Does any one know of plants that are good for shady areas in the garden?
While I don't have a bungalow, the house I live in is 50 or more years old,probably around 1940s. I have been trying to find some good shade perennials to plant by the tree next to the front porch.Or some good annuals besides
impatiens.Haven't seen any wishbone flowers, but i may check out a couple of nursey places.
Hard to find stuff for South Texas,and i may need to venture beyond Lowe's and Home Depot.

Hilda,
These are my two favorites for shade:
Heuchera and Hosta.

There are so many colors and textures to both of these plants that I think that you can never have too many.

Lauren

Wow Lauren, that Heuchera is beautiful!

Hilda, I have hostas, ferns and Bleeding Heart in my shady areas. I prefer buying flowering perinneals that are continuos bloomers all summer, but the shade loving ones are usually bought for their colorful leaves.

I buy Impatiens every spring because I love them, especially in mass.

You can't go wrong with hostas. They spread and bloom in shade, the ones below live under two black walnut trees:



We also have numerous ferns and bleeding hearts. My wife likes ajuga as a ground cover in shady areas too.

-Mike

Thanks for the suggestions. I'' look for those two plants Saturday when i go out to look for some plants. Saw some for sale in the Lowe's ad.
But I think I'll go over to the one in Terrel Hills,since they seem to have a bigger plant area than mine.

You all might want to check out The Antique Rose Emporium.They do have a website,but not sure of the webaddress.There is one over near Bracken which i need to check out.
These are old rose types like cabbage,etc. that have been rescued and are being propegated so they won't be lost forever.Many they found at old abandoned houses and cemeteries or were donated,etc.

Hilda -

Don't forget about bulbs ... http://www.oldhousegardens.com/ has lots of heirlooms. If your shade is deciduous, it might be a good option.

Also, check with your extension service and Master Gardeners. They might have suggestions for natives that would do well in a naturalized shade setting for your part of Texas. The big advantage is that you might be able to minimize watering and feeding. A little mulch and you'll be good to go.

Check out a book or two on Japanese gardening. That was a big movement along with the A&C house styles from about 1905-15.

And for what it's worth, the heuchera in the photo is called "Ginger Ale".

Just my two cents. ;-)

Rikki