Need some recommendations for mostly shade and hearty plants

kes3237

We have our condo on the market so I really want to spruce up our front area.  We are in Chicago and it has been consistently beautiful.  Is it safe to plant?  Something hearty that will be okay if it dips back into the 40's or 50's?  Also, the front area only gets a few hours of late afternoon/evening sun.  Any recommendations of perennials to do here?

Thanks! 

pdxmouse

How long do you see your place being on the market? Perennials take about three years to really leaf out and look good. The first year you plant them they tend to focus on getting their roots established. If you add in cold ground which slows down roots considerably, you're looking at awhile before it looks like anything. 

What landscaping do you already have? Do you have some decent shrubs that can act as a background against some annuals? If you do, I'd do a mix of annuals and maybe some taller plants inside strategically placed containers to make it look filled in. 

For part shade at this time of year I like hellebore (lenten rose):

 

The "flowers" (really specialized leaves) should hang on for a month or so.  

Also for shade, heuchera (this is a collage of different varieties):  

[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/wilddog_202/heuchera_collageTerraNova.jpg[/imago]  

Since those are the leaves, not flowers, you don't have to wait for it to bloom to look good. In my experience it takes a little while to get big, so buy the biggest ones you can find.  

The fastest growing shrub I've ever had is rosemary. I grew one from a two inch pot to three feet tall and wide in a year. Lavender can also get big quickly in the right conditions. 

~NB~

The word is hardy- you want a cold-hardy, shade-tolerant perennial.

Here's a list: http://www.backyardgardener.com/shade/zone5.html

 

Mashara

If your condo is on the market, I would go ahead and add some annuals for color. Pansies, impatiens, and petunias will give you huge color for the money spent.

For perennials, you can get some decent size Hosta that should look good the first year. They're mostly grown for foliage and come in a wide range of solid greens, blue-greens, yellows, and variegated mixes of all these.Go ahead and spend and extra couple dollars on larger plants for more impact this year.

Heuchera, Heucherella, and Tiarella are also a good choice. Their foliage comes in even more colors than the hostas, but some cultivars can be a little touchy. Stick with easy ones like Alabama Sunrise, Amethyst Myst, Georgia Peach, Green Spice, Palace Purple, Silver Scrolls, and Tiramisu.

Bleeding hearts will look great in the spring but probably die back in the heat of summer.

Astilbe do well in shade and part-shade but need consistent watering. Maybe plant those closer to your door or a water source, so you can water them more easily.

Take care with "only a few hours" of sun, because afternoon sun is the warmest and could burn/kill any shade plants.

kes3237

Thanks for all the recommendations!  I will do some shopping again soon with your thoughts in mind.  And thank you for the spelling correction - I've always wondered if I was spelling that word correctly in my mind!