If you are looking for a tall shade perennial to fill a large space or dark corner, look no further – Goat’s Beard (Aruncus dioicus), sometimes known as Bride’s Feathers, is what you want. Reaching a stately height of six feet tall and three feet wide this impressive native perennial easily fit the bill for what I needed.
Click to view slideshow.I have a dark, damp corner next to my house and was looking to camouflage a downspout while providing a backdrop for a stone bench. Moisture loving Goat’s Beard grows rapidly because it is a late spring/early summer shade perennial – these shade plants don’t mess around waiting to grow. They jump out of the starting gate before the leaves on trees block the sun.
It blooms in late May/early June. You can see it reached a height of eighteen inches by May 4, a height of 4.5 feet by May 21, and began blooming June 4. In fact we needed to move our stone bench forward last year because Goat’s Beard became so lush that it would have grown right over the bench.
At first I was hesitant about this plant. I didn’t think the creamy, white blossoms would show up against our white stucco house. However, I don’t think I have found another large perennial that does so well in fairly dense shade.
It is the perfect filler for a problem space. (And it would be a great asset to a woodland border garden as well – not only for the statement the tall white flowers make, but because it is deer resistant as well).
The white blooms show up against the dark green foliage that kind of looks like astilbe foliage. Even after it blooms the feathery, dark green leaves are pretty next to the white stucco. Goat’s Beard isn’t a scruffy goat at all.
