What groundcovers can I plant in the shade?
Groundcovers are a great way to cover any bare patches in your garden with a carpet of greenery that takes little or no maintenance. Many of them even flower for part of the season, so not only do they perform their primary function of keeping weeds at bay, they look nice while doing it. Which one you choose depends largely on how dense the shade is in the area where your groundcover will be planted.
Some groundcovers normally associated with sunny locations do well in the shade if they receive indirect or reflected light for most or all of the day. This is often the case when a garden is located adjacent to a white wall, concrete walkway, pool or some other surface that bounces light into an area that receives no direct sunlight. Sedums and creeping thyme are examples of sun-loving plants that often thrive under this condition.
If your shady spot receives direct sunlight for part of the day or plays host to the sort of dappled shade that is often found under honey-locusts, Japanese maples or garden structures such as pergolas, you'll find that bergenia, coral bells, cotoneasters, epimediums, European ginger, euonymus, perennial geraniums and foam flowers will all do well.
The deep shade that occurs when sunlight is blocked for all or most of the day by a building or a mature shade tree is a good place for lily-of-the-valley, Japanese spurge, periwinkle, sweet woodruff, hostas or English ivy.
Let's not forget that lawns are the most prevalent of all groundcovers and over the years, they are subjected to varying degrees of shade as the landscape around them matures. Those which were once in the full sun and are now in the shade often benefit from be overseeded with a grass seed formulated for shady conditions. Alternatively, you can encourage the growth of moss, which tends to be quite attractive at the foot of large shade trees.
The wonderful thing about groundcovers is they require relatively little maintenance. Just keep in mind that they're designed to spread and the more vigorous ones often need to be controlled, either by restricting the amount of water they get, installing a physical barrier or ripping out the excess by hand.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
