We just bought this house and I’m trying to figure out what to plant in this area. It’s on the North side of the house so it’s pretty shaded. There is already a live oak, a cedar elm, and some purple heart. Would love something that fruits or flowers but given the lack of sun I know that’s probably not possible. Any shade tolerant native suggestions to keep this from getting muddy?
by G_LandDog
15 Comments
Very possibly to get some great native flowering and plants with seasonal interest. Here is a great resource. You can filter to your light requirements, soil type, etc at the top. Most of these plants can be found at The Natural Gardener, Greensleeves, and Barton Springs Nursery.
https://www.austintexas.gov/watershed-protection/plant-guide
Inland sea oats loves shade. Also have Greg’s mist flower in the partial shade and it works OK it does better in the sun, but it still does OK in the shade. Frog fruit does wonderful in the shade as well as the sun and it’s a beautiful ground cover. Turks cap also thrives in the shade. I have Turks cap along the fence row like yours and it has filled out that whole area. I have to contain it a little bit.
https://preview.redd.it/86xu6on71etg1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c137546298b3b85ddbad599773e289b0e45677c4
Turks cap
Texas Columbine! ❤️❤️❤️
Chile pequin, pigeonberry, beautyberry, cedar sage, Turks cap, flax lily (does best with some sun, even dappled sun), inland sea oats, rock rose, Mexican honeysuckle, Bear’s breeches (not native but well adapted).
Go wander at Ladybird Wildflower Center sometime and see what’s growing in the shaded spots; they’ve got good signage so you can start getting an idea of what appeals to you.
My yard is very similar, with more shaded greenbelt vibes than typical Austin xeriscaping.
I have webberville sedge along path edges, with inland sea oats, beautyberry, golden groundsel, brazos penstemon, and mistflower to fill in the yard. It’s a nice mix of textures and colors that bloom throughout the seasons and very happy in the shade. Lots of butterflies too!
Heartleaf skullcap and cedar sage make a really nice combo in areas of heavy shade like this.
I’m going to dig up some Inland Sea Oats. LMK if you want them. They do spread….
Turks cap
My whole yard is basically shaded! Coralberry and pigeon berry are two of my favorites.
I would restore the walking path first. That might help you decide.
Hiya, you’ve already got some horse herb aka straggler daisy there, so that’s nice. 👌🏽
I’d also check this one out ([nativebackyards](https://nativebackyards.com/native-ground-covers/)) — I had your same question and found it. Frog fruit is also mentioned here, and I want some!
American/Mexican Beautyberry varieties would do very well here, and get a bit taller/fuller than some of the other suggestions here.
Red Columbine – there is also a native yellow variety but I’m not sure it does as well in shady spots as its red cousin, at least in my experience – evergreen
Gregg’s mistflower – will aggressively spread if it likes its home – pale purple fuzzy flowers are very popular w pollinators, especially butterflies – dies back in cold winters – sometimes looks a bit weedy if you don’t do a Chelsea chop
Brazos Penstemon (Penstemon tenuis) – tall stalks with pinkish purple flowers in spring – evergreen
Ohio Spiderwort – makes lovely evergreen clumps resembling grass with long stalks containing blue/purple flowers at the top during spring/summer
Turk’s Cap – comes in a variety of flower colors, especially pink and red – very prolific growers with lots of flowers – ends up becoming shrub-like in appearance – can be aggressive – dies back in the winter at least in N TX
Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata) – makes a lovely evergreen groundcover with lovely stalks of pale purple flowers
Coneflower (purple is most ‘natural’ color) – evergreen – big flowers
Obedient plant – evergreen – pale pink flowers
somebody posted a site yesterday, not sure if it was here or in another gardening group, but you pop in your zipcode and it gives you a list of all the natives for your area, and you can select, full sun or full shade etc. I don’t know if I can post links here, but the site was called easyscape