Hello, I live in a lower level condo just outside of Portland, OR. The condo lives on a sloped lot. Outside my bedroom window is a large window well with 9-feet concrete retaining walls on 3 sides and a large plot of dirt that's waiting to be beautified. In the center of the well is an attractive vine maple. There's very little sun in the well, just a small amount of dappled light through the day. I've been here two years and have planted a few ferns, which like it there. I've also planted an epimedium, which is doing well. The soil is daunting--made up of equal parts rock and clay, but I'll work on ammending it so plants can thrive there. Suggestions on this front are welcome, too. I'd love to hear other suggestions for plants that would likely thrive out there and be pleasant to look at all at year long...groundcovers, as well as bigger plants. Interesting colors and textures, too! I'm also intrigued by the possibility of a shade-loving plant that would enjoy creeping up one or all of the retaining walls...does such a plant exist? I look forward to your responses! Addie
Ivy (ordinary Hedera helix and its many varieties) will grow in shade and creep up anything. The shiny leaves bring their own kind of light to a dark corner. There some fairly hardy variegated types, though the colors wouldn't show so well without sunlight. Hostas grow in shade and tolerate poor soils (though like everything else, they appreciate any soil improvements you might make). Again, the variegated and gold-leafed types need a bit of sun to bring out their best coloration, but even in fairly heavy shade they look interesting and the fat leaves contrast well with ferns. The variety 'August Moon' is one of my favorites -- more of a pumpkin-yellow than the usual yellow-green that passes for "gold" in these plants, and a color that becomes richer as the season progresses, right through autumn. If you're up for something different, there's a variegated bamboo called Sasaella masamuniana 'Albostriata' that grows about 18 inches tall and develops beautiful creamy stripes on large dark green leaves. It spreads and you might need to contain it. A clumping bamboo like one of the Fargesia species would grow well in shade -- in fact some of them can hardly tolerate sunlight -- and would look elegant, perhaps at one end of the planting area. Bamboos also have the advantage of being evergreen. (So does the ivy.) If there's enough moisture you might try Astilboides tabularis, sometimes sold as Rodgersia tabularis. This is a great plant that develops round, somewhat pleated, pale yellowish-green leaves that can grow as large as a serving platter. It might seem an odd choice for a small space but it adds an element of drama and brings an exotic touch, and would contrast smashingly with fine-textured plants like the ferns, epimedium, and bamboo. Like hosta only more so. You need to exercise some restraint in a small space like this, but by combining different leaf shapes and textures and colors, you should be able to create a lush little oasis.
Ivy is a listed noxious weed here. Since the centerpiece is a vine maple other native plants would help make a theme. Indicator Plants of Coastal BC (UBC Press) lists vine maple (Acer circinatum) as an indicator of nitrogen-rich soil, along with many others including the clumping, decorative shade-tolerant species Actaea rubra Adiantum pedatum Aquilegia formosa Aruncus dioicus Disporum (several) Dryopteris filix-mas Erythronium revolutum Heuchera micrantha Oplopanax horridus Polystichum munitum Smilacina racemosa Symphoricarpos albus Tellima grandiflora Thalictrum occidentale Tiarella trifoliata Trillium ovatum Viburnum edule Viola glabella If the vine maple is doing well that implies the soil is actually pretty good. Planting in the existing soil, without modification (other than loosening at time of planting) and mulching afterward may be adequate. Do not plant in amended individual planting holes surrounded by unmodified soil, and do not fork over the area of soil occupied by the roots of the maple.
Thank you for your responses. Interesting to discover that since the vine maple is doing well, the soil really can't be as poor as we'd imagined it to be. I'm going to investigate some of the species you both recommend. I'm still curious about non-invasive (that sounds like non-ivy?) species that would grow up the back wall...but maybe I'll come across the perfect one as I'm researching. Though I love bamboo, because it's a relatively tiny space, I think I'd prefer something viney and clingy rather than something that will take up real estate. Thanks so much for the suggestions, Best, Addie
Ron B's list of suggestions sounds so valuable. I will be away out of the province on vacation until the end of September but will come back to this site then to take this list into consideration for my own shady plantings! LanternMoon might want to consider the white-fronded Cryptomeria japonica 'Knaptonensis' which I brought up in the conifers forum, or similar "frosted" dwarf conifers suggested as alternates by Ron B in that thread... small prostrate or shade-loving evergreens [but white-tipped or yellow-tipped] conifers would light up the shade. Look at Tiny Treasures on Google as a plant nursery with possibilities...
