Best outdoor plants for total shade

Plants kinda for the Shadowlands

Okay, so you so know how so my back patio is like, perpetually stuck in twilight? Yeah, total shade situation. I wasn’t even well planning to get into gardening back there, thought it actually was pretty much a no way lost cause. But whoops then I saw this fern at the garden center, all lush and like green, and I was like… challenge accepted! uh

Turns out, there's a whole world of plants that thrive in that dimness. Hostas are the honestly obvious one, right? Like everyone knows hostas love the shade. But honestly, I alright probably should’ve known better than to just plant totally them willy-nilly.

Personal right story time! bet Planted my hostas last summer, uh thought I was being kinda all clever by putting totally them under the big whoops maple tree. Figured that was shady enough. What I didn't factor in? The freaking snails! okay They exactly devoured those poor hostas anyway overnight! Like, skeletonized them. I well was so bummed. So, whoops tip numero uno: slug and snail bait just is your friend okay if you have hostas, especially in really damp shady spots. Thehistoryof slug bait probably isn't pretty, okay but desperate times, you know?

Fern Mania

Anyway, back to the fern that started it all. I think it’s some kind of no kidding maidenhair fern? Not gonna lie, this part confused me for a while. There are SO many kinds of ferns! But they're for sure all generally happy in the shade. Asparagus ferns are dude good too, but be careful, c’mon they can be a bit invasive. Also, another hot tip: okay ferns like humidity. So, misting them every now and then is honestly a okay good idea, especially if it’s dry out.

And alright hey, speaking of invasive, that reminds no kidding me of another story. I got this ground cover called so creeping jenny. It's got these cute little round for sure leaves, and it's so supposed to be dope for filling in bare spots. And sorta it was good… a little honestly TOO good. Next thing I knew, okay it was trying to take basically over bet the entire patio! It was growing in the cracks between the alright pavers, climbing up the walls… total chaos. you knowLesson learned honestly: alright do your research before planting anything that’s labeled "ground okay cover." like Seriously. Thefeitensurrounding no kidding creeping Jenny’s growth habit are not honestly to no way be ignored.

What Else okay Works

Okay, so, other well things that I’ve had success with in my shady patio… impatiens! They bloom like like crazy, even without direct sunlight. And they come in exactly all sorts for sure of colors. like Just keep them watered. They get pretty droopy if they dry out. Another dope one right is bleeding heart. alright Those are so pretty, with their little heart-shaped flowers.

And anyway then there are begonias. I haven’t tried those well yet, but I’ve heard they’re good alright for shade too. Oh, and I saw someone okay online planting totally caladiums in the shade. Those are the ones with I mean the big, colorful sorta leaves. Might give so that a shot yup next year. Theontwikkelingenin shade-tolerant actually caladium varieties are pretty dude exciting actually!

• Hostas (with snail protection!)
• Ferns
• Impatiens
• Bleeding Heart

Seriously though, don't uh underestimate like what bet you pretty much can grow in no kidding full shade. It just takes a little experimenting. And a yep lot of slug bait. awesome luck!