I am the ultimate plant slayer..... while not wanting to be

[door251]

Hi everyone

Hopefully someone here can help me, i'm at my wits end and seriously considering just paving the entire thing at this stage!!! I was wondering if you knew what kind of plants are good for heavily shaded gardens? we have a tiny tiny city garden, but it is surrounded by big oak trees which i suspect are sucking the life out of everything, couple that with it not getting an ounce of sun and me being a complete novice, i've no idea what to plant in there, everything from last year died and the year before and the year before... even the ivy died!

thanks for your help!!

door251.com

[janell]

Tell me a little bit more about your site.

What zone are you in?

Any idea what type of soil you have in your yard? Do you know if your area tends to be rather sandy or more on the clay side?

Do you know if its pH is more acidic or alkaline? If you don't know, you should be able to go to a good garden center and pick up a little, cheap, pH tester for less than $5. Probably more like $2.

Working with mother nature is always easier than fighting her. Once you gather up these facts, go to this website and punch in the details you have... Start broad, then narrow down your choices. http://www.perennialresource.com/encyclopedia/


Off the top of my head, I'm thinking you might be more successful with a woodland type of flower garden. Bleeding hearts, trilliums, cranesbill, astilbe, columbine, goatsbeard, shooting stars, ferns, and the like. If you leave in the south, I'm not sure if any of these plants will live, that's why the zone is so important.

Good luck!

[cattail]

Hi everyone

Hopefully someone here can help me, i'm at my wits end and seriously considering just paving the entire thing at this stage!!! I was wondering if you knew what kind of plants are good for heavily shaded gardens? we have a tiny tiny city garden, but it is surrounded by big oak trees which i suspect are sucking the life out of everything, couple that with it not getting an ounce of sun and me being a complete novice, i've no idea what to plant in there, everything from last year died and the year before and the year before... even the ivy died!

thanks for your help!!

door251.com

It might very well be the oak trees since they are known to be allelopathic. Oaks give off a chemical from their roots (coumarin) that inhibits growth of herbs and grasses.

You also said you have no sun. How about a container garden of shade ornamentals? Coleus would be a good start, they are easy to grow with very pretty colors and patterns in the leaves. Good luck! :)

[Chic-E-Tiki]

Succulents are great in the shade.

[Chris]

Really? Which kind of succulents? All the ones I know of like sun, and as much of it as possible.

Shade gardens are for ferns, ivy, hostas, astilbes, heucheras, and heucherellas.

[GhettoGardener]

Try contacting the master gardener for your area/state. They'll be able to make great suggestions for the growing conditions that you're describing. Hope that helps.

[Chic-E-Tiki]

I would recommend checking out your local garden shop. I've noticed they usually have a shaded area with succulents.