SHIFTING ROOTS

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53 Favourite Perennials to Plant in Zone 3

May 23, 2019

You asked for it and you got it: a list of the most-loved perennials for Zone 3.  These perennials are the stars of the garden, blooming year after year and delighting their owners every time.  Pick these winners up at your nearest garden centre, or ask a friend with a more established garden if you can dig up a few.

A huge thank you and shout out to the gardeners in the Gardening in Saskatchewan Facebook group!  This post would not be possible without you.  If you’re in Saskatchewan and not in this group already, you need to join.  I’ve learned so much from the more experienced gardeners there who are so generous with their time and advice.

And finally, if you’re someone who prefers to watch a video, here’s a shorter video version of this post:

Best Cut Flowers

1. Asiatic Lilies

Asiatic lilies come in every colour and combination and are easy to grow.  Put them in a sunny spot and they’ll flourish year after year.

[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

71 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: cut flowers, flower, flower arranging, Flower Beds, Garden, Gardening, ground cover, hardiness zones, perennial, shade flower, vines, zone 3

22 Annual Flowers That Grow in the Shade

January 8, 2019

Shade can be the bane of every flower gardener’s existence. You’d like something to brighten up that dark corner in your yard. . . but what? I’ve compiled a list of 22 annual flowers to fill up your shady flower bed, along with a few helpful hints for gardening in the shade.

Thank you to reader Pauline Janzen for sharing this picture of her shade container.

Partial Shade and Full Shade

Not all shade is created equal. Partial shade is defined as an area that receives 3-4 hours of sun a day. Full shade receives less than 3 hours of sun or no sun whatsoever.

When assessing your yard for how much shade an area gets, take into consideration any trees that currently do not have any leaves on them (if you’re doing this in winter or early spring). An annual shade plant that you’ve grown from seed may start off strong with dappled shade, (the kind made from leafy trees) only to stall out on growth once all the leaves fill in.

A beautiful fuchsia from reader Pauline Janzen

Bigger is Better

If you are a beginner gardener, I recommend buying your shade plants started from a garden centre. A lot of annual flowers need to be started indoors in January and February and if this the first year in your journey, it’s a task that’s best left to someone else.

When buying starters, buy the biggest plant you can afford–especially if you’re planting in full shade. Sure, small plants will do fine in full shade. But they won’t fill out the space the way you were hoping. Trust me, I’ve learned this the hard way!

If you can’t purchase larger plants, plan on spacing your smaller ones closer together for a nice block of colour.

I could not resist including this adorable pic from reader Shelley Lynn of her begonia and her sweet dog.

Shade Flowers Don’t Have to Be Boring!

If you’ve been gardening for longer, it’s easy to get bored of the same old begonias, impatients, and coleus. (Note to new gardeners: these are the pillars of annual shade plants that will work without a lot of fuss!) Hopefully this list of 24 shade loving annuals gives you some new inspiration.

P.S: U.S. readers, White Flower Farm has a very good selection of shade plants for sale online. I wish I could order there, but alas, they do not ship to Canada.

Looking for Shade Perennials instead? Here’s 17 Shade-Loving Perennials to fill up your flower bed.

24 Annual Flowers that Love the Shade

Alyssum

Alyssum is a lovely flower for borders and makes a beautiful cut flower.

Balsam

Before there were impatients, there were balsam flowers. While you likely won’t find these in the garden centre, you can start them from seed approximately 8 weeks before intended bloom. The taller varieties are lovely for cut flower gardens, and a big planting of them gives your yard a cottage-garden vibe.

Begonia

New to gardening in the shade? Make sure you get a begonia or two (or more!) They come in many different sizes and colours. My personal favourite are the large double ones pictured below, but in a yellow with pink edges.

Browallia

Browallia is a lovely blue/purple star shaped flower that’s good for borders and containers. It’s also quite low maintenance and does not spread.

Calendula

Calendula is both beautiful to look at and is very useful in the garden. It makes a good cut flower and is an excellent companion plant in the vegetable garden. Dried calendula flowers can be used in herbal teas, tinctures, soaps, and more.

Cleome

Also known as a spider flower, the cleome can be a prolific self-seeder in some zones.

Coleus

Not sure what to add to your containers in the shade? Coleus is always an excellent choice. It’s widely available in a rainbow of colours at your local garden centre or big box store. Plus, you can take cuttings indoors before the first frost and enjoy as a houseplant over the winter.

Fuchsia

As a I child, I always thought that fuchsias looked like little ballerinas. I’ve loved them ever since and enjoy them as a hanging plant on my shady front porch. Be prepared to do a lot of dead-heading, but also be prepared to enjoy their lovely blooms all summer long.

German Ivy

German Ivy does well in both sun and shade and has been a staple in my family’s containers for 30 years. Every fall before the first frost my Mom brings a couple of cuttings indoors for the winter, and they grow enough that she can make new cuttings in the spring. She is still using cuttings every spring from the original plant she bought 30 years ago.

Hydrangea (Sort of)

Okay, okay, I know. A hydrangea is NOT an annual. However, in zone 3 where I garden, we are inundated with hydrangea plants that are not hardy to our area, no matter how much we wish it were so. So if you can’t resist that hydrangea that is never going to survive here, treat it like an annual, put it in a pot, and enjoy it for the summer with realistic expectations.

P.S. There are hydrangeas that are hardy to zone 3, such as Invincibelle.

Impatiens

Impatiens are another practically-no-fail-flower for the beginner gardener. They also come in many colours and varieties. I personally love the double impatiens. (The ones pictured here are the most typical ones you’ll find at the garden centre.)

Larkspur (Consolida)

Searching for a larkspur can be a bit confusing, as you’ll wind up being shown a lot of sun-loving delphiniums. Ask for a consolida instead, and you’ll find the shade loving annual flower you’re looking for.

Lobelia

Lobelia is another annual that does well in either sun or shade.

Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny)

Lysimachia is hardy from zones 2-10 and is a great plant to grow in a shady area where nothing else will grow. However, because of it’s invasive nature, you need to check if this plant is banned in your area or not before planting it. To do that, google your province or state plus the term “invasive plants.” You should get a list of plants that are not recommended in your area.

Planting in a container, as shown below, should be fine. (P.S. It’s the green vine, not the purple flower.)

Monkey Flower

I love monkey flowers, but I know from experience that this is one flower that will not grow much in full shade. Plant in part shade or even part sun if you have it.

Nicotiana

Nicotiana comes in many sizes in white, pink, red, and purple. They have a lovely fragrance, especially in the evening.

Oxalis

Oxalis will survive in the shade, but expect less blooms than if you were planting them in the sun.

Pansy

I love pansies and always have a few in my garden. Pansies come in so many beautiful shades of white, yellow, orange, purple, blue, and pink that you’ll find it next to impossible to just choose one colour. Pansies are also edible flowers and brighten up your summer salads.

Polka Dot Plant

Polka dot plants provide some beautiful colour to any shade garden, and can be brought indoors and propagated over the winter.

Salvia

Also commonly called wild sage.

Snapdragon

Have a shady spot in your cut flower garden? Consider adding some snapdragons! If you’re planting from seed, carefully check the packet that you have a tall variety (for cut flowers) or a dwarf variety (for containers).

Planning a cut flower garden? Here’s 36 must-have flowers!!

Sweet Potato Vine

Sweet potato vine is easy to grow and comes in many beautiful colours. This YouTube video is a bit dated, but shows how many options there are.

Torenia (Wishbone Flower)

Torenia is a lovely trailing flower that works well in containers. It is attractive to hummingbirds and not attractive to deer.

Do you have any annual shade flowers you’d add to this list? Tell me about it in the comments!

Coming up with a flower garden design can be tricky, especially when it's in a spot with lots of shade.  Here's 22 shade loving annual flowers that are great for front yards, back yards, or containers.  Some even make great cut flowers!
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: Uncategorised Tagged: annual flowers, annuals, flower garden, flower gardening, shade, shade flower

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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

  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden
  • How to Make Watercolour Decorated Sugar Cookies

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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Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
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As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about the best flowers to plant in a cut flower garden.  There's so many options, these 5 that I talked about all week don't even come close.  If you need more help creating a small cut flower garden, I created this plan intended for a raised bed (but you can plant it in-ground too.⁠
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Head over to my insta links page on my profile, and you'll see the button to click on that will take you directly to it.⁠
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#cutflowergarden #cutflowers #raisedbedgarden #raisedbedgardening  #growyourown #greenthumb #raisedbeds #urbangarden #urbanfarm #squarefootgardening #slowflowers
Hey friends! There's a lot of new faces in this l Hey friends!  There's a lot of new faces in this little corner of IG, so I wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Kristen and I'm the gardener & content creator behind Shifting Roots.  I'm wife to @mgsraney and mom to 3 kids, ages 8, 23 months and 7 months.  Needless to say, our house is BUSY.  I garden in zone 3 in Saskatoon, SK, so if I can grow it in my short growing season and cold temperatures, you probably can too.⁠
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Here's a few fun facts, can you relate to any of these?⁠
🍅I don't like raw tomatoes, but I grow a ton of them because I like tomato sauce.⁠
💐I probably sound like every flower is my favourite flower, but my two favourites are peonies and zinnias.⁠
🌈I can't pick a favourite colour--I love so many of them in different circumstances.  If you force me to choose, I think I've got it narrowed down to coral and turquoise, but even then I still want to throw in yellow, emerald green, fuchsia. . . ⁠
🖤Even though I love colour to the moon and back, you'll often find me wearing black and white in real life, because it's just easier and I don't have to think about it going together.
When you think of rudbeckia, do you think of those When you think of rudbeckia, do you think of those maybe-slightly-boring flowers with yellow petals and a brown centre? (Please don't come at me with your pitchforks if that's your favourite flower!!)⁠
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Rudbeckias, like these orange and burgundy ones, can be so much more!  Pair them with sunflowers & amaranth for an especially striking late summer bouquet.⁠
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🤞I'll have amaranth and sunflowers this year to play around with.⁠
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Need help planning the cut flower garden of your dreams?  It doesn't have to be complicated.  Grab your copy of Cut Flowers Made Simple and have pails of flowers like this one at your fingertips.⁠
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See my link in bio and click on the ebooks button.
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