by Melissa J Luther

Created on: May 26, 2009   Last Updated: June 02, 2009

Shady areas of the yard can be a curse for the gardener, refusing to allow in the sunlight that favorite plants need to grow. Big, heavy canopied trees, with their dense shade, provide a special challenge. In reality, many ground cover plants grow well in shade. With a little imagination, you may find that a shade-loving ground cover is your new favorite plant.

Depending on the size and location of your planting bed, consider planting two or three different ground covers with staggered bloom times. This strategy can brighten up your shady garden with a variety of foliage as well as flowers throughout the growing season.

> Full Shade <

*Moss

Many gardeners consider moss undesirable, but if you have an area where moss keeps trying to grow, embrace it. Moss loves cool, densely shaded areas, making it perfect for underneath your shade trees. It won't damage the tree roots and, as long as it gets a little moisture, it will grow happily without any further action on your part. Some varieties even produce little white flowers that add brightness to the shade.

*Lily-of-the-valley

This delicate little plant produces sweet-smelling, drooping white flowers in May and June. Lily-of-the-valley is also a perfect choice for under trees. It loves the dark, moist shade, and it spreads on shallow rhizomes, which won't damage tree roots.

*Hosta

The hosta is a pretty standard ground cover, and many gardeners think it is boring. The most common green or green and white variety has, admittedly, been done to death. But there are hundreds of varieties from which to choose. Some have huge, nearly neon green leaves, others are golden and still others sport a bluish foliage; some varieties offer a choice of variegated or not. Using several different varieties together can add interesting texture to your shade garden. Most hostas produce white or lilac flowers in July and August, but the focus is on the foliage.

*Ground ivy

This member of the mint family is a very aggressive grower, making it suitable for larger areas. It will quickly produce a thick mat over the ground, so it's best used alone unless you are willing to cut it back frequently. Ground ivy produces blue to purple flowers between May and July.

*English ivy

Also suitable for larger areas, this vine spreads very quickly on runners, invading all empty space. English ivy will also climb, given a chance, so unless you want your house covered in ivy, or you are willing to trim regularly, use it only away from

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