Monday, May 11, 2009

Light Shade Perennial Flowers

Light shade perennial flowers (also known as "filtered shade" or "thin shade") are probably the easiest shade perennial flower to place in your garden since there is such a wide variety to choose from. Light shade perennial flowers are those that can tolerate (and often prefer) between two and three hours of shade daily. Many perennial flowers fall into this category, so for this list I decided to pick what are my top five light shade loving perennial flowers.

This post is part of a three part series that will deal with perennial flowers suitable for light shade, medium shade and full shade. If you would like to know more about how to classify the shade in your garden in order to know which shade perennial flower is best for you, I recommend you first take a look at my previous post "How Shady is Your Garden?"

Foxglove (Digitalis sp.) - Foxglove blooms in late summer, sending up spires of flowers that can easily reach four feet in height. These look best planted in the background of a light shade garden. Do not try to plant foxglove in areas with medium or dense shade, however, since the flowers will end up being spindly.

Columbine (Aquilegia sp.)
- The Columbine is a beautiful flower that is native to the woodlands. It can grow up to three feet tall and comes in a wide variety of colors. It blooms in May and June, and thrives in areas with light shade, and moist but well-drained soil.

Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis), also known as Lenten Roses - These are some of the earliest flowers to bloom each year, and are generally white, burgundy or rose in color. They also have beautiful green foliage.

Daffodils/Narcissus (Narcissus sp.) - beautiful yellow, white and orange flowers that do well in light shade. The perennial bulbs should be planted in the fall in most areas.

Phlox (Phlox divaricata) - Most phlox species prefer light shade, but they will not thrive well in deep shade. They also need moist, well-drained soil. They spread easily, and this should be taken into consideration when planting.

In my next posts, I will also consider five medium shade perennial flowers, and then the third part of this series will look at full shade perennial flowers. For more gardening articles about shade flowers and shade plants, please return to the Shade Perennial Garden homepage.

Foxglove Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net