"Mostly Shady" Flower Picks From Bluestone Perennials

I have a friend on Twitter, @HandyHelen, who has a shade garden she's looking to fill. I thought it might be fun to peruse the Bluestone Perennials website and dream up some shade perennials for her (I'm currently working on some shady beds myself). Helen's vacant garden bed is located close to her house which is a light yellow. 

Here are some of my favorite plants for a shady spot. *With pictures and descriptions pulled from Bluestone's website. You can visit any of the plant pages by clicking on the photos.

Anemone Sylvestris.

 Unlike its fall blooming cousins, Sylvestris shines in the spring. Fragrant, satiny white nodding flowers with yellow anthers above lustrous dense green foliage. Flowers fade to form cottony seed heads. A useful over-planting for spring bulbs of daffodils and tulips.

Astilbe Bressingham Beauty.

 Pure, rich pink plumes of Astilbe Bressingham Beauty sway above lacy deep green foliage. Airy plumes in summer move with the slightest breeze. Does well in planting tubs and mixed containers. Seeds heads can be left on for winter interest.

Aquilegia Lime Sorbet

Lime-green double pom-pom flowers that nod above the standard blue-green foliage. Spurless blooms eventually turn to a pure white. A striking new Columbine, Lime Sorbet has good sized flowers that will illuminate a special corner in your garden.

Digitalis Hyacinth Hybrids Excelsior

Digitalis are a classic of the cottage garden, Foxgloves will wave their spikes in the breeze without staking. Ranging in color from creamy yellow, thru the pinks and roses to maroon. The tall flower spikes with charming tubular flowers add both height and vertical accent to your garden. 

Helleborus Cotton Candy

Winter Jewel Series - Breathtakingly beautiful! Elegant fluffy pink petals with darker veining and edges are a welcome sweet treat in the garden. Easy to grow and low maintenance. Charming and welcome first flowering perennials of spring.

Float flowers in clear bowls for an elegant centerpiece. This collection highlights the most outstanding hand pollinated, very large, double flowered Helleborus strains available.

Hosta Abiqua Drinking Gourd

Heavily textured, huge blue-green leaves cup and twist into a unique display. After a rain, Drinking Gourd absolutely sparkles with small pools of water collected in the deeply cupped foliage. White flowers in early summer. Good slug resistance. 

Iris Snow Queen

Snow Queen has outstanding sparkling white flowers with a touch of yellow at the throat setting this lady above the other Siberian Irises. Blooms profusely atop blue green foliage and is spectacular when planted in masses. Very reliable and trouble free. This variety is known to rebloom.