Shady spots in garden can yield color

You would think, with winter not long gone, that green would be enough color to satisfy any gardener. Not so. Everybody already is hungry for reds and yellows and blues. And gardeners with shade are no exception.

The palette of flower colors for plants that tolerate or enjoy shade is admittedly more limited than that for plants growing in full sunlight.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that flower in the shade.

Just look at what plants bring color to some of our forests. White blossoms of flowering dogwood and juneberry trees punctuate and breathe life into drab forests early in the season. Later in the season, your eyes could feast upon the pinkish white blossoms of shrubby wild blueberries or mountain laurels. Near ground level, you might see white flowers of great Solomon's seal dangling from their arching stems, or, even closer to the ground, the sky-blue flowers of Virginia bluebells or the white or red flowers of trillium. The dazzling red of cardinal flower is a show-stopper.

Of course, impatiens is the workhorse of most shade gardens. A few other annuals, such as forget-me-not, browallia, begonia, and monkey flower, also grow well in shade. Some other shrubs include rhododendrons, both native and exotic, as well as kerria, Oregon grapeholly and buckeye. Shade-tolerant herbaceous perennials include globe flower, astilbe, and lily-of-the-valley.

Where shade is too dense for lawn, but you still want a uniform blanket over the ground, grow a shade-tolerant ground cover. Flowering ones include bergenia, barrenwort, Bethlehem sage, and the elegant but common vinca.

Bethlehem sage, with its gray-mottled leaves, is a reminder that color in a shaded garden could also come from leaves. Coleus and caladium are two plants -- annuals, in this case -- whose leaves could provide splashy colors in shade.

By now, it should be apparent that a shady garden need not lack color.

More important than just getting color, though, is what colors you seek, and how you combine them.

Do not splash colors haphazardly into a shade garden. A "riot of color" or too many yellows and oranges are more suited to the carnival-like atmosphere of full sunlight. The coolness and dampness of shade are best at creating lush greenery. Use other colors to add a cheerful note, rather than to try to create the equivalent of a sunny flower bed, in the shade.