Gardeners often consider it a challenge to plant in the shady parts of their gardens, but home landscapes with trees can bring welcome relief from the increasing summer heat we are experiencing in our region. Join Extension Master Gardener Elaine Mills to learn how to make the most of your shady yard.
Zoom session, recorded April 21 2023
Video of Presentation
Chapter Breaks
Additional Resources
Best Bets: Native Plants for Shade Handout – pdf
Addendum: Native Plants for Shade – pdf
Plant List
Understory Trees (tallest to shortest; *= more deer-resistant)
Others to Consider
Shrubs
Dry to Moist
- Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
- Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
- Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
- Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus)
- Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
- Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
- Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) *
- American Beauty-berry (Callicarpa americana)
Moist to Wet
Woodland Wildflowers
Perennials (dry to wet)
Ferns (as a group are deer-resistant)
Clumping
Slow-spreading
Grasses & Sedges (as a group are deer-resistant)
Cool-season Grasses
Sedges for Dry Shade
Sedges for Moist-to-Wet
Ground Covers (mostly deer-resistant)
Deciduous
Resource List
Suggestion List
- Best Bets: Native Plants for Partially Shady or Shady Locations
- Short Video in Glencarlyn Garden Series
Getting to Know Beautyberries
Reports of Plant Trials at Mt. Cuba
Recorded Presentations
Books for Inspiration
- Darke, Rick. The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. Timber Press, Portland, 2002.
- Darke, Rick & Doug Tallamy. The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden. Timber Press, Portland, 2014.
Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens
- Quarry Shade Garden at Bon Air Park
(includes slide show) - Quarry Shade Garden News
(essays on shade garden plants) - Quarry Shade Garden Brochure
(includes plant list) - Tips for Gardening in the Shade
- Glencarlyn Library Community Garden
- Small Space Garden
- Simpson Park Garden