In both Kansas City and Oklahoma City, sun-loving plants are often the stars of summer gardens. That said, our shade-filled spaces deserve to be beautiful, too. Here are our top picks for both cities.
Julie’s Kansas City Faves:
Thriller - Macho Fern
I generally love a Kimberly queen fern as a thriller in the shade. The past few summers, I have really loved a macho fern as my go-to shade loving thriller. (Cue the song "Macho Man" by Village People). It comes by its name honestly. I love a macho fern's BIG and BOLD leaves! I also love how this fern's fronds can grow 3 to 4 feet long.
Filler - Caladium
Ahhh...the lovely caladium. I love the shape of the leaf and the variety of colors. It's a gorgeous filler under a majesty palm and can also be a great thriller in a small planter. The caladium checks a lot of boxes for me in regards to container garden design. I like to use at least 2 leaf colors together in a planter and I consider a variegated leaf to be it's own "color" so the caladium's variegated leaf is perfect. I also like to mix at least 2 different leaf textures in a planter. I love how this large leaf size looks against the skinny palm fronds as you can see in the picture above. One of my favorite caladiums is the white Christmas caladium which is pictured. Aesthetically, this plant seems to look cool even on a hot day. You can never go wrong with white and green color theme. White and green is the little black dress of the container gardening world.
Spiller - Dragon Wing Begonia
In Kansas City, my favorite shade loving spiller for a container is dragon wing begonia! I love the small bell like blooms in red or pink. I love the glossy, wing shaped leaves. Dragon wing begonias add amazing texture to the planter. At the end of summer, when it is time to switch out the plants to fall, I am sad to pull out the dragon wing begonias because they always look so full and beautiful. This plant works well in morning sun also.
In OKC, we don't have many tall trees, so finding shade is a rarity unless it is under a porch. Ironically, I love shade plants so much more than sun plants. Here are Elizabeth's 3 favorites for shady spots:
Thriller - Majesty Palm
If you need a large thriller with big impact in a shady spot, look no further than the majesty palm. Talk about drama! I love the tropical feel it gives to outdoor spaces. The majesty palm is also a great option if you only get morning sun. The afternoon sun is too intense causing the palm fronds to get brown and crispy on the ends. You can find these beauties in the greenhouse section of big box stores. Once summer is over, just dig it out and bring it inside to enjoy all winter.
Filler - Impatiens
I have to agree with Julie on her favorite filler for shade...mine has been the caladium, specifically White Christmas caladium, for the past few years. I'm looking back on pictures and trying to figure out my second favorite. I would have to say it is the impatiens flower. I really love light pink or white impatiens since the colors show up well in a shady spot.
Spiller - Vinca Major
Elizabeth's favorite spiller for shade is vinca major. Gotta love a plant with a variegated leaf, it just adds so much interest! Vinca major works great in the sun too. I love a plant that will work in outdoor pots for consecutive seasons. Often I will keep the vinca major from the summer planting in the pots and use it in the fall design because it still looked so good. In OKC, our winters are somewhat mild and vinca major will come back in the spring. Great bang for your buck.
What are your favorites?
P.S. - Looking for info about sun loving summer plants? Check this out.