Try these distinctive plant choices for defining visual boundaries for outdoor rooms
Part of the fun of creating outdoor rooms is finding unique perimeter plants to make each area feel separate and enclosed. Here are a few time-tested favorites that are ideal for adding intrigue and a little privacy around the edges of garden rooms.
Learn More: Transform Your Yard One Garden Room at a Time
1. Paperbark maple
Acer griseum
- Zones: 4–8
- Size: 20 to 40 feet tall and 15 to 30 feet wide
- Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; average to moist, slightly acidic, well-drained soil
- Native range: Central and eastern China
With its highly ornamental peeling coppery bark, this tree is an eye-catcher every day of the year. One of the first plants installed near the edge of the back patio, it is now over 30 feet tall with a wide canopy that casts dappled shade over the seating area below. Vibrant red-orange fall foliage is a seasonal bonus.
2. ‘Skyracer’ purple moor grass
Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea ‘Skyracer’
- Zones: 5–8
- Size: 6 to 8 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide
- Conditions: Full sun; average to wet, well-drained soil
- Native range: Asia and Europe
This warm-season grass has a dense, upright, clumping habit. Starting in midsummer, long, graceful stems rise above the foliage holding airy inflorescences that mature into golden seed heads. Durable and dependable once established, it is a perfect seasonal screen.
3. Gold dust acuba
Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’
- Zones: 6b–9
- Size: 4 to 6 feet tall and wide
- Conditions: Partial to full shade; moist, fertile, well-drained soil
- Native range: East Asia and Japan
This evergreen shrub loves a sheltered, shady spot. Established plants will tolerate dry conditions but will be happiest if they receive regular moisture and plenty of organic matter. Gold-flecked evergreen foliage is a sparkling accent that is especially useful for making fully shaded nooks and crannies feel a little less gloomy.
4. ‘Sun King’ aralia
Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’
- Zones: 4–8
- Size: 3 to 6 feet tall and wide
- Conditions: Partial shade; moist, well-drained soil
- Native range: East-central to southern China, Japan, and Korea
Quickly putting on 3 to 6 feet of top growth in a single season, this is a perennial that has the look and feel of a shrub. It is a useful plant around the edges of a shade garden and will have the best, brightest foliage color if it gets at least a little bit of sun each day. Grown in spots with more shade, it will be a deeper tone of chartreuse that is still very lovely.
5. Rough tree fern
Cyathea australis
- Zones: 8–10
- Size: 15 to 20 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide
- Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; consistently moist, fertile soil
- Native range: Eastern Australia and Tasmania
If you need an unexpected, eclectic tropical specimen to anchor a partially shaded area, would you consider a potted tree fern? This lacy beauty adapts well to container life, which is a useful trait because it will need to be brought indoors over winter in colder climates. If it gets any direct sun, especially in the afternoon, keep it very well watered to prevent its foliage from burning.
Andrew Bunting is vice president of horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in Philadelphia.
Photos by Carol Collins