Shady Foliage Perennials
(Scroll down to see all photos.)
Foliage plants play an important role in the shady garden by providing a
variety texture, shape and color. Above a Japanese painted fern is nestled
against woodruff in bloom.
On the left is Japanese spurge, a good ground cover under trees. In the middle
are May flowers, a spring ephemeral that shows its umbrella-like leaves on a
few months at the start of the growing season. On the right is ligularia. It
shows big leaves with purple undersides and grows into a large specimen plant.
However, it require constant moisture and should be planted with lots of
organic material mixed into the soil .
Here are two lovely foliage plants, pulmonaria (also known a lungwort) on the left and barrenwort on the right. Pulmonaria varieties with white splashes on light green leaves brighten shady areas considerably. The one shown here is the 'Diane Clare' variety (Pulmonaria longiflora) The light green, red-edged foliage on this barrenwort species (Epimedium x rubrum) makes for a great ground cover.