Shady corner garden proved me wrong about cacti

I used to think cacti only belonged in deserts with full sun... but the ones in Mrs. Chen's shaded front yard are blooming like crazy this spring. Now I'm rethinking my whole plant selection for that dark spot under my oak tree. What other plants do well in deep shade that I might have overlooked?

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the_hannah6mo ago

That "shady corner garden" idea hits home. I totally wrote off hostas for years, thought they were just boring green lumps. Stuck one in a dark side yard as a last resort and it exploded. Biggest leaves I've ever seen. Same with Japanese painted ferns. The less sun they get, the more those silver colors just pop. Makes you look at every dark spot differently.

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caseyflores5mo ago

But full sun still gives way better blooms than any shade plant, even @black.laura's astilbe.

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black.laura6mo ago

My mom's dark patio has astilbe that pops with red flowers every summer. @the_hannah is spot on about shade making plants show their best colors. I threw some dead nettle under a bush and it spread like crazy.

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