|
 THRIVING IN THE SHADE
By Barbara Elmore,
HCMG
|
| |
|
When you are thinking of
shade plants, it's OK to
think in shades of color
too. These plants like
dark corners or an
afternoon without sun,
and they don't all have
to be one color of
green. Many of them come
in a variety of shapes,
sizes and hues. |
|
This
list includes a few
native Texas plants and
a few that are well
adapted to our climate.
Some are purportedly
deer-resistant. Of
course, deer don't read
our stories, so gardener
beware.
|
|
● Hosta
This old favorite, a
perennial, comes in a
variety of foliage
colors and some
gardeners even coax
pretty blooms. You can
use hostas in a bed or
in a pot, and the green
leaves waving in the
breeze give the
landscape softness and
variety. Warning: slugs
love hostas, too. If you
see holes in the middle
of the leaves, start
looking for the culprit.
Diatomaceous earth
helps. |
|
● Heliotrope
These plants come in
plenty of variety. The
'Atlanta' Heliotrope is
heat-tolerant enough for
Texas if you give it a
little shade. It likes
morning sun but needs
relief in the afternoon.
Your reward is a lovely
contrast between rich
green foliage and deep
violet-blue flowers with
a vanilla scent.
 ●
Coleus You
might deem annuals as
not worth your time.
Some obviously are. Such
is the coleus, its
leaves sporting rich
hues which are
determined by the amount
of shade you give it.
Find one you like and
use it as a border, or
put a bigger, showy
variety in the
background. Propagate by
cuttings or seeds, and
pinch off new shoots to
encourage fuller
foliage. This plant
attracts lots of
attention. |
|
● Cast iron plant
Put it in the shade,
water it enough to build
the root system, and
then just leave it alone
except for watering it
now and then. Aspidistra
elatior works best in a
background and
multiplies slowly. It
needs no trimming and as
the name implies, has
the ability to withstand
hot, dry summers as well
as sudden cold snaps in
the winter. Leaves are
wide, evergreen and
vertical, so keep that
visual in mind when
planting |
|
● Ornamental sweet
potato vine
This plant with
delicate leaves offers
bright green color and
puts a
trellis to good use. The
annual grows well in hot
Texas summers and has
medium water
requirements.
Trim it when it outgrows
its boundary.
● Columbine
This beauty makes many
shade lists because it
offers pretty foliage
that stays green through
the winter and blooms
every spring. Hinckley's
golden columbine is
particularly hardy and
its blooms are a lovely
shade of yellow. The red
columbine, Aquilegia
Canadensis, gets a vote
for not being
particularly inviting to
deer, some say. Others
claim that deer like to
graze on it. |
● Turk's cap
Malvaviscus drummondii.
This flowering
ornamental grows in most
parts of Texas and can
be evergreen in some
areas. It grows to about
4 feet tall and boasts
red, tube-like flowers
to attract hummingbirds
and butterflies. It
grows better and seems
to bloom more in full
sun, but its leaves also
get crinkling mildew in
the sun. |
|
One more tip for
gardening in the shade
or sun: Use compost on
all plants and mulch 3
or 4 inches deep. The
use of compost means you
have to use almost no
fertilizer. |
| |
