by Sue Watts
We live in such a hot and humid place that shade gardens can provide a welcome respite. I know that during the summer months, my favorite place to be in the South Carolina Botanical Garden is the cove forest habitats along the Natural Heritage Trail. You can recreate this type of habitat in your own garden—if you have a shady spot. As with any gardening endeavor, ensuring you have the right conditions for your plants is a must. Once you know your soil type, moisture levels, and pH, the fun starts: choosing plants. (Tip: Get a Clemson Extension soil test to help with this.)
Photo Credit: Sue Watts
For year-round interest and a textured background to other plants, evergreen species are an excellent choice for the shade garden. Try the robust Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) and the more delicate fronds of ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron). The former thrives in organically rich, moist soils; the latter prefers drier, rockier locations. In dry spots, the flowering evergreen pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) will spread via rhizomes across the forest floor and produce tiny, fragrant white flowers in the summer.
Spring is an exciting time in the woodland garden, as spring ephemerals and other early-flowering plants begin to emerge.
Photo Credit: Sue Watts
One of the earliest—and one of my favorites—is trout lily (Erythronium umbilicatum). Their dappled leaves provide interest from early February until the trees leaf out. To me, their beautiful yellow nodding flowers are a lovely bonus. These flowers are an important source of nourishment for our early-emerging native bees, including the specialist trout lily mining bee, as well as bumble bees and sweat bees. Bee flies and pollen-eating beetles also visit them.
Foamflower (Tiarella austrina) is another favorite that blooms a little later in the season, from late April to early May. The flower spikes create a visual “foamy mist” when planted in drifts, while also providing nectar for pollinators.
Photo Credit: Sue Watts
Later in the season, bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) delivers a similar look to foamflower but on a much grander scale. This deciduous shrub grows 8–12 feet tall and 8–15 feet wide, and it will sucker to form colonies. When in bloom, it’s show-stopping—covered in tall panicles of small white tubular flowers, each with many protruding pinkish-red anthers at the ends of long stamens.
The options for shade gardening are exciting. There are so many native plants to add texture, color, structure, and seasonal interest to your garden. When you create a shade garden with native plants, you’re not just creating a haven for yourself—you’re also supporting local wildlife and increasing biodiversity.
Photo Credit: Sue Watts
