Author: Pam

New England native, Florida resident. Blogging about boating, beach-combing, gardening, camping, and knitting. Work for Zazzle as a designer since 2008.

My Three Favorite Perennials For Shade

white astilbe
White Astilbe – Shade Lover

It’s not easy to grow a shade garden.  Some hydrangeas will do well in shade, but I am not talking about those here.  This post is about the smaller perennials that can fill a shade garden.  The flower variety of shade loving plants is limited even more than the plants that are available.  Most things that will grow under trees or in gardens that are on the shady side of a house are pretty dull looking in my opinion.  I love a garden with variety, so I am always on the lookout for something new to plant in the yard and I’m always thrilled to find a nice looking, shade loving shrub.

Still, I revert back to my favorite three basic choices when buying for the shade.

#1. Bleeding Heart –  This is an amazing plant.  It is so delicate that it breaks easily, yet sends out long leafy stalks with loads of little, heart-shaped flowers that dangle from the greenery.  It seems so fragile, yet each year it survives the icy cold winters underground and grows back in Spring.

#2. Astilbe  – I think this is a favorite of many when it comes to planting for shade.  I am new to growing this plant, but I plan to have many of them in my garden under the trees.  They have tall feathery flowers in white, red and pink and their leaves can vary from color to color.

#3.  Hostas – Of course.  Who has a shade garden without including hostas?  Last year I planted a variety of hostas in my large, front yard garden.  It’s too early in the season to see them sprouting yet, but I look forward to watching them get larger and larger.  Hostas are mainly grown for the leaf coloring and size, even though they do send up tall shoots with tiny flowers on them.

This little one I found last year at the local nursery is called “Mouse Ear”.

mouse ear hosta
Mouse Ear Hosta
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Experimenting With A Climbing Hydrangea

potted hydrangea plants
New Hydrangea Plants -bought in 2012

I don’t have a picture of one, but maybe one day I will – the climbing hydrangea will be something new to play with this summer.

From what I’ve read about the climbing hydrangea (and there are many types – and I am researching which one I may want), is that it is a hardy perennial and gets very large. Anyone wanting a climbing hydrangea will need a very sturdy structure for it to cling to.

I had never thought about trying to grow this type, but my new house has a tall, ugly tree trunk in the side yard. I can only guess that the tree broke off in our horrific ice storm a few years ago and left this part of the trunk standing. Fortunately the tree broke away from the house because it was one very big tree and parts of the top are laying in the woods near the base.

But, I think it may be a good spot to grow a climbing hydrangea. The area will get some sun, but not much and that is my main concern. If climbing hydrangeas need sun, it won’t see much until it begins to climb the tree.

I called a local nursery yesterday to ask if they have the climbing hydrangeas and they do! It’s the House By The Side of The Road in Wilton, NH and it’s the same place I bought my 6 new plants last Spring around Mother’s Day, which is a great time to shop for the newest selection of hydrangeas.

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Mothers Day is The Time to Shop For Hydrangeas

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Finally — it’s hydrangea buying time – almost.  In May it seems that the stores and nurseries get their shipments of hydrangeas in just in time for Mother’s Day. So the weekend and week just before the holiday is an excellent time to shop for hydrangeas.

Last year was the first time I had bought the plants myself.  That’s the Endless Summer blue in my picture and it did give me some very pretty light blue flowers. My yard is still in desperate need of landscaping, but it should be in better shape this year once my plants come into bloom.   Last season I had hoped to find a variety of colors to choose from and I was not disappointed!

Last May I bought six hydrangea plants at The House By The Side of The Road in Wilton, New Hampshire and I only stopped there (at six) because my cart was full!

They offered a wide selection to choose from and all of them looked very lush and healthy.  I expected to pay a lot since hydrangeas are popular flowers, but the pricing was reasonable I thought and ranged from $29.99 to $36.99 each and they were large plants.

hydangeas in pots
Newly purchased hydrangeas in pots

I have a lot of shade in my yard, but fortunately hydrangeas can take the shade – as long as they do get some sun.  So this is the year I will see just how well they took to spending winter in my yard.

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A Visit From the Barred Owl

barred owl
Barred Owl Out Back

One of my winter stories includes a daily visit from this barred owl. It is common in my area of the country and for a while I would see it sitting on a branch near my backyard. The birds still came to eat and didn’t seem worried about it, and even a few squirrels ran around either unaware or unafraid. I was a bit nervous about letting my cats out, but the owl just sat in the tree for hours and didn’t move except to look around.

I had to look up the owl to find out what food it favors and it eats lots of little stuff, like mice and voles, snakes and even crickets. It has been seen taking a cat, but it’s not a normal thing for it to do. I doubt this guy was hunting anyway since it was in the middle of the day when I would see him / her.

Maybe he just wanted a nice branch to rest on.

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The Post-Winter Hydrangea Inspection

spring hydrangea
Bent and Broken Hydrangea Under the Snow

Today it was close to 60 degrees and I got outside to view my gardens – at least the areas that are snow free. Until I can get to the perennials I will have to blog about other gardening things – like starting some vegetable seeds, and buying loam and grass seed!

This blog is forgotten for most of the winter months because I live in New England and there is certainly no gardening going on in my yard at that time of year. I spend my time organizing my online stores and creating new wedding designs for Spring. When my business picks up in Spring and Summer, so does this blog readership, but I get motivated to make time to take photos and write because it’s what I love to do – garden!

I just took this picture today and it shows how my hydrangeas are still weighed down in places by packed snow. I’m happy to see that they are not totally destroyed and I think I may look into a cover for them for next winter. I’d like the A-frame wooden type. I also need nets to put over my Rhododendrons that will not be blooming at all thanks to the many hungry deer that snacked on them.

Hydrangeas are quite hardy and the branches tend to bend under the weight instead of breaking. I may do some trimming once they are uncovered. Any hydrangeas that bloom on old and new wood can be trimmed if needed.

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Winter Snowstorm Photos: Thankful This is Over!

cat shovel snow
NEMO Snowstorm

Skittle is wondering where the deck has gone. This snow came all at once and was around 30 inches.

I had posted this on my other blog but thought I’d share it here while we wait for the warmth of Spring to arrive.