Dry Shade Gardens
Creating Colorado Woodland Shade Gardens
Hilltop neighborhood woodland shade garden created by Honeywood Garden Design.
I love woodland shade gardens and I don’t get an opportunity to create them as often as I would like because most Colorado landscapes are in full sun. But, in our older neighborhoods with mature overstory, shade is a defining and important part of our urban landscapes.
Shady gardens in our neighborhoods create mini microclimates that aid in regulating urban heat domes. They also provide much needed habitat and reprieve for birds, squirrels, and insects in the thick summer heat. Planting densely in woodland shade gardens builds soil health and sequesters carbon in spaces that are usually covered in struggling grass or boring mulch.
Secret shade garden created by Honeywood Garden Design.
Design by Honeywood Garden Design.
With the right plants in the right place, we can create gorgeous shade gardens in Colorado. The key is using resilient shade plants adapted to our climate that are, most importantly, noninvasive. Sometimes we can even sneak part shade/part sun plants into some areas of our shade gardens because of our intense mile high sun.
Even a dry shade garden can be lush and green when using a variety of colors and textures. Texture is key to a woodland garden. After the early season pop of color fades, the rich plant layers hold the beauty in place all the way to fall. And, once your garden is fully established, watering can be turned down. Keep in mind, a shade garden will require more supplemental watering than a full native xeric garden but it sure beats water thirsty turf grass or soil smothered in landscape fabric and mulch!
Denver woodland shade garden created by Honeywood Garden Design.
Here is my list of some of my favorite and reliable dry shade plants:
Yellow Columbine, Aquilegia chrysantha
Coral Bells, Heuchera sanguinea 'Splendens'
Redleaf Bergenia, Bergenia crassifolia 'Winterglut'
Snowdrop Windflower, Anemone sylvestris
Grape-leaved Anemone, Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima'
Lady’s Mantle, Alchemilla mollis
Blue Native Harebells, Campanula rotundifolia
Biokovo Cranseblil, Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
Rozanne Cransebill, Geranium ‘Gerwat’ Rozanne
Germander, Teucrium chamaedrys
Plumbago, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Speedwell, CRYSTAL RIVER®, Veronica CRYSTAL RIVER®
Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum
Prairie Winecups, Callirhoe involucrata (part sun/shade)
Angelina Stonecrop, Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' (part sun/shade)
Hummingbird Trumpet, Epilobium canum garrettii ORANGE CARPET® (part sun/shade)
Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Penstemon strictus (part sun/shade)
Sunset Hyssop, Agastache rupestris (part sun/shade)
Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea (part sun/shade)
Red Valerain, Centranthus ruber (part sun/shade)
Catmint Walker’s Low, Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low' (part sun/shade)
Appalachian Sedge, Carex appalachica
Korean Feather Reed Grass, Calamagrostis brachytricha (part sun/shade)
Compact Oregon Grape Holly, Mahonia aquifolium ‘Compacta’
Native Chokeberry, Prunus virginiana (part sun/shade)
Colorado Manzanita, Arctostaphlyos x coloradensis
Honeywood Garden Design helps your create and build regenerative landscapes.
