What are some good native perennials for a shady site?
What are some good native perennials for a shady site?
When selecting plants for the shade garden, one group of plants that is often overlooked are native woodland wildflowers. Since they are native to the state, woodland wildflowers are well adapted to the area. They are easy to grow and perform well when given a favorable environment.
Native woodland wildflowers that make good additions to the home landscape include:
- wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
- Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
- goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus)
- Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
- Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)
- shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia)
- Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
- woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata)
- May apple (Podophyllum peltatum)
- Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
- bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
- false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum)
- merrybells (Uvularia grandiflora)
- and others.
Obtaining plants is easy. Woodland wildflowers are readily available at garden centers and mail-order nurseries. Do not remove plants from natural woodland areas.
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