If you are lucky, you have some nice sized trees in your yard to provide shade in the summer months. The problem with shade is that most flowering plants like full sun. Growing flowering plants in shade is not as difficult as one would assume, as there are plants with beautiful flowers that actually require shade in order to thrive. If you wish to learn how to grow flowers in the shade, this page has the information you seek.

One problem with growing in the shade is tree roots. It's usually necessary to build a raised bed underneath the trees, or grow shade-loving flowering plants in containers. It's very important to find out if the particular shade tree you're dealing with can tolerate having its roots buried under several inches of soil before you build a raised bed underneath. If the tree will not tolerate having its roots buried, there are many other possibilities for growing flowering shade plants there. You must also match the water requirements of the plants to those of the tree. For example, you don't want to plant flowers with low water needs underneath a plant that needs boggy soil, or vice versa.

When choosing flowering plants for shady locations, be sure to determine exactly what kind of shade you have. There are actually seven types of shade. Matching the plant to the degree of shade is essential in building a successful flowering shade garden.

Before you do anything else, you must gather information about the area where you will be growing your shade loving plants. The first step is to determine what kind of trees you are dealing with. Some trees do not like having things planted underneath them, and the roots of some trees, such as black walnut tree/black walnut, actually exude a chemical that kills anything growing underneath it. This information will determine whether you will be able to build a raised flowerbed, or you will have to grow your shade loving flowers in containers. http://www.qctimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/article_3143948d-1311-557b-817d-2473054c0b54.html

Once you have determined how you will have to plant your shade garden, you will need to lay out the shade garden area. Different plants need different depths of soil, so only lay out the perimeters now, and determine the depth based on the trees' requirements and what flowering shade plants you want to grow.

If growing in containers, you may want to cover the area with mulch or stones, or even plant shade-loving ground cover where the containers will be placed. Any benches, accessories, or ponds will need to be part of the layout plan, so that square footage of available planting space can be determined accurately.

There are 7 types of shade that can exist in your yard, depending on where you live and where your flowering shade garden will be located on the property. http://gardening-techniques.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_7_types_of_shade_in_your_garden

Part Sun/Part Shade areas get at least 6 hours of sunlight a day, which is sufficient for almost any blooming plant that does not require full sun.

Open Shade areas are located on the north side of a house or other structure, but are not shaded by anything else. Flowering plants requiring "light shade" do well here.

Dappled Shade is found under trees that do not have dense canopies, so the area receives some sun as it rotates through the sky. True shade loving flowering plants will not do well in these areas, but most light shade flowering plants will.

Medium Shade areas are on the north side of the house and are further shaded by trees. Shade loving blooming plants such as hosta and astilbe do well in these areas.

Deep Shade this is shade where grass won't grow. Hostas and gingers do well in these areas.

Moist shade is usually found in deep shade areas, due to the fact that there is no sunlight to dry the soil. Make sure to plant moisture loving blooming shade plants here.

Dry shade is found where tree roots drink up all the available moisture. This can be problematic, as there are very few plants that will tolerate these conditions.

Now that you know what kind of conditions, beds, and shade you have, you can begin to choose the shade loving flowering plants that will grow in the garden.

Plant nurseries and garden centers keep their plants in the sun conditions where they grow best, so look for plants under some sort of shade cover. Read the plant labels or signs to learn what types of shade the plants will tolerate, or ask an employee if you are unsure. Always grow plants that are suited to your particular area.

Make sure that your shade loving flowering plants will not outgrow their space. Pay attention to mature size so that the plants will not be overcrowded. If you are mixing annuals and perennials, be sure that the full sized perennials will leave spots for the annuals to be placed.

The two most popular shade loving annuals are begonias and impatiens, as they come in a large selection of sizes, colors, leaf shapes and flowers. Other well-loved shade loving flowers include browallia, torenia, fuschia, perilla, and dianthus.

Hostas are extremely popular for shady areas due to their beautiful leaves as well as their flowers. Other flowering shade loving perennials are astilbe, heuchera, vinca, hellebores, and lamium. In warmer climates, members of the ginger family and bromeliads are favorite shade loving bloomers.

Brugmansia and datura are two beautiful shade loving blooming plants that can be grown in many climates.

• Impatiens

• Begonia

• Ginger

• Hosta

• Gardenia

• Heuchera