How to Design a Shady Flowerbed

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Many gardeners avoid the shaded parts of their property, preferring to leave a lawn there, but a whole variety of flower options are available to beautify this often-neglected spot. Whether you have an abundance of shade or you just want to accent a small area with flowers, following these basic steps to create a refreshing oasis with a shady flowerbed.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step1

Prepare your soil by adding nutrients and organic materials. In general, a good pH balance, equal in acid and alkalinity, provides proper nutrition for shade flowers that produce less chlorophyll than sunny-varieties. Ensure your bed is ready by adding sterile sand, perlite and peat hummus and working it in well before planting.

Step2

Consider installing a soaker system to water your flowers. Shade plants are prone to mold problems, since they don't have direct sunlight to evaporate water from their leaves. A soaker hose, buried just under the soil surface or laid on top and covered with mulch, allows water to reach the roots without drenching the foliage.

Step3

Choose perennials for the back of your bed. Many shade flowers grow slowly and choosing ones that come back year after year on larger root systems will create a taller backdrop for your annuals.

Step4

Design your shady flowerbed to highlight splashes of color amongst the foliage. Foxglove, a biennial, is a top performer in shady flowerbeds, and placed in clumps of 3 or 5, it will quickly add texture and height. Consider hellebore and pulmonaria as 2 more perennial selections that are good performers. Other choices include columbine, astilbe, lily and primrose.

Step5

Reserve the front of your shady flowerbed for showy annuals. Impatiens and begonias are favorites here with their low-growing foliage and their bursts of bright color.

Step6

Visit your local nursery in the spring for more varieties. There are numerous choices when it comes to flowers that thrive in the shade, and every year researchers discover new strains that are more disease- and pest-resistant varieties.