IN THE SHADE- Wild Seed Project-Heather McCargo

WILD SEED PROJECT  Heather McCargo
IN THE SHADE- Gardening with native plants of the woodland understoryWild Seed Project www.wildseedproject.net           Summer 2026

 THE PLANTS

HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS

Bloodroot  Sanguinaria canadensis

Violet  Viola species

Wood rue Anemonella thalictroides

Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica

Golden Groundsel  Packera aurea

Barren Strawberry Waldsteinia fragoides

Wild Ginger Asarum canadensis

Foam flower Tiarella cordifolia

Crested iris Iris cristata

Solomon’s Seal  Polygonatum commutatum

Wood phlox Phlox divaricata#, P.stolonifera#

Shooting Star  Dodecatheon meadia#

Jacobs ladder  Polemonium reptans#

Stonecrop Sedum ternatum#

Wild geranium  Geranium maculatum

Baneberry Actaea rubra, A. pachypoda

Columbine  Aquilegia canadensis

Beardtongue  Penstemon digitalis, P.hirsutus

False Solomon’s seal  Maianthemum racemosa

Jack in the Pulpit  Arisaema triphyllum

Lobelias  Lobelia cardinalis, L.siphilitica

Ferns Ostrich, Lady, Sensitive, New York, Royal, Christmas

Wood Aster  Symphotrichum divaricata, S.cordifolium

Woodland Goldenrods Solidago caesia, S. flexicaulis

WOODY PLANTS

Moose maple Acer pensylvanicum

Spicebush  Lindera benzoin

Shadberry Amelanchier canadensis and A. laevis

Dogwoods Swida alternifolia, S. florida. (formally Cornus)

Musclewood Carpinus caroliniana

Witch hazel  Hamamelis virginiana

Bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera

Flowering Raspberry Rubus odoratus

Summersweet Clethra alnifolia

We have native alternatives of common exotics

Rosebay  Rhododenron maximum

Azalea  Rhododendron prinophyllum and viscosum

Mt. Laurel  Kalmia latifolia

Viburnums Hobblebush and Maple-leaved V. acerfolium and V. alnifolium

American hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens # 

#These species are hardy in Maine but native to southern New England
Wild Seed Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization www.wildseedproject.net