I have two shade beds at my home. One is located on the north side of my house and the other is located under a large pine tree. Under the pine tree I have hydrangea, daylillies, heuchera and some of the astillbes. I have wanted to fill in the astillbes in that bed but I needed to wait for them to get big enough to divide and do the division before the weather was too hot. Well, today was the day. I was able to fill the area under the tree with the two types of astillbes and I am so happy with the way it looks. Once these divisions fill in, the area is going to look great and the weeding will be kept down by the perennials shading the soil.
Some species are commonly known as False Goat's Beard, and False Spirea. They are widely adapted to water-logged conditions, and tolerate clay soils well. Astilbes are one of the easiest perennial flowers to grow, but they give a high return. Virtually pest free, they can light up the shade garden. Astilbe plumes bloom in June-July.
If you are looking for an inexpensive perennial that loves shade and can be divided every two to three years to make you some free plants, try the astillbe. The foliage is beautiful, comes in many different colors and the flowers are as varied as the foliage.
| This looks like my small, dark foliage variety |
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| Here you can see the flowers of different varieties |
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| This one looks like my pink flowered, light colored variety |
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