By Amy-Lynn Albertson
N.C. Cooperative Extension 

Gardening in the shade is often overlooked in the plant world, but it can be enjoyable and exciting. The Rowan County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers are hosting a seminar on Shade Gardening with Author Toby Bost on April 9, 1-2 p.m. at the Rowan County Extension Center. The seminar is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so registration is required. Register online at http://go.ncsu.edu/rowanshadegarden. Toby is the co-author of Carolina’s Gardeners Guide and retired Extension Agent from Forsyth County. Gardening in the shade can be challenging but can also be fun. First, you need to look at what shade you have. Partial shade gardens receive up to 6 hours of direct sun, with four or more hours in the morning and the rest of the day in shadow. If your garden is shaded for most of the afternoon, it’s considered partial shade. Beautyberry is a shrub that loves full sun to partial shade. It can thrive well in partial shade. The shrub is a beautiful green that produces little berries when fully flowered.

Dappled shade gardens have sunlight filtering through the canopy of open tree branches or through latticework structures. Dappled shade is also called “filtered sun.” Most filtered sun conditions have a pattern of light shifting throughout the day. This type of shade is a bit more challenging, but many plants love this kind of light. One of the best shade shrubs for extensive garden color, azaleas have bright green, evergreen foliage and funnel-shaped spring and summertime flowers in shades of white, red and pink. Some native azaleas are deciduous and lose their leaves in winter. Azaleas grow best in dappled sunlight under trees.

If your yard receives less than two hours of direct sun per day, it’s considered full shade. Full shade is the dense kind of shade found under evergreens and trees. This does not allow any direct light to penetrate. It’s dim and cooling, but finding plants that will bloom here can be a challenge. Instead, we turn to foliage with lovely color and exciting leaf structure. Among the showiest and easiest-to-grow shade perennials, hostas come in various sizes and shapes. Choose from miniatures that stay only a few inches tall or giants that sprawl 6 feet across or more. Look for leaves in shades of green, blue, white, chartreuse and gold, with many cultivars boasting pretty variegation. Some hosta flowers are very fragrant, too. This is just a small list of plants you can grow in the shade. Come to the Gardening in the Shade seminar on April 9 at the Rowan County Extension Center from 1-2 p.m. to learn more. Register online at http://go.ncsu.edu/rowanshadegarden or call 704-216-8970 for more information.

Amy-Lynn Albertson is director of the Rowan County Extension.