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Flower people - gather here

CharmedPamCharmedPam member
First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
in Chit Chat
First off - let me preface this by saying, I'm not a garden person.  Vegetables or plants or anything else you can grow.

There's a shaded area in my backyard that would be perfect for a tranquility garden.  I already purchased a fountain and some hammock chairs from amazon.  So now I want to get some stones and build up a flower garden and put in some garden statues and stuff near the fountain.  I do LOVE tulips.  I envision tulips but this thing is well shaded and there is no time of day that it sees sun.

a) are tulips good for shade?
b) if not, what type of flowers will thrive in shade?

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Re: Flower people - gather here

  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited June 2017
    What zone are you in?

    ETA: and what's your soil like?
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  • CharmedPamCharmedPam member
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    not sure how to answer the soil question, but i'm in the midwest (Illinois).  I'll more than likely get bagged soil since I want a raised stone thing-a-ma-jig.

    Did I mention I'm not much of a planter? :)

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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
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    edited June 2017
    LOL! How much space do you have? ETA I don't mean exact dimensions, but approximate. There are some big plants and smaller plants I'm thinking of depending on the size of your space.
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  • CharmedPamCharmedPam member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    yeah, it's not a huge huge space I'd say 7 ft wide and maybe 10-12 feet long (after you take away our space for the hammock chairs)

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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited June 2017
    I would do:

    BACK: annabelle hydrangea (that type specifically) in one of the back corners, astilbe along the back, an ostrich fern or bleeding heart in the other back corner,
    MIDDLE: hostas in front of the fern/bleeding heart and lenten rose in front of the hydrangea 
    FRONT: japanese painted ferns and coral bells in front.

    Leave 8-12 inches in front for annuals (flowers you plant every year) to bring in color. All the stuff listed above come back year after year and are very easy to care for.

    ETA When buying hostas (and any other plant, really), be sure to check the mature size and plan accordingly. They can be anywhere from 12-18" to 6' in diameter and most mature after a couple of years. It's tempting to fill the space right away, but if you do that, you'll end up with an overcrowded garden in just a couple of years.
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  • CharmedPamCharmedPam member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    thank you!!! so no tulips? :(

    I love some of those suggestions.  Especially the coral bells.

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  • CharmedPamCharmedPam member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    oh.  I just read.  Tulips love the sun.

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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Tulips are pretty forgiving, but they won't do very well if it's super shaded. If you love tulips, put some in pots in a sunny place and then move the pots to your garden if you're going there to hang out.
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  • CMGragainCMGragain member
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    edited June 2017
    If you like bright color, try impatiens.  They do need watering.
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  • WinstonsGirlWinstonsGirl member
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    I ditto hostas. They do quite well in the shade and usually throw up some flowers in late Jule/early August. I can't help too much more though as most of our yard is sunny. 

    I dont know about lilac bushes, but if they do ok in the shade, they have a beautiful smell which could be nice too. Ours just finished blooming

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  • missfrodomissfrodo member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper

    WinstonsGirl said:

    I ditto hostas. They do quite well in the shade and usually throw up some flowers in late Jule/early August. I can't help too much more though as most of our yard is sunny. 

    I dont know about lilac bushes, but if they do ok in the shade, they have a beautiful smell which could be nice too. Ours just finished blooming


    Our neighbors have a lilac that was planted in too much shade, and it never flowered.  

    For bleeding hearts, just make sure you're shopping in the shade section of your garden center, because there are some shade-loving and some sun-loving varieties.  I have a sort of yellow-leaved one that's HUGE now and loves our little shady spot.  
    For annuals (they flower all summer if you keep them dead-headed, but they don't come back next year), impatiens are a good short plant.  If you want something that hangs/droops, fuchsias are beautiful and they attract hummingbirds.  Be warned, though: If your area gets no sun whatsoever, you're less likely to get flowers.  Even shade-loving plants need a few hours a day, preferably the cool morning sun as opposed to the hot afternoon sun.
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  • MairePoppyMairePoppy mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited June 2017
    What is your garden shaded by? We have a garden that is shaded by maple trees. Before the leaves open in the spring, there is enough dappled sun for tulips, daffodils, snow drops and scilla. Once those leaves open, it's deep shade. The hostas, bleeding hearts, lily of the valley, and floxgloves do okay, but I think they'd benefit from an hour or two of sun any time of day. The shade garden is being taken oven by fern and pachysandra that was planted long ago and we can't seem to eliminate. Impatiens are annuals and add bright color through the growing season, while the others do their thing and die back till the next year.

    edit - spelling

                       
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  • TrixieJessTrixieJess member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Hostas love shade. We have two under a tree on the North side of our house. Solomon's Seal, Bluebells, mint, lily of the valley, all do well in shade. 
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  • CharmedPamCharmedPam member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Thanks guys!  This is all very helpful to me ;)

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