Native Shade Garden Kit: We often get questions about pollinator-friendly plants that can thrive in the shade and this kit offers a nice variety for a shady corner. All of these plants together will support a large variety of butterflies and other pollinators. The plants in this kit are deer resistant or not preferred by deer.
This kit contains several flowering shade plants of various colors and heights, with a range of bloom times from April to October, so there will be something popping from spring through fall. A few of these plants are considered premium species and come in a slightly bigger pot.
Design and Planting Tips:
- Prepare your garden site (follow the link for details as well as information about plant spacing)
- A location with full to partial shade, and moderate soil moisture is ideal for this grouping
- Group plants of the same species together
- Consider the height of each plant. Position taller plants at the back and shorter plants at the front
- Plant 1.5 to 2 feet apart
Kit Contents:
6 varieties, with 2 of each (12 total plants), all listed below with details. An image of each plant can be found to the left, pictured in the order listed:
Approximate Garden Size: 4' x 6' or 18–24 sq ft
2 - Columbine (2")
2 - Heart Leaf Aster (2")
2 - Bloodroot (Qt)
2 - Wood Poppy (2.5")
2 - Zigzag Goldenrod (2")
2 - Pen Sedge (2.5")
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Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) -
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial, Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry
Height: 2ft
Bloom Time: April, May, June
Bloom Color: Red
Deer: Resistant
Attracts: butterflies, bees, hummingbirds
Pollinator Benefit: Larval Host for Columbine Duskywing Butterfly
Deer Resistent
Heart Leaf Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Partial-shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry
Soil: Clay, loam, sand
Height: 3'
Bloom time: September, October
Bloom Color: Light purple
Deer: Moderately resistant
Attracts: Butterflies, bees
Pollinator Benefits: Larval Host for the Pearl Crescent butterfly and the Wavy-Lined Emerald moth; Xerces Society rating: Special Value to Native Bees (Recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of native bees.) Supports Conservation Biological Control (A plant that attracts predatory or parasitoid insects that prey upon pest insects.)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Native Spring Perennial
Sun Exposure: Part Shade to Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist, Wet
Soil: Moist to mesic, well-drained, humus-rich soils.
Height: Up to 2'
Bloom Time: March, April
Bloom Color: White
Deer: Resistant
Drought: Intolerant
Attracts: Native bees
Pollinator benefits: Early pollen for native bees
Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) -Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Medium to Wet
Height: up to 20"
Bloom Time: April-June
Bloom Color: yellow, orange
Deer: Resistant
Pollinator Benefit: nectar and pollen
Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) -
Native Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet, Moist
Soil Type: Various rich, mesic, acid soils. Tolerates lime.
Height: 2'-4'
Bloom Time: July-October
Bloom Color: Yellow
Deer: Resistant
Attracts: Butterflies, native bees, birds
Pollinator Benefit: Late season nectar source; value to native bees for pollen and nesting materials; migrating Monarchs; Xerces Society identifies as Special Value for Native Bees and Honey Bees
Note: Goldenrods are often mistakenly blamed as the cause of hay fever - an allergic reaction to wind-borne pollen. But they, and most native wildflowers, do not have wind-borne pollen. Instead, the pollen is moved from bloom to bloom by bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Native Perennial Sedge
Light: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Description: Dry to moist soils.
Height: Up to about 20 inches tall.
Bloom Color: White, Green, Brown
Bloom Time: May–July
Bloom Notes: Bloom time refers to the fruiting period for Carex spp.
Deer: Resistant
Attracts: Butterflies, Pollinators, Birds w/ seeds and nesting material
Pollinator Benefits: Larval host; supports native bees with nesting material and pollen