Tips For Adding Color to Woodland Areas

Spring really brightens up wooded areas with lots of colors just bursting out a big “Hello!” I think that is what sparks us to want to add color to our own shaded patches. The artist part of us comes out wanting to splash color into our surroundings and the fun part is that it doesn’t stop with spring just as Claude Monet did at his garden in Giverny. The pond as well as each of his plantings was carefully planned by Monet. Over one hundred years old and his gardens still look as beautiful today as we can imagine that they did when he first built them.

Here is a listing of plants from groundcovers, to perennials, shrubs and trees that will grow in shaded areas. Most will produce spring color while a few others will just add something special to the blend. Strategically placing plants with color can give a whole new look to your woodland or shaded areas. It’s especially easy if you have a digital camera. You can take pictures of the areas you want to enhance with color or texture, print them out or just study them on the screen and you can visualize how you would like to see the woodlands as the seasons unfold.

Groundcovers for shade:

Ajuga Pachysandra Vinca Cotoneaster (creeping) Moss

Perennials for shade:

Ferns Tiarella Anemone Aster Astilbe Dicentra Helleborus Heuchera Hypericum Hosta Solomon’s seal Carex Liriope

Shrubs for shade:

Mountain laurels Sambucus Azaleas Rhododendrons Bamboo Carolina allspice Shrub dogwood Hydrangeas Nandina Holly

Trees for shade:

White flowering dogwood Red bud Serviceberry Sourwood Cedar Hemlock White pine Sycamore Green ash Poplars

Don’t try to do your entire project at one time. Working on it over several years allows you to see that you are on the right track for what you want as the outcome.

And don’t forget about ways to move through your wooded area. Bark mulch walkways and stepping stones make great paths. Benches, whether wood, stone or metal, give excellent reasons to sit and enjoy from the inside out. Rocks of all sizes and even boulders look stately with moss growing over them and are right at home in wooded and shaded spaces.

I hope this has given you some ideas to build on to make your own woodland area as beautiful as a Monet painting.