SHIFTING ROOTS

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17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade

January 10, 2021

Shade is the enemy of every beginner gardener.  It seems like your eye is drawn to every sun loving plant in the greenhouse and there are no exciting options for your shady perennial flower garden.

I’ve compiled 17 shade-loving perennials that are easy to grow in your landscape. These are the perennials I know and love in my zone 3 shade garden, and tend to be the best plants for shade here, but they should work well for you up to at least zone 5 or 6.

Disclaimer: I garden in USDA Hardiness Zone 2/3 and my advice and plant selections are based on my experience in that growing zone.  The good news is that unless you live in the Arctic or the Desert, my picks should work for you!  Please let me know in the comments if you have any plant suggestions for your particular growing area.

All Shade Isn’t Created Equal

While a tag on a plant may claim to tolerate full shade, even shade loving plants like some morning or evening sunshine.

Will the shade plant live in true full shade?  Of course.  But it won’t thrive, or grow as fast as you were hoping. If you are trying to create a flower bed in an area of your yard that never sees the light of day, you are better off to put in a rock garden, deck, or some sort of hardscape.

You can also purchase large annual shade flowers for a hit of colour in a full shade spot.  They won’t get much larger than their initial size, but you will have blooms all summer long.

Finally, if you have lots of landscaping to do in shade, you might like these posts:

  • 32 Perennials, Groundcover, and Shrubs to Grow Underneath a Tree.
  • 22 Shade Loving Annual Flowers
  • 23 Vegetables and Berries That Will Thrive in Part Shade.

Now, on to the best shade perennials!

Astilbe

A medium-sized plant that comes in lovely shades of white, pink, red, and purple.  Very hardy summer blooming perennial that likes moist to well-drained soil.

Bergamot (Bee Balm)

Bergamots also come in white, pink, red, and purple, and will tolerate all light conditions.  It can spread out easily, so make sure you remove any unwanted plants every year.

As the name suggests, bee balm attracts bees, so plant it to encourage pollination.

Want to know the 28 Most-Regretted Flowering Perennials?  Check them out in the link!

Bleeding Heart

Bleeding hearts hold a special place in my heart.  My family has a plant that was my great-grandma’s and everyone in the family has gotten part of it over the years whenever it needed to be divided.

This stunner comes in pink or white and blooms from late Spring to Early Summer. Bleeding heart is a very beginner-friendly plant, that is easy to grow.

Daylily

Orange daylilies (like the one pictured) get a bad rap for taking over a yard if not maintained.

Any other colour of day lily is more well behaved.  I highly recommend picking out something unique from your local greenhouse or a seed catalogue.

They flourish in any kind of light condition, although they may not bloom if they have too much shade.

16 Shade-loving perennial plants for your next flower bed.Click To Tweet

False Solomon’s Seal

A Spring-blooming plant with lovely green foliage and delicate white blooms.

Hosta

Hostas come in so many beautiful shades and variations of green, you’ll find it hard to choose just one!  A great shade plant for almost any soil condition.

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Goat’s Beard

Photo credit: https://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselectorimages/detail/WSY0034648_3656.jpg

Goat’s beard comes in all sizes and looks lovely paired with astilbes or underneath a tree.

Goutweed (Bishop’s Weed)

Need a plant that you can’t kill that will grow anywhere?  Goutweed is for you.  Just be warned, it can easily spread where you don’t want it, so either plant it in a contained area or be willing to dig out rogue plants every year.

Goutweed is hated so much by flower gardeners that it is the most hated perennial on my list of most regretted perennial flowers.

Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra)

Japanese Spurge or Pachysandra is a good ground cover for underneath a tree.  Be warned, it is has a habit of spreading and sends out lots of runners.

Related: 53 Most-Loved Flowering Perennials

Laminum (Dead Nettle)

Laminum comes in many colours and makes an attractive groundcover under a tree.  It can be invasive, but the flowers provide an important source of nectar for bees.

My favourite colour of Laminum is the one that is pink and blue–so stunning!

Ligularia

A lovely, tall plant with pretty yellow flowers.  Keep it in part shade for more height and blooms.

Lily of the Valley

One of the first Spring flowers to bloom in the garden.  The delicate white flowers have a beautiful scent.  Lily of the Valley makes a great ground cover underneath a tree, but can be invasive if unwanted new growth is allowed to grow.

Think you can't have a beautiful flower garden in the shade? Here's 15+ plants you'll want to growClick To Tweet

Ostrich Fern

Many of my readers love ostrich ferns, but they are my most-hated perennial.

Why?

Try pulling out over 300 of them in your backyard.

No, I’m not exaggerating.

I’m sure I’ll still have tons this Spring.  Anyone want a fern?

Purple Bellflower (Campanula)

The purple bellflower will grow in almost any light or soil condition.  Avoid the variety shown if at all possible, unless you have a patch of soil that everything else dies in. (If I sound negative, it’s because it’s my second most hated perennial that I’m currently doing battle with in my backyard.)

The clumping purple bellflower is much better behaved and is beautiful in floral arrangements.

Curious about my backyard? Check out the transformation we made this year.

Saxifrage (Rockfoil)

Saxifrage works best in rock gardens or at the edge of a flower bed.  There are a huge variety of colours to chose from, you’ll want to grow them all! In my neighbourhood, everyone seems to grow the yellow variety and the blooms last for quite a long time.

You can use it as a ground cover or grow it between rocks in a pathway.

Put mulch over the plant in winter to ensure it survives.

Plan the Perfect Garden

Get your free Garden Planner and worksheets and start creating the garden of your dreams.

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Siberian Bugloss

Siberian Bugloss is an excellent ground cover under trees.  You’ll want to try the Jack Frost Variety for it’s variegated leaves and delicate blue blossoms.

Solomon’s Seal

A beautiful plant for a woodland garden.  It does well as a ground cover or in a flower bed.  Beware the berries, as they are poisonous to animals and children.

Looking for a couple of annual shade flowers to fill in the spots while your perennials are getting established?  Here’s 22 flowers you’ll love.

Whether you’re looking for a ground cover or something stunning for a front yard flower bed, there’s sure to be a flower in this list for you.

Have any suggestions?  I’d love to hear them!  Please make sure you state your location and hardiness zone if you know it.  (I’m writing from zone 2/3.)


WANT TO CREATE A PERENNIAL GARDEN THAT CONSTANTLY BLOOMS FROM SPRING TO FALL, WITHOUT CONSTANT WORK? HERE’S HOW. . . 

Everything you need to easily create your own perennial garden with constant blooms. You’ll get an easy to follow system, along with 5 templates and 5 done-for-you plans, plus fun bonuses.

LEARN MORE HERE!SaveSave


Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

10 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Flowers, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: Flowers, perennials, plants, shade

10 Easy to Grow Vegetables for Beginners (Plus 5 You’ll Want to Avoid)

March 12, 2020

Planting your very first garden can be both exciting and scary.  You can’t wait to eat fresh vegetables you’ve grown yourself, but you soon realize that there’s so much about gardening you just don’t know.  Add in a few incidents with killing houseplants and it’s enough to make a beginner gardener throw in the trowel.

Don’t give up before you get started.  You can grow vegetables as a beginner and be successful at it too.  As long as you have a location with 6 or more hours of light a day, are willing to add some compost to your soil, and you water regularly, you can grow a vegetable garden this year.

I’ll show you the 10 easiest vegetables to grow, plus 3 I think you should avoid your first year.

P.S. All the vegetables you see in this post are ones I have personally grown in my own garden.

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

19 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening Tagged: beginner gardening, Gardening, gardening tips, growing vegetables, how to garden, plant a garden, plants, vegetable gardening

DIY Seed Starting from Your Window

January 14, 2020

When I was a little girl my Grandmother started marigolds every winter in a little modified milk garden planter with her seeds from last year’s crop.  I loved those marigolds in her brick planters and still think of her every time I see a marigold.

You really don’t need a grow light or other expensive equipment to start seeds. Seed starting from your window is relatively easy, but there are some limitations.

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

3 Comments
Filed Under: DIY, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: Flowers, Gardening, germinate, plants, seed, seed starting, seeds, south window, Vegetables, window

Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening for the Complete Beginner

February 2, 2019

Do you want to start a vegetable garden, but literally have no clue? Do your eyes glaze over when you start to do your research but it gets too complicated? What are zones? How do you prep your soil? What should I plant? How do I keep it from dying?

You’ve come to the right place. In this post I’m going to give you a plan for making your own garden that has a good chance of success, all in simple language.


[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

14 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Gardening, Projects Tagged: beginner, best plants for beginners, choosing plants, Garden, Gardening, hardiness zones, planting, plants, when to plant, zones

5 Things You Can Do this Fall to Save Money in the Garden next Spring

September 24, 2018

We’ve all been there.  Promising ourselves that this is the year we will stay on budget in the garden centre.  But $100 soon becomes $200 and then you realize that you need “just one more thing” and suddenly your best attempts at not spending too much quickly spiral into $500 on bedding plants and seeds in the blink of an eye.

So what’s a gardener to do?

Here’s 5 ways this Fall you can make a dent in your gardening budget next Spring.

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Plant Heirlooms and Save the Seeds

The easiest way to save money in the garden is by saving seeds.  Sure, you’ll have an initial investment, but after that your cost is essentially zero.  Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, lettuce, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers are all really easy vegetables to start with.

When you do buy your initial seeds, make sure you get heirloom, open pollinated varieties and not hybrids.  If you plant a seed saved from a hybrid vegetable, you’ll get a plant that resembles one of the “parents” that went into making the hybrid, not the hybrid itself.

Not sure where to buy seeds?  Here’s a list of Canadian companies, and one for the US.

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Collect Seeds From Easy to Save Annuals

Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to spend a fortune to make your front yard look amazing?  Save seeds from marigolds, sunflowers, nasturtiums, zinnias, calendula, and more for an easy and cheap flower garden next year.  Or plant them amongst your vegetable garden for some wonderful companion planting benefits.

Divide and Share Overgrown Perennials

More established gardeners are often happy to share perennials plants that have grown a bit too big for their intended space.  The parent plant often ends up revived the next growing season and you end up with some free plants for your yard.  Win!

Before you get too excited, you might want to read over this list of plants that can quickly turn into a nightmare in zone 2 and 3, and this one for all the warmer zones.

Favourite plant on the list?  You can still plant it!!  Just know that if you’re not willing or able to maintain it every year, you’ll quickly have an overgrown mess on your hands.

Take Cuttings of Annual Plants and Grow them Indoors Over Winter

For years my mother has taken cuttings of her favourite coleus and german ivy plants and grown them over the winter.  Then, in Spring, she takes multiple cuttings from those indoor plants and has enough plants that she doesn’t need to buy them from the nursery.  Although lets be real. . . a new variety or two always makes it’s way into the cart.

How do you take a cutting?  It’s quite simple.  Cut the plant so that it has a bit of a stem.  Put the stem in water until it grows roots, usually in around a week.  Transfer your newly rooted cuttings to a pot with dirt.  Put them in a spot with adequate sunlight, water every few days, and repeat the process in spring.

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Get Serious About Composting

Don’t throw away those kitchen scraps and old leaves!  They are the perfect ingredients for making a nutrient-rich compost for your soil.

If you’ve never composted before, know that composting can be a bit of a waiting game (unless you vermicompost or hot compost).  Your home compost will need to sit a couple of months and sometimes up to a year to be fully ready to use in your garden.  The time depends on a couple of factors, such as how frequently (if at all) you turn it, and if you live in an area that has extremely cold winters or not.

If you live someplace where the whole winter is below freezing, the composting process will stop for the winter and re-start in the spring.

Check with your municipality if they have a compost program.  Some cities offer free compost to their citizens!!

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

4 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Saving Money Tagged: compost, flower, frugal, Garden, Gardening, perennial, plants, propagate, save money, tips, vegetable

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • Protected: 5 Easy Ways to Increase Pollination in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Bloom Times: What Cut Flowers Grow When in Zone 3
  • The Best Vegetables & Flowers to Start with Winter Sowing
  • 21 Cut Flowers to Grow in Part Shade
  • The Best Grow Lights for Seedlings (from Budget to Bougie)

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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I love seeing the world through this loving boy’ I love seeing the world through this loving boy’s eyes.  Honestly, I’ve been so sick that I wasn’t really in the mood to “do Valentines Day” but there was this sweet little voice going on about how excited he was for today and how much he loves his family and I just couldn’t resist.  So whether you’re on your own, part of a couple, or in the thick of life-with-littles craziness, Happy Valentines Day!

#valentinesday2020 #mylittlevalentine #boymomlife #lifewithlittles
How do you pass a cold -28 day? By planning your How do you pass a cold -28 day?  By planning your garden, of course!  Today in my stories I’ll be going through the steps I take to start planning everything out.  I’m curious, do you start planning now or wait until the last minute?

P.S.  want your own copy of this planner?  This is the newly updated paid version and it’s on sale by itself from now until Sunday for only $5.  If you’re from Canada, use the code CANADA to make $5 USD be closer to $5 CAD.  Head over to the link in my bio to get yours.

#gardenplanning #gardenplanner #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #organizedlife #organizedliving #wintergardening
Curious about growing lettuce indoors? My experim Curious about growing lettuce indoors?  My experiment is a success so far, although it’s still going to be awhile before I’m eating another salad off of them.

Okay, so maybe a little rant today.  I think sometimes in the gardening space we’re guilty of making things seem easier than they are.  Myself included.  This lettuce project is a case in point.

Was it easy?  Yes.  But will it provide me with endless salads all winter long? Nope.  Or at least not at this scale.  I’m going to estimate that I’d need at least 15 plants this size, especially since it’s winter and everything just grows slower.  And I’m the only person in my family who really eats salad.

In conclusion, this is a fun project to pass the winter, and not a truly sustainable source of lettuce.

Thoughts?

#growinglettuce #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #wintergardening #indoorgardening #plantproject #sustainablefood #gardenersofinstagram #gardenerslife #northerngardening
Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing ex Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing exactly what to start when.  Every two weeks, I'll be posting these handy guides so you have enough time to order your seeds and be ready to plant when it's time for your area.  To find out when these veggies, herbs, and flowers need to be started where you live. . . ⁠
⁠
1. Search out your area's last frost date.  There are plenty of calculators on the Internet.⁠
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2. Count backwards 8 weeks from that date.⁠
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3. Start these seeds when that date hits.⁠
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If you follow me because we're in similar zones--don't panic, it's not time yet!! I won't be starting my 10 week seeds for another two weeks, and even that is slightly on the early side. (I'm starting everything a bit early so I can hopefully plant it out before baby gets here--I won't be physically able to do it after.) I like posting the info early for followers in warmer zones and so you can save it and still have time to order/buy seeds & supplies.⁠
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Which one of these are you most excited to start?⁠
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#seedstarting #seedlings #homegardener #northerngardener #homesteading #urbandhomesteading #homesteadingskills #gardenlife #gardenlifestyle #startingseeds
Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing the whole seed packet in hopes that a few of these little luffa babies will provide me with zero waste sponges that I can use for home cleaning, and as an exfoliant in home made beauty products.

The catch?

These plants are notoriously hard to grow, especially when you live somewhere cold with a really cold growing season—and if they get a hint of frost on them they turn to mush and all my hard work is ruined.

Gulp.

But gardeners are born optimists, so I’m giving it a shot—because you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

P.S. if you’re trying luffa in zone 3 like me, just basically ignore all the directions on the seed packet.  Start them immediately (two weeks ago would have been ideal) and follow along because I’ll show you exactly what to do and when.  I’ll be popping these under a grow light once the sun goes down.

#luffagourd #luffa #loofah #seedlings #seedstarting #northerngardening #northerngardener #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #mygardenthismonth #gardenlife #canadiangardening
This weekend I took a big leap of faith. I came t This weekend I took a big leap of faith.  I came to New York to meet with other content creators/business owners to dig deep into what we do and create a strategy around our messaging.  I don’t even know how to properly describe what all went down, but is was incredibly life changing and I really feel connected to this tribe of women who are committed to playing to win and being the people our businesses need us to be.  I’m so excited to share what I’ve planned for my business with you in the coming months.

#playtowin #gardenblogger #businessowner #wahmlife
Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant? I Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant?  I think the Sansevera or Snake Plant or Mother-in-law’s tongue comes close.  Sure, it might be the vanilla of the plant-loving world, but it is so good for so many situations!⁠
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It can handle you forgetting to water it, low light, or bright light.  It is somewhat forgiving if you are an over-waterer. ⁠
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I’ve had this one for 2 or 3 years now and I keep getting rewarded with more spikes.⁠
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Plant lovers, is there another houseplant you think would be perfect for beginners?⁠
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#crazyplantlady #houseplantsofig #houseplantsofinstagram #snakeplant #houseplantlove
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