Gardening in the shade can be a challenge, especially when trying to grow flowering plants. But don't give up! The shade-loving perennials in the Breck's Shade Designer Garden will let you have both a cool, shady yard and beautiful flowers for years to come.
Each carefully selected variety in this collection will provide lively colour and pronounced texture to shaded parts of the garden. Our experts have chosen some of the finest fern, hosta, astilbe, lily-of-the-valley, begonia and foxglove varieties available anywhere!
The varieties in this collection cover an area of approximately 72 square feet (6' x 12'). This garden is suitable for hardiness zones 4–8. It should be planted in well-drained soil where it will receive part to full shade.
This Designer Garden includes the following:
- 10 Lily-of-the-Valley
- 3 Foxglove Mixture
- 1 Elegans Hosta
- 1 Red Fanal Astilbe
- 1 Reblooming Pink Bleeding Heart
- 1 Lady Fern
- 1 Maidenhair Fern
Lily-of-the-Valley: Its clusters of tiny, white bells add charm and fragrance to every spring garden setting. Thrives in shade, spreading rapidly to create carpets of emerald foliage. Excellent under trees and in foundation beds, borders and banks.
Convallaria majalisSize: #1 Root
Height: 6–8"
Bloom Time: Mid to Late Spring
Foxglove Mixture: Its tubular flowers are favourites of nectarseeking hummingbirds and butterflies. This mix of colourful blooms will open in onesided racemes atop tall, leafy spires. Leave faded flowers in place, and they will self-sow to provide new foxgloves next year.
DigitalisSize: #1 Plant
Height: 4–5'
Bloom Time: Late Spring to Early Summer
Elegans Hosta: A large hosta with thick, well-veined, smokyblue leaves that grow in clumps. Its racemes of funnel-shaped blooms are mostly white but are sometimes tinged with lilac at the base. The flower clusters grow atop scapes that rise well above the foliage.
Hosta sieboldianaSize: 2–3 Eye Root
Height: 20–24"
Bloom Time: Early to Mid Summer
Red Fanal Astilbe: An absolute must for any astilbe planting. Scarlet-red plumes will truly stand out in your flower garden with their deep, rich colour. Each contains hundreds of florets that create eye-popping beauty wherever they are grown.
Astilbe x arendsii 'Fanal'Size: 2-3 Eye Root
Height: 20"
Bloom Time: Late Spring to Early Summer
Reblooming Pink Bleeding Heart: Produces pink, heart-shaped flowers with an extended blooming season and lovely fernlike foliage in a compact growth habit. Flowering may continue all summer in cooler climates. Blooming tends to pause in hot weather and then resume in late summer or early fall.
Dicentra eximiniaSize: #1 Plant
Height: 14–16"
Bloom Time: Late Spring to Early Fall
Lady Fern: This pretty lady bears lacy fronds up to 30" tall and 24" wide to create a lush, fluffy form that's sure to please. Makes a wonderful addition to darkened borders or woodland areas, where its soft green colour lightens up the shadowed spaces with ease.
Anthyrium felix-feminaSize: #1 Plant
Height: 30"
Peak Foliage: Mid Spring to Late Fall
Maiden Hair Fern: Ethereal and delicate, this fern's name is derived from the appearance of its feathery, circular fronds. They grow outward in flat fans that resemble the plaited coifs worn by maidens in olden days. This fern can also be grown indoors in a humid room with diffused light.
Adiantum pedatumSize: #1 Plant
Height:12–24"
Peak Foliage: Mid Spring to Late Fall
