Marie Iannotti
Aruncus dioicus (Goat's Beard)
#1 - Large, towering plants can make wonderful focal points in a garden. Sometimes when designing a shade garden, you can get too caught up in all the woodland beauties and forget your design plan needs some substance to it. Goat's Beard is a very easy growing plant and makes a wonderful choice, providing your garden isn't in full shade. It will probably not grow as large as it would in full sun, but it should still be imposing and will flower just fine.
Shown here in the foreground: Aruncus dioicus (Goat's Beard): Zones 3 - 7 (5' x 5') Bloom Period: May - July
White flowering Astilbe can be used as an alternative. Two good choices are:
- Astilbe japonica 'Deutschland' Zones 3 - 9 (2' x 3'), Bloom Period: July - August
- Astilbe 'White Gloria' Zones 4 - 8 (3' x 2'), Bloom Period: July - August