Summer Sanctuary
Partial to full shade
Average soil
When summer heat sends you scurrying for shade, a comfortable bench set in a lush and leafy perennial garden offers the perfect place to lounge and linger. Plants with purple, yellow, or showily striped foliage offer high-impact color but need minimal maintenance, so you can enjoy having a great-looking garden without making yourself a lot of extra work.
The Garden Plan
Shopping List
1 ‘Brunette’ bugbane
Cimicifuga
2 plants
Zones 4–8
Alternates: ‘James Compton’ or other dark-leaved bugbane, or another 2- to 4-foot-tall, shade-tolerant perennial with showy summer flowers and/or leaves, such as ‘Bridal Veil’ astilbe (Astilbe) [2 plants] or ‘Zweiweltenkind’ goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus) [2 plants]
‘Brunette’ bugbane (Cimicifuga)
2 ‘Gold Standard’ hosta
Hosta
2 plants
Zones 3–8
Alternates: ‘Golden Tiara’ or another hosta with green-and-yellow or green-and-white leaves, or another 1- to 2-foot-tall, shade-tolerant perennial with showy summer flowers and/or leaves, such as ‘Stoplight’ heucherella (× Heucherella) [2 plants] or blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) [2 plants]
‘Gold Standard’ hosta (Hosta)
3 ‘Sprite’ astilbe
Astilbe
6 plants
Zones 4–8
Alternates: Another dwarf astilbe or other 6- to 18-inch-tall, shade-tolerant perennial with showy summer flowers and/or leaves, such as Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) [6 plants] or a dwarf bleeding heart (Dicentra) [6 plants]
‘Sprite’ astilbe (Astilbe)
4 ‘Evergold’ sedge
Carex
2 plants
Zones 5–9
Alternates: ‘Ice Dance’ or other sedge with green-and-white or green-and-yellow leaves, or another 6- to 18-inch-tall, shade-tolerant perennial with showy summer flowers and/or leaves, such as golden Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’) [2 plants] or variegated blue lilyturf (Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’) [2 plants]
‘Evergold’ sedge (Carex)
5 Chocolate Chip ajuga
Ajuga reptans ‘Valfredda’
6 plants
Zones 3–9
Alternates: ‘Black Scallop’ or other dark-leaved ajuga, or another 4- to 9-inch-tall, shade-tolerant perennial with showy summer flowers, fruits, and/or leaves, such as green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) [4 plants] or dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nanus’) [6 plants]
Chocolate Chip ajuga (Ajuga reptans ‘Valfredda’)
Planting Plan
Season by Season
Spring: Even though this collection of perennials is planned for summer interest, its season starts much earlier, with the purple-blue spikes of Chocolate Chip ajuga beginning in mid to late spring. There’s also plenty of early foliage color: chocolate brown from ‘Brunette’ bugbane and the ajuga, yellow from ‘Gold Standard’ hosta and ‘Evergold’ sedge, and bronzy green from ‘Sprite’ astilbe.
A thorough spring cleanup gets this garden off to a great start for the growing season. Cut down any remaining stems of the astilbe, bugbanes, and hostas, and rake out any dead leaves and other debris. If the sedge has some dead leaves, rake through the clumps to pull them out. Or, if the plants look very tattered, cut off all the leaves about 3 inches above the ground. Apply a fresh layer of organic mulch, too.
Summer: By early summer, your perennials should be filling out quickly. In midsummer, ‘Gold Standard’ hosta sends up very pale purple, trumpet-shaped blooms; enjoy the flowers or cut off the bloom stalks if you think they detract from the leaves. ‘Sprite’ astilbe blooms in mid to late summer, with light pink plumes that add another touch of color to the show of lovely summer leaves. You might also see flowers on ‘Brunette’ bugbane clumps in late summer, but they usually wait until autumn. ‘Evergold’ sedge’ and Chocolate Chip ajuga continue to add foliage color throughout the summer.
Summer maintenance is minimal: just trim off the bloom spikes of the ajuga once the flowers are done, if you wish, and water during extended dry spells.
Fall and Winter: The colorful foliage you enjoyed all summer continues well into autumn, with the bonus of spiky, scented white blooms on ‘Brunette’ bugbane in early fall.
Do a quick cleanup pass in mid to late fall to remove the frost-killed tops of the astilbe, bugbane, and hosta, if desired, or leave everything in place to provide some winter interest and protect the dormant plants over winter.
Digging Deeper
- This half-circle shape is perfectly suited for a site against a wall, fence, or hedge. If you’d prefer to use it in an open site, flip the plan along the straight side to create a circle-shaped garden with room for a larger seat in the middle.
- When you set any border against a vertical surface, leave some space between it and the plants at the back. That way, you’ll be able to get behind the garden to maintain the wall, fence, or hedge without trampling the plants. It also allows room for perennials at the back to expand and makes it easier for you to maintain the garden without having to step into the planting. A strip that’s 18 to 24 inches wide is adequate for most sites.
- Keep in mind that any time you add furniture or an ornament, such as a bench or birdbath, to a garden, you also need a way to reach it without trampling your perennials. You could add a formal brick or stone path (in a small garden, that could be a fun do-it-yourself project); make it a simple strip of gravel or bark mulch; or just lay out some stepping stones.
- Hostas (Hosta) are one of the last perennials to sprout in spring, but that doesn’t mean you have to be stuck with a large mostly empty circle until they fill out. Fill that space with crocuses (Crocus), hyacinths (Hyacinthus), mini daffodils (Narcissus), or other spring-blooming bulbs for early color. By the time their leaves are ready to die back to the ground in early summer, the hosta leaves will be growing vigorously and cover them up in no time.