A site dedicated to providing information about gardening with shade perennials
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Five Evergreen Shrubs for Shade Perennial Gardens
Evergreen shrubs are wonderful additions to shade perennial gardens. They will continue to provide color during the winter months after the shade perennial flowers are gone and many shade plants have died back to the ground. However, not all evergreen shrubs are suitable for shade gardens. Here is a list of five evergreen shrubs that do well in a shade garden:
Rhododendrons (also known as azaleas). This evergreen shrub also has beautiful, showy flower. They do well in filtered shade areas of the garden, but are not suitable for full shade perennial gardens. Many species are toxic, especially to horses, and care should be taken when planting them to ensure they are growing in a safe location.
Andromedas shrub (Pieris japonica). These evergreen shrubs do well in partial to full shade. They can grow up to ten feet in height and eight feet wide, although many varieties are much smaller. This shade loving perennial shrub has pretty flowers as well that are cream in color and bloom in early spring. They are suitable to grow in zones 5 to 8.
Holly. Nothing seems to symbolize winter better than the holly plant. The red berries found on holly bushes in fall and winter will add beautiful color to your shade garden, and are a great winter source of food for birds (although mildly toxic to humans). These shrubs also can offer winter protection to wildlife in your shade garden as well. Hardiness will depend on variety, but many are suitable for zones 5-9.
Cypress (Chamaecyparis spp.). There are many beautiful varieties of cypress shrubs available. The Siberian cypress may be an excellent choice. It is a smaller evergreen shrub that can tolerate light shade. It is also very hardy, surviving into zone 3 or even zone 2 with proper mulching.
Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica). This is a deciduous shrub with mottled leaves that is suitable for dense shade gardens. It grows between six and ten feet in height, has broad leaves, red berries in the fall and purplish-brown flowers. Is drought tolerant, and suitable for warmer zones (7-10).
Evergreen shrubs are wonderful additions to shade perennial gardens. They will continue to provide color during the winter months after the shade perennial flowers are gone and many shade plants have died back to the ground. However, not all evergreen shrubs are suitable for shade gardens. Here is a list of five evergreen shrubs that do well in a shade garden:
