Perennial Shade Plant Suggestions Needed

[Carol Dee]

Thread count in sheets is very important. Before having washer and dyer at country house I had to bring home both laundry and garbage. I got the bags mixed up and threw a $600 bed set from Bloomingdale out. I cried when I realize next day what I did.

 

[ducks4you]

Gosh, I'm sorry. I guess white bags might have made a difference. I ended up hitting the Spring uber super sale online at Bergner's (Carson Pirie Scott, MW store, local affilliate) and got two full sets of Queen sized sheets for ~$30.00 each. I could not bring myself to buy ONE fitted queen sheet for $40.00 locally, especially since the rest of the set had wear. They are at least 250 thread count and NOT microfiber, which wears out pretty fast.
About 10 years ago I was given 7 sets of sheets and I had two sets that needed replacement fitted sheets. They cost between $5.00-$10.00 then, and I justified buying them. I still use them.
No sense in replacing things that aren't broke!

 

[ducks4you]

Started the great cleanup. We filled 7 super large yard waste bags on Sunday with all assortment of sticks and small limbs. Some of the limbs were so old an brittle you could snap them in two across your knee.
DD's are considering buying the same kind of fire pit that I have,
https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...heating/incindio-fire-pit/p-1444422604896.htm
since there is a large (12' x 12', maybe?) cement slab right in the middle of the back yard. I can see small limbs from a big tree that overhangs, that I would pull down if they weren't so high. They have trees that like to "shed", so a pit would help keep things clean. Just need to check the burning ordinance in their small town. Everybody seems to think that they CAN burn, the county says that they can, but you don't want to break any town laws. I'll give you an update.

 

[Carol Dee]

@ducks4you it is a good idea to check town ordnances, Here we can burn leaves and dry grass clipping Saturday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No burning larger tree trimmings and rubbish. Pleasure fires in a fire pit or fire ring are always allowed. (You will not believe what people burn in those! Trying to skirt the law.) Lots of wet smoldering stuff and after 5 even on actual burn days. Such a nuisance if smoke causes breathing issues. And of course no one enforces it anyway.

 

[ducks4you]

Nothing exciting today, just that I have fixed one bed and took some pictures. It is adjacent to the one car garage, about 17 foot long, about 1 foot wide. I dug out and moved around 6-8" of the dirt first. The soil isn't really bad, like I thought it was, so I just moved it to another part of the yard, 5 wheelbarrow's worth.

Then I dug a little bit deeper and smoothed it out.
I raked a layer of leaves on top,

then I emptied four 50 pound grain bags worth of 1yo stall leavings/compost that I had tilled and bagged up in the morning.

We threw some onions in the bed, but the real planting begins there next weekend when we screw the scaffolding to the garage and plant the sugar snap peas!

 

[KD_Olive]

I so enjoy reading y'alls posts.. While I didn't read all 16 pages, I did get a good laugh out of starting off reading about shade plants and winding up discussing sheets, lol! Anyway, I wanted to suggest Plectranthus Mona Lavendar if no one has already. A friend gave me a little today and I've been researching it. It supposedly does well in shade... Maybe someone with more experience than me can chime in about it. Here's a link to an extension site. Good luck! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/homehort/a.../plectranthus-mona-lavender-gardening-to-dos/

 

[KD_Olive]

There are one or two plants that I AM going to buy, like the Passion Flower.
http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Passiflora incarnata
I had no idea that it was native!
http://theherbgardener.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-grow-passionflower.html
...or easy to grow.

This warms my heart! Growing up in Alabama, Passion Flower vines grow wonderfully in the red clay common in this area. I had no idea it was even sold in stores, we always considered it a weed and pulled it from the yard! Here in AL, it's very invasive and grows and climbs like crazy. But the blooms are so intricate and beautiful! It actually produces a green round fruit. As a child, my grandmother and I would take walks in the woods and she would teach me all about the different things we'd see growing along the path. What I wouldn't do to have one of those walks with her again! Anyway, she referred to this flower as "apricot vine" and she would eat the "apricots" as we walked..She would tell me how growing up during the depression she and her sisters would be hungry and go into the woods looking for it to eat.. They're a round green fruit with a fleshy white middle and white seeds. Good luck with it, just keep an eye on it and don't let it take over.

 

[Nyboy]

LOL @KD_Olive You never know where a thread might end up, does make it exciting.

 

[April Manier]

I didn't read all 16 pages, so sorry for the repeats:
Arbutalon comes in some pretty colors. Monkshood is a lovely blue. Not sure if Rhodies make it there? If you throw Johnny Jump up seed in, it will volunteer every year. Skullcap goes anywhere and is great for tea. Black Cohos likes that kind of exposure. Sweet violets and bleeding hearts.

 

[Carol Dee]

I didn't read all 16 pages, so sorry for the repeats:
Arbutalon comes in some pretty colors. Monkshood is a lovely blue. Not sure if Rhodies make it there? If you throw Johnny Jump up seed in, it will volunteer every year. Skullcap goes anywhere and is great for tea. Black Cohos likes that kind of exposure. Sweet violets and bleeding hearts.

HELLO April, we have not seen much of you lately. Thanks for the ideas as I also have a shady area that needs attention.