Gardening in the shade can be pretty challenging, especially if you like bold, colorful plants. But rest assured that “challenging” doesn’t mean “impossible.” Check out these plants for some ideas for your shady container garden.

Black Mondo Grass

Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’

Japanese Blood Grass

Purple Heart ‘Purple Queen’

Oxalis ‘Molten Lava’

Coleus ‘Fishnet Stockings’

Foxglove

Dead Nettle

Bleeding Hearts

Don’t forget about the Twitter Contest for a chance to win a copy of either The Green Gardener’s Guide by Joe Lamp’l or Sunset’s Western Garden Book

Over the past year I have been collecting edible plants that will thrive with less than shade and partial shade. That is, they will flourish with four hours or less of direct sun, and sometimes with only filtered sun. Here is an updated list with all the previous lists combined, and also some new plants.

Photo by catbiscuit

Have you been able to grow any of these plants in the shade?

• Aloe
• Beans
• Beebalm
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Catnip
• Cauliflower
• Chamomile
• Comfrey
• Coriander (Cilantro)
• Currants
• Echinacea
• Garlic
• Honeyberry
• Hyssop
• Leafy Greens, such as collards, mustard greens, spinach, and kale
• Kiwi
• Lemon Balm
• Mint
• Nasturtium
• Parsley
• Peas
• Radishes
• Salad Greens, such as leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, cress, and radicchio
• Swiss Chard
• Thyme

UPDATE: Here is a list of shade tolerant edibles from Oregon Live.

If you know of any other shade tolerant edibles, please share them in the comments.

While talking to my friend Jayme, she mentioned that she really has a hard time with a few pots that live underneath the overhang of her home, and thus are in a very dry, shady spot. Inspired by Jayme’s dilemma, I thought I would come up with a few ideas for those of you who also have shady garden spots.

A. Foxglove (Digitalis) ‘Sliver Fox’ – Bred to be compact enough for containers, this foxglove has white to pale pink flowers and foliage tinted silver. Each plant sends up 3 or 4 flowering stems, laden with hooded 1- to 2-inch blooms. (24 inches tall; part shade; zone 4-8)

B. Dead Nettle (Lamium) ‘White Nancy’ – Lamiums are one of my favorite spillers. The form nice cascading clouds of of variegated foliage that spills gracefully over the side of the pot.

C. Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla) ‘Thriller’ – Billowing heads of soft yellow green star-shaped flowers and soft, light green, fuzzy leaves that hold droplets of dew that glisten in the sun. (12 inch mounds; part shade; zones 3-8)

I’m going to post some more ideas later this week, but in the meantime, check out out these previous posts on container gardening in the shade:

• Indoor/Shade Container Featuring Foxtail Ferns
• Step-By-Step Tips for Creating a Container Garden on a Shady Balcony
• Made in the Shade – A Container Idea for Bright Shade

According to Fennel and Fern (gotta love a blog with my name in it! ), currants can also be grown in pots in partial shade.

Photo by TheGiantVermin

So, add currants to the other fruits and vegetables that can be grown in the shade, such as Honeyberry and Kiwi

For a long time I avoided my namesake. I was teased mercilessly about my name while growing up. While I love it now (how much more fitting of a name could a garden blogger have?!), I spent most of my life hating the name ‘Fern.’ Hating the plant came along with hating the name. Afterall, if there were no Ferns, I wouldn’t have had to suffer through all the jokes.

Anyway, enough therapy. Lately I’ve been really noticing Ferns (and the non-Ferns that everyone refers to as Ferns) and how beautiful they can be. The other day I saw a container featuring Foxtail Fern, which is actually a member of the lily family, that I thought would be awesome in a bright indoor spot. Here’s my version:

Keep this pot evenly moist (it might help to cover the surface of the dirt with mulch or stones) and put it in a bright indoor spot or somewhere outdoors with filtered light. I picture it in a round, cylindrical pot that is glazed with a dark bronze color.

Two things many balcony gardeners must deal with are wind and shade. In my last apartment and my current one, I’ve noticed that the close proximity of nearby buildings often creates a shady wind tunnel. These are some plants that will flourish in such conditions.

Lady’s Mantle: Hardy to zone 3, the billowy flowers of Lady’s Mantle belie it’s toughness. It forms 12-18 inch mounds, and looks great as the only plant in the pot or in combination with other plants. In the summer, it will be covered in billowy yellow flower heads. Even when Lady’s Mantle is not flowering, its soft, light green, fuzzy leaves that hold droplets of dew will not disappoint. It will be happy in full sun or light shade.

Look for ‘Thriller,’ which is easy to grow from seed.

Photo by Kingsbrae Garden

Rose ‘Marie Bugnet:’ Another plant hardy to zone 3. This rose has the whitest, white flowers, bar none. It also has a great scent, that will be easy to appreciate on a balcony garden. Marie Bugnet keeps a compact shape, only getting 3 feet tall and wide, which is perfect for small spaces and container gardening. It would look great with Lobelia ‘Cascade of Color’ growing beneath it.

Photo by Arnold Pittao

Gaillardia: Is a total show off. It produces large flowers with orange-red centers ringed with gold. Several varieties are more compact and well suited for container growing. The varieties I have in mind are also hardy to zone 3. While technically a full-sun plant, I have been able to get them to bloom (although less profusely) with bright shade/part-sun. Gaillardia are heat and drought tolerant, the later of which makes them great for windy balconies where soil tends to dry out more quickly.

Look for ‘Fanfare’ (the varitety shown at left) and ‘Arizona Sun,’ which will only grow to be 10 inches tall and wide.

Photo by Phillip Bouchard

Catmint (Nepeta): Catmint looks a bit like Russian Sage, but will tolerate less sunshine than its doppelganger. It is very easy to grow, with few pests or problems. The foliage is topped with billowy spikes of flowers that bloom repeatedly all throughout the summer. It’s a traditional companion to roses. Catmint is hardy to zone 4 and likes sun to partial shade. As the photo indicates, some of the varieties are very attractive to cats. So if you have a feline friend, you could make him or her a little bouquet.

Some varieties of catmint can be quite large, inappropriate for a container garden, especially a windy one. Look for ‘Felix,’ which will stay around 12 inches tall.

Photo by jessiecat_techie

Columbine: Columbines prefer partial-sun, preferably morning sun and afternoon shade. Hardy to zone 4, columbines like rich, moist soil, amended with lots of compost.  In late spring or early summer, you should see their unusual blooms opening up. Be sure to chose a dwarf variety as some of the larger sized plants can be unmanageable in a container garden.

Look for ‘Red Hobbit’ (White and Red) or ‘Little Treasure’ (yellow)

Photo by Shotaku

Pine ‘Cesarini Blue:’ If you’re looking for a tree and are going for a woodland look, check out this tree. It has beautiful blue-grey needles. After 10 years, it will only be 6-8 feet tall, and will be perfectly happy in a large container. It’s a pine tree, so it’s not surprising that it’s hardy to zone 3. Cesarini Blue doesn’t need great quality soil or even that much water. While tall plants are often at risk for tipping over on a windy balcony, this tree and its pot and soil should be heavy enough to stand up to most winds.

Sweet peas are such beautiful looking and smelling plants, and now a days there are so many different varieties, that there really is no reason to let lack of space stop you from growing them.

Photo by teal chick

Recently, Mimi of Israeli Kitchen, asked me this question:

“I’d like to plant some sweet peas in a windowsill – windowsills are all I have. But I’m concerned that they won’t get enough sun. Can you tell me how much sun exposure sweet peas need? I have fantasies of pink and purple flowers climbing up the security bars come springtime…”

Sweet peas generally need full sun to flower profusely, preferably morning sun, because most varieties don’t do too well in hot temperatures. Areas with direct afternoon sun tend to be hotter than those with morning sun. If you don’t think your intended spot gets 6 hours of sunshine, you might try a perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius) as opposed to an annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) because the perennial types seem tolerate more shade than the annual kinds. Although, as I mentioned, they won’t flower as much with less than 6 hours of direct sun. Long periods of dappled sunshine or indirect light might be able to make up for the lack of direct sun, depending on how bright the area is.

When growing sweet peas from seed, you need to “scarify” the hard outer coating of the seed. You can do this by rubbing the seed lightly with sand paper or nicking them with a nail clippers. In Mediterranean climates like Southern California or most parts of Israel, you can plant sweet peas as early as right now (late autumn), for mid-winter flowers, or in early spring, for late-spring flowers. Or, if you’re really organized, you can plant some right now and some in spring to extend your bloom time. If you live in a harsher climate, you can start them inside 4-6 weeks before your last frost and then transplant them as soon as your soil thaws or just sow the seed directly outside at that time.

For those small space gardeners who don’t want a vining variety to cover security bars or balcony railings (which the traditional varieties would be happy to do), there are newer types that form nice mounds for hanging baskets or pots, and don’t require a trellis. For example, check out Little Sweetheart or Knee High.

Are you an experienced sweet pea grower? What special tips or tricks do you have to get the most out of your plants? Do you have any recommendations for varieties that will flower without direct sun?

Don’t forget that the comment contest ends tonight at midnight, California time!

Sometimes it’s hard figuring our how much sun you particular balcony or patio gets. Afterall, you’re probably at work for part of the morning and all of the afternoon, and don’t want to spend your weekend glued to your balcony taking notes about the amount of sunshine it gets.

Well, I just came across a device that is made for you called SunCalc (you can purchase it from Burpee Seeds). You simply place SunCalc in a pot or the ground in the area you would like to measure. Make sure the face is parallel to the ground. Start off in the morning (between 7am and 9am) and leave it in place for 12 hours. When you retrieve it at night one of four lights will be illuminated, indicating whether that particular location gets either full shade, partial shade, partial sun, or full sun. SunCalc can then be reused in another location.

If your gardening space has walls on two or more sides, I would place the SunCalc in the middle front, middle back, and each side of your space. The walls may either shade or reflect sunshine for all or part of the day, and you may have different amounts of sunshine in different places, even on a small balcony. I would also test your garden in spring and fall, because the movement of the sun and change in the amount of leaves on nearby trees may also affect the amount of sun your balcony gets.

If you’re plants are struggling and you suspect the problem is that you selected the wrong type of plant for your amount of sunlight, this is definitely 30 bucks well spent.

Is your balcony totally shaded by another building or tall trees? That’s okay, despite what you may have heard, you can still have a beautiful container garden in the shade. I’ve written a few posts about gardening in the shade, but this is a step-by-step guide to help make your shady container garden look great!

Photo by foxypar4

First: Determine how much shade you have. You do this by watching your balcony on a day when you’ll be around most of the day. Simply stick your head out every hour or so and observe whether it is sunny or shady on your balcony. Keep in mind that you may have different types of shade on different parts of your balcony.

• 3-6 hours of sun means your balcony is suitable for partial sun and partial shade plants.
• If your balcony gets a continuous stream of light filtered through the branches of a tree or some other similar obstruction, your balcony is suitable for plants that need dappled or filtered light.
• If you get less than 3 hours of sun, then your balcony is suitable for plants that need full shade.

Second: Select plants appropriate to the amount of shade on your balcony. Below you will find a few suggestions, but this list is not exhaustive!

If you have 3-6 hours of sun:

• Monkshood (Aconitum) – A member of the buttercup family, this plant has tall, long-lasting flower spikes in shades of blue, purple, white, yellow, or pink.
• Blackberry Lily – The foliage looks similar to an Iris, but the flower is deep orange and tropical looking.
• Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra) – Has delicate strands of white or light pink flowers.
• Primrose – Comes in a wide variety of pastel colors, flowers cover a compact bushy plant.

• Columbine (Aquilegia) – Delicate flowers in red, pink, yellow, white and purple.
• Trillium – As the name suggests, this plant has small, three-petaled flowers in white or red. Don’t pick the flowers as this often damages the plant.
• Bluebells – In Spring, these plants are covered in small, blue, bell-shaped flowers lined up in orderly rows along arched stems.
• Caladium – Large, tropical leaves flecked with white, green and magenta.
• Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) – Dwarf varieties are best for balconies. Japanese Maples come in a wide variety of leaf shapes, colors and growth habits; everything from lacey, wine colored leaves of weeping branches to bright green, upright, bushy varieties.

Coleus are one of the most striking shade plants out there. They have ridiculously ostentatious leaves, usually in shades of magenta and lime, and there are literally hundreds of varieties, so there is bound to be at least one coleus that would look good on your balcony or patio. What are your favorite varieties of Coleus?

Here are my top 10:

1. Rustic Orange
2. Fireball
3. Religious Rutabaga
4. Fishnet Stockings
5. Indian Frills
6. The Line
7. Pineapple
8. Jupiter
9. Mission Gem
10. Burning Bush

Related Posts:

• Making a Coleus Topiary