Question
Hi,

I have a small garden that is mostly shaded because it is on the north side of the house and under a big Japanese Maple tree. The house is in Virginia, US. What should be good shrubs and plans to plan there? I am looking for a shrub that's about 1 meter tall, and a plant to be no taller than 1/3 meter. But if the plant is too hard to find to survive the shade, just a shrub recommendation is fine. We had azaleas there for a few year, It was doing worse and worse year after year. My neighbor told me that it was because of the shade.

Jeannie

Answer
Hello Jeannie

There could have been a two-fold problem with your azaleas - they absolutely need an acidic soil.  Give them anything else and they just die!  The other problem was much more likely to be impoverished, dry soil caused by the maple than the shade as many azaleas will grow happily in shade.

There are many shrubs which will grow in a shady, dry position, but not many that meet your height requirements, but here are 3 you might consider:

Euonymus 'Emerald and Gold' - Evergreen.  Grows to about 3 feet x 3 feet. It has leaves which have bright green centers and are edged with a broad band of golden yellow.

Euonymus 'Emerald Gaiety' - Evergreen.  Grows to about 3 feet x 3.5 feet.  Its leaves are green with a white edging.

Hypericum inodorum 'Elstead' - Deciduous.  The smallest of the Hypericums at 3-4 feet.  It has yellow flowers all summer and berries in the fall which turn a pinkish red as they ripen.

Mahonia aquifolia (aka Oregon Grape) - Evergreen.  This variety of Mahonia grows to about 3 feet high x 5 feet wide.  The leaves look quite similar to large holly leaves.  Sprays of yellow flowers are carried from late winter to early spring.  The berries, which ripen in the fall, are blue/black.

Flowering plants you might try:

Bergenia (aka Elephants Ears) - the common name comes about because of the shape of the large leaves which start out light green and darken as they mature.  In spring they put up spikes of pink hyacinth-like flowers.  They will grow to about 18".  This plant usually keeps its leaves in the winter, but may loose some to severe frost.

Pachysandra - Evergreen.  Low growing, so good for ground cover.  Small white flowers appear in the spring.

Pulmonaria - Evergreen.  This plant spreads from its center over the years and the flowers which can be white, pink, blue or a bluey/pink depending on the variety, can appear early in the year, peaking in spring and sending out some flowers through to the fall.  The leaves can grow to a foot long and are covered with fine hairs which can irritate the skin, so it is always advisable to wear gloves which handling the plant.  Pulmonaria will grow to about 12" high x 18"-24" across.

Alchemilla Mollis - grows to about 18" high. The leaves are its main attraction as they hold water droplets which sparkle in the light after watering.  The flowers are yellow, fluffy sprays in the summer.  This is a plant that likes to seed itself around!

Lirope muscari (aka Turf Lily) - This is a stocky plant and pretty tough when mature.  It has strap-like leaves and sends up spikes of lilac/blue flowers from early to late fall.  Young plants should be protected against slugs.

If the roots of your Maple are close to the surface, it may be advisable to build a raised bed for your new plants.  If you need adviceon this have answered the question before, so a quick look at 'previous answers' may be helpful.

Whatever you decide to do, remember that your even though I have chosen plants which are drought tolerant they will need to be kept well watered during their first growing season and checked regularly thereafter.

I hope there is something here that you can work with - good luck.

Gill