need help designing a bed in the middle of lawn (shade)

[Anny]

I want to place a garden bed in the middle of my back yard. A little island of perenials and such. I currently have one Rose and Sharin bush I would like to in corperate into the garden bed island.

My back yard gets a great deal of shade most of the day, with spots of part sun. (it's not to shady, since grass grown there just fine)


I'm thinking of a Jelly Bean shaped Island. I'm not sure how large.

My question is, what are some good plants to plant in a Island bed, that are easy to mantain, for a begining gardener yet still look wonderful.

I'm in Detroit Michigan (if that helps) I think I'm zone 5 or 6
The yard is very flat, and currently just grass.

Thank you so much for any help or plants ideas you can throw my way. this is my first flower/plant garden that isn't a veggie bed or herb garden. So I am a little clueless.


I'm thinking of a Jelly Bean shaped Island. I'm not sure how large.

 

[chickflick]

Go to your nursery and see what they have for shaded areas. Hostas do well.... astillbe, bleeding heart, to name a few. Hosta can be your border plant. Maybe an ornamental grass for height. There are so many plants....I love going just to look at all the beautiful plants. Is there a Bordine's close to you? If not, just go to your local nursery and get ideas.

 

[patandchickens]

Make sure you really *want* an island bed in the middle of the yard -- most often they make the yard look smaller (shorter) than it is, and if the bed is central it can look kinda plopped-down and out of place. A 'bleb' out from the side property line, or an island nestled towards one corner or another, often looks better. Depends entirely on your property and your tastes of course

As far as size, take a garden hose out there and use it as an outlining tool to play with different size, shape and location of bed. You can stick a shovel or stake into the ground to represent a small tree, and a wheelbarrow or balled-up tarp to represent a bush, to help you envision what it would look like. Make sure to look at it from all angles, and consider what views will be blocked when things grow bigger.

For plant choice:

If the bed is actually pretty much all shaded (despite passing flecks of sun), at least for much of the summer, then Solomon's Seal is a really nice architectural-looking plant. There are taller and shorter varieties, and variegated ones if you like that. Astilbe has nice bright plumey flower spikes in early summer. Bleeding heart would do well if the soil stays moist (not wet) and there's little wind. Most perennial geraniums are easy to grow, bright-flowered (especially if you like magenta ) and some flower for a fair while. Of course there's hostas, too. If you want more color, buy begonia bulbs in February, start them indoors in containers, and put them outside in containers (don't forget to water!) in the bed for color all summer.

If the bed gets at least 4 hrs of sunlight during the day (and this needs to be true for most of the summer, not just at some point) then you will get decent flowering from daylilies, especially the older cultivars. Foxgloves would also do well, except the common ones are biennials so you would have to buy them for at least 2 yrs running and then learn to weed *around* the seedlings if you want them in future years. Astrantia (masterwort) and most of the filipendulas are not super showy, but do well in part-shade and are nice if you look at them close up. Coralbells tolerate a considerable bit of shade and will bloom for a long time if deadheaded. A number of other perennials will tolerate a fair bit of shade if they're otherwise happy, but it depends a lot on exactly how much sun and for how much of the summer.

Good reliable groundcovers for shade or part-shade include sweet woodruff, lamium (deadnettle), lily of the valley, or bugle (ajuga). Be aware that all of these may try to invade the lawn; mowing will discourage all but bugle. If you plant bugle you'd better not mind if it takes up permanent residence among the grass DO NOT be tempted to plant goutweed, not even the variegated variety, since although it is hardy and very very durable and actually rather attractive, it is also an ineradicable weed that will get into your lawn and your other beds and you will never, NEVER get rid of it. Just don't do it

You might consider kind of mentally (or on paper) working out the whole bed, but only planting some elements of it this year -- fill in the empty areas with mulch, or annuals such as impatiens, or an easy-to-remove groundcover such as Lamium. Then you can gradaully plant in more things in future years -- not only does this leave room for future playing around but it leaves room for you to benefit from what you learn about what plants do/don't enjoy that spot and thus what the real conditions are like.

Good luck and have fun,

Pat