Shade Gardens: What You Need to Know

Columbine in landscaping

By Lynsey Johnston
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If hostas are the only plant that comes to mind when you think about a shade garden, prepare to expand your mind with a list of plants that not only add beauty to your landscape, but help regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function all within your own backyard!  
1. Do your research.
When you are ready to purchase plants for your garden, be sure to focus on the italicized botanical name to ensure you are selecting the correct species.
If you enjoy watching songbirds, insects, or other wildlife in your gardens, you can plant host species that are or attract their food source. A great resource to learn more about attracting wildlife to your yard is Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy. You can find this book and more in our tool loan library! 


2. Shop local.
Many of the plants listed below are available at various local plant sales, and at our local to Hamilton County native plant nursery, Native Plants Unlimited. Click here for a larger list of where to buy native plants.
Check out the Indiana Native Plant Society for a more exhaustive list of shade plant possibilities for our area! Indiana Native Plant Finder Tool - Indiana Native Plant Society
Many of the plants listed above will be available at the Hamilton County Master Gardener Plant Sale on May 17 & 18th and at our local to Hamilton County native plant nursery, Native Plants Unlimited.  

Here is a list of shade of herbaceous shade plants and shrubs to help you get started!

Plants for shade:

• Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
• Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)
• Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
• Eastern Star Sedge (Carex radiata)
• Jacobs’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)

Shrubs for shade:

• Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
• Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
• Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)
• Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
• Spice bush (Lindera benzoin)

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