Shade Gardens: Native Plants and Ecological Benefits

You may have heard about the benefits of planting native plants in your home landscape - but what about in that shady spot in your yard? Are there native plants well suited to a shade garden? In this Everyday Environment Webinar Series video, learn the ecological benefits of planting natives underneath trees and explore your options when it comes to choosing shade tolerant native plants.
Topics covered in the video:
2:17 - Why choose natives?
5:16 - Ecological role of shade gardens
9:55 - When, where, how of native plants
17:27 - Species profiles
49:37 - Design idea
This video was originally recorded on May 13, 2021.
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[@philipbauerle1127]

Any time I get a question regarding shade pollinator plants this will be thev video I send them to! Well organized and full of great/accurate information! Thank you for your work!

[@pauladentebetz739]

Wow, I truly loved this! I am in Missouri, but still feel my area could benefit from a lot of these ideas. Thank you, so very much. This is golden, and again, I truly loved it. It inspires me and gives me hope for things! Paula

[@DigginDan]

Thank you SO much for sharing the recording. Great info that was presented very well.

[@paloma6974]

❤❤❤❤thanks

[@kristincox5920]

Thank you! This was a lovely presentation.

[@williamdenton6427]

great presentation Some other shade plants that are readily available that i have in the yard and are really native to the chicago area zig zag goldenrod; prairie trillium , toothwort, big leaf aster, downy yellow violet yellow pimprinel and star sedge and golden ragwort are good choices. I like fire pink and i do have all 4 species of pussytoes. Myself i am a native plant specialist that specializes in habitat restoration as a contractor for the city of Chicago and help maintain their city hall rooftop prairie garden.With 186 species it is really spectacular.

[@kukana228]

So helpful. Thank you for this Excellent Presentation!

[@ConstantGardener-q9q]

Sear sucker sedge is useful for shade garden design

[@PlantNative]

My Sensitive Fern went crazy and in one year began crowding out my other native ferns.

[@williamdenton6427]

Try male or lady fern I have found these to spread the least. Spleenwort ferns are good too.

[@brigittebilodeau8579]

Hi Erin , your presentation is really well done , I loved all your species recommendations. I have 2 large established Silver Maple trees , grass is growing around the trees . It’s January 14th 2022 I want to kill the grass with arborist wood chips laying a thick layer over the grass . The area would be ready to plant for spring 2022 . My question is I am wondering if I will prevent any insects that are maybe hibernating in the ground around the tree to surface from the ground in the spring to finish their life cycle ? I have converted Over 5,000 square feet of grass into native garden beds , but knowing that maybe some moths are buried in the ground at the base of the tree makes me uneasy to lay down the wood chips ! Do you think it’s safe for insects ? I don’t want to remove the grass , the dead root will offer some moisture and nutrient for the soil and I am afraid of root damage . Thank you

[@ajack6421]

I understand insects emerge by the time we have a series of 50° days. I don't know that it applies to caterpillars but I seriously respect this level of planning and consideration for our little guys! And applaud you getting rid of that volume of lawn desert! 🥰

[@joansmith3492]

need more than one picture of each plant to get a better notion of these plants

[@rdarrett3635]

Are the ferns invasive? I’m looking for a native fern but don’t want a fern that is invasive.

[@eringarrett7185]

The ferns mentioned in the webinar are all native species - they will spread slowly through rhizomes, but are not typically aggressive spreaders.