTANICAL LATIN - BASICS

COLOR THEORY

THE GARDENS

CORNER GARDEN CONSTRUCTION  |  CORNER GARDEN PLANTING  |  LONG GARDEN

EAST GARDEN  |  HOSTA GARDEN  |  NORTH GARDEN  |  WINTER GARDENS

PLANT PARTNERSHIPS

BLUE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Geranium  |  Iris - Vinca

BULBS    Allium - Hyacinthus  |  Narcissus only  |  Tulipa only  |  Minor Bulbs

BUTTERFLY MAGNETS    Anaphalis - Hemerocallis  |  Liatris - Veronicastrum
DAYLILIES      Spider & Unusual Form

EDGERS    Arabis - Iris  |  Nepeta - Veronica

FOLIAGE PERENNIALS     Alchemilla - Tanacetum

HOSTA    Hosta - all

HUMMINGBIRD-FRIENDLY PERENNIALS    Alcea - Salvia

ORANGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Tulipa

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES    Acorus - Imperata |  Miscanthus - Spodiopogon

PINK PERENNIALS    Achillea - Lilium  |  Lychnis - Veronica

PURPLE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Liatris  |  Polemonium - Veronica

RED PERENNIALS    Achillea - Veronica

SHADE PERENNIALS    Aegopodium - Erythronium  |  Ferns - Polemonium  |  Polygonatum - Vinca

SILVER FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Cerastium    |    Cornus - Limonium    |    Lunaria - Veronica

SIMPLY SPECIAL PERENNIALS    Acanthus - Saxifraga

WHITE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Iris  |  Kalimeris - Yucca

YELLOW PERENNIALS    Achillea - Hypericum  |  Inula - Verbascum

VARIEGATED-FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Acorus - Erythronium  |  Hakonechloa - Lysimachia  |  Miscanthus - Yucca

PLANT PROFILES

Dianthus 'Tiny Rubies'  |  Geranium  |  Geum coccineum  |  Kerria japonica  |  Knautia macedonica

Paeonia tenuifolia  |  Papaver somniferum  |  Rudbeckia  |  Salvia 'East Friesland'

Trollius  |  Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'

PROPAGATION

DIVISION - SPRING ONLY  |   DIVISION - FALL ONLY  |   DIVISION - SPRING OR FALL  |   DO NOT DIVIDE

FERTILIZATION

BULBS  |   ORNAMENTAL GRASSES  |   PERENNIALS  |   SHRUBS  |   VINES

LINKS

GARDENS  |   LOCAL GARDENS  |   BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY

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