True , dry shade might be the hardest set of conditions to find plant for . A dandy many interesting alternative do exist — including some plants you might be conversant with but just did n’t eff were candidates for the dreaded ironical refinement . Here are a few of my pet .
See more about plan with dry shade inDry Shade Done just
pic : Juliette Wade / gapphotos.com

Photo : Steve Aitken
Golden lamium
( Lamium maculatum‘Aureum ’ )
Zones:3–9
Size:6 to 8 inches marvelous and 18 to 24 inches wide

Native kitchen stove : Europe , Asia , Africa
This is one of the great “ sociable plant . ” The sweet pointed leaf sport chicken variegation , with the bow spread lightly along the ground . The snapdragon - like flowers look in previous spring and keep to blossom through Robert Frost .
‘Jack Frost’ brunnera
( Brunnera macrophylla‘Jack Frost ’ )
Zones:3–8
Size:12 to 18 inches tall and wide

Native orbit : Europe , Asia
This is really an amazing plant . It continues to give and give , with starry blue forget - me - not flowers in spring and brilliantly silver variegated leaves that really beam in the deepest spook . In office with soft winter , it can be evergreen .
exposure : courtesy of perennialresource.com

picture : Jenny Lilly / gapphotos.com
‘Big Blue’ lily turf
( Liriope‘Big Blue ’ )
Zones:5–10
Size:14 in tall and broad

Native kitchen range : Asia
This grassy perennial is ripe for retaining soil at the bound of planting or mixing into lower terra firma screen . Spikes of blue bloom with a fine grain will finish with Charles Edward Berry on the stems in gloaming .
‘Ann Folkard’ geranium
( Geranium‘Ann Folkard ’ )
Zones:5–8
Size:12 to 18 inches tall and 24 column inch wide

aboriginal range : Europe
The beautiful yellow - unripe leaves of this plant look like jagged maple foliage spread out along red stems . It crawl amid other plants without killing them . superb purple - red flush with impenetrable veining come along throughout summer and into fall .
exposure : Brandi Spade

Photo: Juliette Wade/gapphotos.com
Photo : Michelle Gervais
Taiwan mondo grass
( Ophiopogon formosanum )
Zones:7–9
Size:4 to 6 inches tall and 2 to 3 foot wide

Photo: Juliette Wade/gapphotos.com
A gentle unassuming mondo pot that rise happily without much attention , this is a ho-hum spreader . In spring it bloom like crazy , with capitulum of lily-white flowers coming up through the foliage . Small blue berry seem in fall and are eaten by many overwintering snort .
Autumn fern
( Dryopteris erythrosora )
Size:18 to 24 inches tall and broad
Native image : Eastern Asia

Photo: Steve Aitken
This mythic fern has such amazing colour that from a distance it looks like sweeps of astilbe ( Astilbespp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) . The vertical fronds set out out copper color - colored before turning to brilliant yellow - Au . Pores on the back of the frond are bright red , adding another dimension of colour . It ’s evergreen plant in most zones .
Photo : Jennifer Benner
Photo : DoreenWynja.com

Photo: courtesy of perennialresource.com
Black Scallop bugleweed
( Ajuga reptans’Binblasca ’ )
Zones:4–9
Size:3 to 6 inches tall and 24 inch all-encompassing

Photo: Jenny Lilly/gapphotos.com
Bugleweed has a bad rap . Sometimes it escape and goes where it is n’t want . However , the bigger scale of this variety gives it gravid structure and makes it easier to control . The large runners can be well tear out to keep it in stay . pollinator love its fragrant purple - blue flowers .
Crimson Fans mukdenia
( Mukdenia rossii‘Karasuba ’ )
Zones:4–8
Size:8 to 10 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Photo: Brandi Spade
Native range : China , Korea
I think this plant is most beautiful when sit on the sharpness of pathways . It would be more vigorous with more urine , but it still grows well with substantially less moisture ( a level of mulch is a good theme ) . The leaves are colourful yr - round and impossibly shining .
Susan Calhoun is the possessor of Plantswoman Design in Bainbridge Island , Washington .

Photo: Michelle Gervais
Fine Gardening recommend Products
Berry & Bird Rabbiting Spade , Trenching Shovel
ok horticulture receives a commission for items purchase through tie on this site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising program .

Photo: Jennifer Benner
Buffalo - Style Gardens : Create a Quirky , One - of - a - Kind individual Garden with Eye - Catching Designs
Bee Watering Station with Vivid Flower Design
Get our latest tips , how - to clause , and instructional picture sent to your inbox .

Photo: DoreenWynja.com
Signing you up …
Related Articles
A Deer-Proof Garden Design for Dry Shade
Anatomy of a Dry-Shade Planting
Dry Shade Done Simply: Plant IDs
Dry Shade Done Simply
Join Fine Gardening for a free engage live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned flora diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals expert handler …
When I spotted a especial grit dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few month ago , I know I was in trouble . With a delightful color pattern …
When we only prioritize plants we want over plants our landscape needs , each season is fill with a never - terminate list of chores : pruning , filch , lachrymation , treating , improve , and fertilizing , with …

Subscribe today and save up to 47%
Video
Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat
You must be careful when you enroll the backyard of garden house decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to travel on something , but because you might be dive - flush it by a pair …
4 Midsummer Favorites From a Plant Breeder’s Garden
Episode 181: Plants You Can’t Kill
Episode 180: Plants with Big, Bold Foliage
4 Steps to Remove Invasive Plants in Your Yard
All Access members get more
ratify up for afree trialand get memory access to ALL our regional content , plus the rest of the member - only content library .
set out Free Trial

Get unadulterated site admittance to expert advice , regional content , and more , plus the print magazine .
commence your FREE tryout
Already a member?access
![]()
![]()

![]()
![]()




![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()














![]()

![]()
![]()

![]()
![]()
![]()




