A hosta garden. There are soooooo many varieties. And ferns!
yes, there is no question that deer will devour hostas BUT I have found very effective sprays to keep them away. It just has to be a regular gardening chore to keep them doused, especially after any rain may have washed off the spray.
Also, lily of the valley which multiplies like crazy.
@VaBluebird, what do you spray them with? Mine is heavy on the hot sauce but it clogs every nozzle. I tried all the commercial sprays and none of them worked for me.
^ I use Deer Off with a lot of success, but every few months I use a different brand just to keep the deer guessing. I think one of the main ingredients is cinnamon.
Deer used to use our yard as a salad bar. I swear I found a knife and fork in my hostas one day. But once I applied the deer off per the instructions, the deer gave up. Then I had enough hosta leaves to attract slugs, but the DE got rid of those. High five!
My shade garden is very nice now. I have some periwinkle, but it’s mainly 5 different varieties of hosta (Blue Giant, Patriot, and 3 others) with some interspersed ferns.
Yes to lily of the valley. Heanvenly smell when in bloom. Goes dormant early where I am. Periwinkles are lovely and hardy. They don’t bloom in shade.
emily, liquid fence deer rabbit repellent worked for me. My landscape guy said there’s an oil based one that survives rain. haven’t tried yet.
I’m thinking some of these names are “regional” for the same plant. Myrtle = vinca = periwinkle???
Tried all those and none worked. We have a big deer problem in my town - they are all over and think nothing of people, dogs, cars, fences, etc. They stroll down our streets like they own them.
Since I started using my homemade mixture not nearly as much munching as usual, but it clogs all the nozzles so I end up just pouring it over my plants.
I have a nice big patch of lily of the valley which spread under my fence from neighbors yard.
^It may depend on what else they have to eat. My apple trees get them going for a while. Now that all the apples are gone they are back to munching roses. Spraying helps for me. They have plenty weeds to eat in my yard.
@mom2collegekids - I don’t have any dogs, but unless they are inclined to dig it up (which would be rough on any plant), there should not be a problem.
The main problem with pachysandra is that it is pricey to purchase and it fills in slowly, but once established, you’re all set. It will last for years and require very little maintenance. I’m in NJ. Look around to see if your neighbors have it. I don’t know if it will grow in your area.
We have pachy in PART of the front bed. Wish the previous owners had done it all, or nothing. DH doesn’t do yard work, doesn’t want to pay for it. I used to do it, but the cardiologist has vetoed heavy digging. We have an 80-100 ft oak within eight feet of the front of the house. I think that needs to be the first thing to go – it is less leafy these days and has no place to fall but on the house. Also need to do something about the front walkway. It’s brick that the previous owner laid and it is bumpy and narrow. I’d live a wider walk with flagstone. I think the first thing on the agenda is the tree, though. Everything else flows from that.
Our hostas all die off in the late summer heat. They are gorgeous til August, and then shrivel away until next spring. They are in the shade, too.
I wonder if doing some raised beds would allow for plants to take root. The trees are behind the fence, so the raised beds wouldn’t be that close to the trunks.
I would be careful about using pine needle mulch, it can make the soil acidic and cause other problems. I we have a lot of shade, and pachysandra will work, but to be honest I don’t like it, like Ivy it is hard to really keep it looking good,leaves get into it, and it just is a pain in the neck. Hostas work, fortunately for us our backyard where they are is fenced against deer, though some still manage to get in, and they go to town on them. The problem with deer repellent is the same problem I have with deer resistant plants, the deer figure out they don’t like it, but tear it out of the ground and leave it nonetheless (I think I have Mafia deer, who want a payout to leave me along).
Frog lillies will handle shaded, there are pine and holly bushes that handle it. We have had pretty good luck with japanese beauty berry, they took to our pretty shady area and are pretty, in summer and in fall with purple berries.
The other option might be to turn it into a shade patio, using gravel, and have it as a place you can be in the shade and try to be cool. It is a lot easier then doing a full patio, and you can also do things like have plants in planters, maybe a firepit thing for cooler weather and comfortable seating.
I’m in zone 6 (southern New England coastal) - hostas, pachysandra, vinca…all do well climate-wise. My vinca looks lovely, but I planted it in prepared soil, and I think it will only thrive and spread in fairly rich, loose soil. Old, compacted soil will probably not allow enough drainage for the shoots to propagate.
VaBluebird, what do you spray them with? Mine is heavy on the hot sauce but it clogs every nozzle. I tried all thecommercial sprays and none of them worked for me.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I don’t know, but I got it at Southern States and it truly stinks. It smells just like urine. Which is why it works.
Maybe the native Pachysandra procumbens would work in zone 8. Its a much prettier plant than the more common asian variety. Look at Tiarella as well. Epimediums thrive in dry shade, as do Asarums(wild ginger). There are some really cool ones with colored leaves that you could grow in zone 8. I second the idea to throw a vaiety of ferns in there as well. Some do fine in dry shade.
Lilly of the Vally and ferns do well in Zone 5 and 6.