Perfect Perennial Shade Garden

A most perfect understanding of shade, color and height.

I was a little surprised to have been invited to the party. It had been a long day, and I was tired.

“Go, you’ll have a good time,” my mother’s words echoed from decades ago.

As I left the party, camera in hand (my party defense mechanism – no pesky questions when you have your camera) I walked before this home.

I had not noticed it on the way to the party — in a hurry and already late.

Limelight hydrangea appears on the left. Persian shield is the purple plant in the foreground. Hostas are dotted about. I believe that’s a virburnum shrub behind the bench in the right of the image. Virbunums are often allowed to mature into trees and I have seen them in the woods over 30 feet high.

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Limelight Hydrangea also comes in a miniature variety. So many people do not care for the pink and vivid blue hydrangeas. These cream colored hydrangeas create a calming environment reflected in the variegated Iris in the foreground. Generally Iris do best in sun, but you may get a few blooms out of them in the shade. Here the important contribution seems to be the variegated leaves rather than the blooms of the Iris.

White Althea tree in the foreground. Altheas are shrubs with many trunks typically. You can take one trunk and shape the althea into a rree or just prune back several trunks for a tree shape. I find no real difference in the appeal of an althea with one trunk or several. Altheas come in multiple colors including white, cream, pink, rose, magenta, purple and deep purple with an almost blue tint.

The gravel walk with concrete pavers reflect the neutral tones of this perennial shade garden.

The variegated leaves of the Iris are the main attraction here.

Weeping Cedar: Read more on cedars in Dallas landscaping here … The gray tones of the ceder work well in this garden though this homeowner may ultimately wish that cedar were not so close to the home.