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Hosta
Hostas are the king of the shade garden and for good reason — they are super easy to grow in any degree of shade, they multiply and live for decades in USDA zones 3 to 9 and are forgiving if the soil gets a little dry now and then. The biggest challenge some gardeners face with hostas is that deer and rabbits love them too. However, by keeping them protected with animal repellent from spring to fall, it is possible to grow hostas in gardens where these critters are present.
If you think you’ve grown enough hostas, consider that there are more than 7,000 unique registered varieties that range from just a few inches tall to six feet across. The image shown here is a gorgeous tapestry of many of the different colors and patterns you’ll find, but is just a drop in the bucket when you consider how many more you could collect.
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Indian Pinks
Here’s a native wildflower that has been around for centuries but is just now becoming more widely available at garden centers. That’s because it has been notoriously difficult to grow from seed, but now that stronger cultivars like ‘Little Redhead’ are here, it is easier than ever before to find and grow.
Commonly known as Indian pinks, Spigelia thrives in warm, humid climates in USDA zones 5 to 9, where it prefers moist, rich soil and little root competition from neighboring plants. It has some of the showiest blossoms of any wildflower, and you can bet that hummingbirds won’t miss them when they are in bloom.
Upright clusters of scarlet red, tubular flowers with a bright yellow star at the top bloom in late spring to early summer at the tips of each stem. If you grow it in bright shade to part sun, you’ll see more blooms and the plant will form a denser clump.
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Lenten Rose
These true harbingers of spring will amaze you with their flower buds which appear in the earliest days of the season shortly after the snow melts. Blooming in shades of pink, purple, yellow and white, in either single or double flower forms, they are some of the first plants to be pollinated by bees. Thankfully, they are not favored by deer or rabbits.
Lenten roses (Helleborus) are shade loving, evergreen perennials with large, umbrella-shaped leaves that emerge fresh each spring once the flowers are spent. Trim away their old, tattered foliage in late winter so that they won’t distract from the delightful flower show.
People all around the world grow Lenten roses in their shade gardens and woodlands where they slowly spread by seed if they are happy. They are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. Though they can bloom in any degree of shade, they can also handle some sun if the soil stays moist.
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