Large-Leaf Shade Perennials

Ferns add softness to a garden.

Few things are more relaxing on a hot summer day than sitting in the shade, sheltered by a tree's canopy and surrounded by lush foliage. The various shades of green, blue, blue-green and even soft yellow provide an oasis of calm. Even if the seating area is a patio some distance from a shade garden, the large, leafy plants still cast their magical, cooling influence. Examples such as hostas, ferns, brunnera, ligularia and acanthus are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8, while caladium and gunnera are perennial only in zones 8 to 10.

The King of Shade Plants: Hosta

Hostas offer so much variety in size, shape, color and texture that many people choose to dedicate whole gardens to them alone. Blue Angel is one of the largest and most dramatic-looking of all hostas; its blue-green leaves can grow into a mound that's 30 inches tall and 72 inches wide. Zounds, a yellow-leafed hosta featuring deeply puckered leaves, contrasts nicely. Finally, bright white leaves and dark-green margins ensures that the variegated White Elephant is always a showstopper.

The Queen of Shade Plants: Ferns

Soft, woodland ferns are beautiful on their own or used as a foil for other, more broad-leaved plants. Their fronds, whether lacy or leathery, plain green or variegated, provide a long season of interest. Lady in Red (Athyrium filix-femina) reveals sultry red stems behind its bright green, lacy fronds; while Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) sports burgundy stems with dark green fronds that are overlaid in olive and silvery-pewter tones. Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) grows 5 to 6 feet tall, angling upward and outward to form a delicate vase shape.

Mid-Size Plants

Fancy-leafed caladiums in white, red, pink, or salmon have heart-shaped leaves ranging from 6 to 24 inches long. Thai Beauty is an especially stunning strain. Four to 8-inch-long leaves grow on the 2-foot-tall Brunnera macrophylla; Jack Frost and Gordano Gold are two popular varieties. Both Bergenia crassifolia and cordifolia have bold, leathery green leaves that often turn bronze during cold weather. A favorite of landscapers, this hardy plant has been nicknamed Elephant Ears.

Large Plants

The Rocket (Ligularia stenocephala) can reach heights of over 7 feet tall, while the flat-topped Othello (Ligularia dentata) boasts large, rounded, dark purple leaves. Gunnera manicata is an aggressive giant with clump-forming, rhubarb-like leaves capable of growing 6 to 8 feet across. Acanthus mollis, or Bear's Breeches, has dark leaves (up to 1 foot long and wide), each different from the next and so deeply cut that they almost dissect into leaflets.

References

• Northern shade gardens
• Perennials with large leaves
• Caladium: Thai Beauty