Flowers for deep shade. Shade-tolerant and shade-loving perennial flowers for the garden

In a shady garden area or country house the most suitable for planting are shade-loving garden flowers. In extreme heat, being in a shady corner, you can enjoy bright blooming flower beds. To create a beautiful flower arrangement choose various plants.

It is necessary to select a plant depending on the degree of illumination. garden plot. It is also important to ensure that they meet all the principles of decoration and landscaping.

shade-loving flowers

Illumination is determined by taking into account the duration and intensity of sunlight. Shade area may vary depending on the season.

Factors affecting the degree of illumination of the site:

  • sun height
  • day length
  • Leaves on the trees
  • The flowering of some plants depends on the length of daylight hours.

If the site is in partial shade, then it is illuminated by direct sunlight for no more than 3 hours in the morning or evening. At the same time, a shadow is observed during the daytime. Penumbra will also be indicated by uniform illumination throughout the day.

If the site receives 3 hours of daylight in the middle of the day, and the rest of the time the illumination is limited, then this is a shadow.

Determining a rarefied shadow is also simple: the sun's rays penetrate the site through the foliage throughout the day.

There are such concepts as dry and wet shade. Dry shade is observed under deciduous trees.

They suck out all the available moisture from the soil. This is due to their developed root system. The leaves of such trees block access to precipitation. Not all flowers can exist in such an environment.

In dry shade conditions, Anemone, Geranium, Dicentra, Digitalis, Periwinkle, etc. can grow well.

For wet shady areas where there are no barriers to water ingress. A flower garden located in such a zone retains moisture even in the case of a dry period. However, in this area actively breed fungal infections and slugs, snails appear, which are pests. This is the only drawback of wet shady areas. Here it is recommended to plant Astilba, Liverwort, Honeysuckle, Fern, Primrose, etc.

So that the flowers grow well and delight with their beautiful and lush bloom, it is necessary to determine the degree of illumination of the suburban area and, based on this, select suitable specimens.

Shade-loving perennials: types and description

perennial garden plants name the flowers that grow long time in one place without transfer.

Gardeners prefer perennials, as they have a number of advantages compared to annuals:

  • Flowering does not finish even after the first frost
  • Do not need care in the winter
  • Do not lose their attractiveness during the season

Among the large number of shade-loving perennials, the most popular are the following types:

Creeping Ayuga. Another name for the flower is Zhyvuchka. The stem length reaches about 25 cm. This is a ground cover plant that produces a lot bright inflorescences. Flowers can be blue, blue, purple and pink. Prefers to grow on loamy soils.

Astrantia is big. The plant reaches a height of one meter. The flower diameter is about 5 cm, the petals are pink or white-pink. Leaves are long-petiolate, small. By appearance the plant resembles a starfish. Flowering begins at the end of June. The plant is resistant to many diseases.

Anemone. Belongs to the genus of perennial plants of the Ranunculaceae family. It can reach a height of 45 cm. The flowers are solitary in diameter about 8 cm. Depending on the variety, they can be white, pink, purple or blue.

Corydalis. frost-resistant ornamental plant. It has an upright stem, at the top of which is an inflorescence. Height is about 40 cm. The flowers are yellow or pale yellow. Starts to bloom in early spring.

Hosts. Refers to ornamental rhizomatous plants. Attracts a flower with its large beautiful leaves. This is a cold-resistant and drought-resistant plant that does not require special care. This flower is an excellent background for other plants.

Dicentra. Herbaceous perennial. The plant can reach up to 1 meter in height. The stem is thick, fleshy, erect. It has two sepals that fall off after blooming. The shape of the flower is slightly flattened, about 2 cm in diameter. They are red or pink.

Saxifrage. undersized perennial. The flowers are collected in paniculate or racemose inflorescences. Depending on the variety, the petals can be white, red, light yellow, etc. It begins to bloom in early summer.

Liverwort. Herbaceous perennial plant with three-lobed and pubescent leaves below. At first they are red-violet in color, and then turn green. In height, the liverwort can reach up to 20 cm. The diameter of the flowers is 2-3 cm. Flowering begins in early spring and lasts for 20 days. It grows well on fertile and loose soils.

Large-leaved plants will look great next to shrubs and trees: spring umbilical, oak anemone, noble liverwort. They are early-flowering and have attracted attention with their own since April.

Shade-loving annuals: characteristics of plants

Annual flowers delight with their beautiful buds for just one season. They are good because each time you can form different compositions.

How to care for shade plants

In shaded areas, the soil is slightly different from sunny areas. Usually in the shade, the soil does not dry well, so it can be wet. There is also dry soil in a shaded area. This is due to the fact that the dense crown does not allow moisture to pass through.

Perennial plants grow after some time. In this case, thinning is performed. This procedure is recommended to be carried out in the fall.

Perennials should be planted in the warm season. Water moderately. Water for irrigation should not be very cold. Leave a bucket of water in the sun for several hours beforehand.

When the plants began to wake up in the spring, you can fertilize with nitrogen. For example, saltpeter, which looks like small white peas. Before flowering, we recommend adding phosphorus and potassium. You can buy ready-made products in the store, or use ash. We advise you to breed it in warm water, let stand for about three days, and then water the plants with the resulting mixture. Of course, you can apply it in dry form, but then it will be absorbed by plants more slowly.

Dried leaves should be removed in a timely manner. If seeds appear, then they need to be cut off. Plants spend a lot of energy on their formation.

Tall plants due to strong wind or from the severity of the flowers can bend. For this purpose, it is necessary to put props. It is better to choose inconspicuous bayonets so that they do not spoil beautiful view flowering plants.

Subject to these rules, the flower garden will always be well-groomed.

Creating a flower bed of shade-loving flowers

Compositions of shade-loving plants are decorative throughout the season. Some attract attention with their leaves, while others - with flowering.

Perennials are usually chosen for the shady garden. When creating a flower garden, use different flowers in my own way color scheme, size. For a flower bed measuring 2 × 3 meters, they are first planted tall plants: Astilbe, Hosta, Hydrangea, etc.

The next row is Anemone, Dicentra, Geranium, Goryanka, etc. For edging the flower garden, Periwinkle, Gubastic, Saxifrage, etc. are planted. These plants can be used to fill gaps.

Tall flowers are planted separately. Medium-sized plants are recommended to be planted in groups. To prevent weeds from growing, flowers should be placed closer.

For creating beautiful flowerbed you should prepare the soil for the flower garden. First you need to remove the old sod and remove all weeds.

Using a pitchfork, it is good to loosen the earth, mixing compost, clay and sand.

If the size of the flower bed is about 1 sq. m., then it is recommended to plant according to the following scheme: 10 ground cover plants, 5 medium-sized, about 7 undersized flowers and 2-3 tall ones.

Most often on suburban area arrange asymmetric and island flower beds.

Multi-level plantings are also popular.

Which shade-loving plants are right for you depends on the shape and size of the flower bed. If it is located near the walls of the house or near the fence, then the tallest flowers are planted farther from the edge, and at the very end, those that creep along the ground.

If the shape is round or any other that allows you to create a symmetrical pattern, then the most tall plants can be placed in the center of the composition.

Of course, empty spaces will look ugly and provoke the appearance of weeds, but flowers should not be allowed to overwhelm each other and compete for light and nutrients. Therefore, provide each pet with enough space, and empty areas can be filled with decorative elements.

For this, stones of the original form are suitable, garden figurines, spikelets, ferns, or even just gravel paths. In addition, too dense landings provoke fungal diseases, especially in the shade, and the appearance of pests such as slugs.

The love of shadow is not the only quality that should unify the elements of your composition. Therefore, when choosing flowers, pay attention to what kind of care they require in advance. Of course you can't

If you are, then shadows will definitely appear on it. Residential and commercial buildings, trees and large shrubs will create zones with a complete or partial absence of direct light. The most common light-loving plants will not be able to survive in such places, as a result of which the cottage may have a somewhat deserted look. This article will focus on those plant crops that will help you solve this problem.

Dahlias - perennial shade-loving flowers for summer cottages

General provisions

First of all, let's draw a dividing line between plant species according to their dependence on sunlight, in order to avoid possible confusion in the future:

Separation according to light-loving

Tip: before buying, be sure to check with the seller which group the flora representative you are purchasing belongs to, since erroneous placement on your site will deprive it of the possibility of full development.

Shadow management

In addition to the fact that you can choose plants with different needs for sunlight, you can also optimally plan the placement of shady areas. To do this, it is enough to adhere to the following rules:

Tip: if you need to identify dark places in an already planted garden, then this is convenient to do in the spring when the snow melts. Where it lasts the longest, you can safely plant shade-loving crops with your own hands.

Species and representatives

The cultures under consideration have many variations:

shrubs

There are several representatives of bush vegetation common in summer cottages, which feel great even with limited light:

  1. Rhododendron. They can do without the sun at all, but then I won’t bloom, so it’s better to choose partial shade for them.

  1. Hydrangea. Its delicate buds will decorate any dark area.

  1. Kalina. Not only is it unpretentious, it is also useful.

  1. Elderberry. It is also famous for its medicinal properties.

  1. Ivy. The price of such a plant is minimal, but the possibilities with right approach colossal.

  1. Clematis. Also applies to curly species and is able to become an ornament to anyone.

Flowers and ornamental vegetation

  1. Perennials include nai large quantity representatives of shadow lovers.

Here are some of them:

  • Badan. Able to develop normally in growth even in the complete absence of light, only its flowering can suffer.

  • Host. Not only is he not afraid of the shadow, but he also adores it. The key is to keep the soil moist enough.

  • Aconite. Twilight and moisture - all that he needs for full growth.

  • Brunner. unpretentious and fast growing plant. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't get too big.

  1. Biennials:

  • Digitalis. When growing it, it is very important that the instructions for agricultural technology are clearly followed.

  • Forget-me-not. Allows you to create an aesthetic carpet even in the darkest place.

Shady corners in the garden summer days often become a favorite vacation spot, where it is pleasant to settle down, hiding from the scorching sun, and admire the picturesque picture of nature. But how to ennoble this corner and what to plant in a flower bed in the shade? After all, not all plants are able to calmly endure the shading created by the crowns of trees. Convert shaded area to exquisite flower garden or a lush border, you can use shade-tolerant plants: bulbous, perennials and shrubs.

The shading of the site is determined by the duration and intensity of sunlight. The illumination of the zone, in turn, depends on the length of daylight hours, the height of the sun and the presence of trees, the crowns of which create a shadow.

When choosing shade-loving plants for a flower bed, it is necessary to focus on the degree of shading of the site and its soil composition.

Plants in densely shaded areas

Shaded areas include areas that are illuminated by daylight for three hours, and the rest of the time they have only limited illumination.

With sufficiently dense shading created by the crowns of old sprawling trees or the walls of the northern sides of the building, such plants are able to maintain their decorative effect:

A thick shadow is also created by the dense crown of spruce. Under its canopy, a sedum-bearing stonecrop or tender arizema can comfortably settle down, the flowers of which look like elegant glasses.

In conditions of dense shade, a special microclimate is created, which differs high humidity air and soil. Such conditions are favorable for the formation of a flower bed in the shade, which is based on astilba, geranium, hellebore, volzhanka, oak anemone.

In well-moistened soils, hostas grow rapidly, species diversity which number in the thousands.

These amazing plants attract attention primarily with the beauty of foliage with a rich palette of colors, starting from pale green and blue shades and finishing with rich yellow with white patches

Center shade-loving flowerbed extraordinarily beautiful graceful ferns can come out: majestic chistous, ostrich and male shield.

As for the shade-loving conifers, they include decorative varieties juniper, Canadian hemlock and common spruce.

Arrangement of a flower bed on a site with a light shadow

A lighter shadow is created by trees with an openwork crown: bird cherry, acacia, cherry, aspen, pine ... Some trees, such as birch and bird cherry, creating a scattered shadow, significantly dry the soil in the crown radius. This should be taken into account, since most shade-tolerant plants are moisture-loving in nature.

A dry shade is preferred by broad-leaved kupena, periwinkle, Goryanka, forest anemone. In areas with dry shade, it is best to plant spring primrose, comfrey, and cereals.

In areas where the sun is from 3 to 5 hours a day, you can plant beautifully flowering lupins and daylilies.

Feel comfortable in semi-shaded areas medicinal herbs: peppermint, pink radiola, tarragon, lemon balm. not demanding to solar lighting and: spring umbilical, lungwort, fragrant woodruff.

Due to the fact that such areas receive more sunlight, the choice of plants to fill them is greatly expanded. To design a flower garden, you can use species peonies: Maryin root, Caucasian, Wittmann.

Under the pine crown, lilies of the valley, periwinkle, tenacious and violets will comfortably fit, which also prefer to grow on sandy and sandy soils

Shade-tolerant trees and shrubs include pea-bearing cypress, western thuja, Korean fir, Cossack juniper, as well as tree hydrangea, black elderberry and white derain. Among the vines for growing in the shade, round-leaved tree pliers and actinidia kolomikta are well suited.

Determine the optimal composition of the soil

Many of them are attractive in terms of landscape design unusual shape sheet plates or original form bush. These plants include: pachysandra, hosta, ivy, periwinkle. The "highlight" of other shade-tolerant plants are colorful berries, for example, gaulteria or cotoneaster.

But in order for the plants to show their beauty to the fullest, it is necessary to take care of the appropriate conditions for their cultivation. dense clay soil- far from the best way for arranging a flower garden.

Shade-tolerant plants do not differ in bright beauty. Their main advantage is colorful foliage, which retains its decorative effect throughout the season.

Plants feel great on fertile, enriched with mineral and organic fertilizers, loose soil

If clay and loamy soils prevail on the site, their composition can be improved by adding peat and sand. For enrichment sandy soils, you can additionally make humus or fertile clay soil.

Material on how to care for the soil in the country may also be useful:

Flower garden design variations in the shade

A characteristic feature of flower beds formed from shade-tolerant plants is a contrasting combination of leaf shapes and color.

Therefore, when choosing plants for a flower garden, you should pay attention to the shape of their leaves, because with their help you can make flower arrangement truly unique and original.

Shade-loving flower beds, like any plant compositions, are formed taking into account the principles of multi-tiered, when the foreground is occupied by undersized plants, and the middle and background are taller specimens and large-sized

If a flower bed is given a central place in a shaded area, then the tallest plants are placed in the middle of the composition, and as you move away from it, the growth of flowers decreases.

With this method of arrangement, the plants do not close each other, and the composition looks impressive from all sides.

You can give originality to the flower garden by alternating plants with foliage decorated with horizontal and vertical lines. For example: a successful combination is created by garden geraniums or foxgloves planted nearby against the background of variegated Rogersia.

You can always fill empty spaces in a plant composition with potted plants. It is convenient to rearrange containers with plants, changing compositions and achieving the desired effect.

On each suburban area There are places where there is little sunlight. Ordinary flowers cannot be planted in such places, as they will die from lack of light. But there are flowers that, even with a lack of light, can delight with their flowering. Before choosing suitable plant it is necessary to determine the amount of light entering the area.

Choosing a plant according to the degree of its light-loving

It is believed that the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden that receives the least direct sunlight is not suitable for growing. beautiful flowers. There are places in which direct sunlight falls only in the morning and evening for a few hours a day, or not at all. On the north side of buildings, plants have a particularly difficult time, since only diffused light can fall on them.

All flowers that can grow in such conditions are usually divided into 2 groups:

  • shade-loving, which grow and develop better in the shade than in the sun;
  • shade-tolerant - easily tolerates both direct sunlight and shaded places

Shade-loving plants can easily cope with the complete absence of direct sunlight, and shade-tolerant plants are well suited for landscaping dimly lit areas.

Choosing shade-loving plants for heavily shaded areas

First, there are 2 types of flowers that can be planted in the shade:

  • annuals;
  • perennial.

Perennials are more popular, as they require less maintenance and bring aesthetic pleasure longer.

Among them are one of the most undemanding plants- Hosta, or as Funkia is also called. This is a very beautiful perennial plant that grows into a large bouquet of green leaves with silver stripes. Hosta flowers are white or purple colour and look like small brushes. Even the biggest shadow is nothing to her.


The plant is not demanding for care. The basic rules that every host owner needs to know are:

  • you can not water the leaves of the plant, this will lead to their early drying;
  • in early spring, it is recommended to plant a plant only after the complete cessation of frost;
  • you can divide the bushes of the plant only in the spring, when the leaves have not yet blossomed.

Another prominent representative shade-loving flowers is Begonia everblooming. Previously, this plant was grown exclusively in room conditions, but thanks to modern breeding, shade-tolerant street varieties have appeared. However, the plant is afraid of frost, so it is an annual.


The plant has small size, only 15-20 cm. But its numerous flowers with bright green fleshy leaves simply fascinate with their beauty.


Begonia propagates by seeds or cuttings. Seeds are sown in winter, in early February. In order for the germination process to occur faster, it is necessary that the temperature during this period be around 22 degrees. After the seedlings have 2 leaves, the plants can be transplanted.

Cuttings can be obtained from begonias that overwintered in the house. They are cut and planted in fertilized soil. During this period, it is necessary to carefully water the plant. After the shoots appear, they are cut off and transplanted.

The best flowers for lightly shaded areas

In those places where the sun's rays appear at least for a few hours a day, you can grow a much larger variety of flowers. Sparse crowns of trees, for example, let in a sufficient amount of light, while creating a large shadow.

There are plants that have adapted with great success to such a neighborhood and can easily get by with even a fleeting ray of light. These include:

  • aquilegia;
  • astilbe;
  • badan;
  • aconite klobuchkovy.

Most summer residents appreciate aquilegia very much. And all because this perennial plant does not require much care and is very hardy. At the same time, aquilegia blooms with beautiful blue flowers, which are popularly called "catchment" for their shape.


Aquilegia is planted in loose moistened soil at a distance of 30 cm between the bushes. The plant does not need watering, propagates by self-sowing, seeds. Life cycle aquilegia for about 4-6 years, after which the plant must be removed from the flower bed.


A good decoration for poorly shaded places will be the Astilba flower. This perennial plant has a very showy pyramidal inflorescence and original leaves. It will certainly become a decoration for any cottage.


However, the plant is very picky. It grows in well-drained and moist soil. For constant and bright flowering, the plant needs a lot of water, so they plant it near water bodies, or arrange constant watering.


Astilbe propagates by rhizome, so in the fall top part plants completely die off, and shoots appear again in spring.

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