A Beginner's Guide To Shady Gardens

Like so many other problems in gardening, this one will go away if you make a slight adjustment of attitude and decide to embrace the shade rather than be daunted by it. A visit to any of the big gardens will show shady areas that have been successfully planted, and there is no reason why you should not do the same on a smaller scale.

So, how do we cope with shade? For some reason, many people simply ignore the fact that an area is shady and attempt to grow annuals and other sun loving plants in it. These inevitably languish and frequently die, and the gardeners get very despondent.

There is really no excuse for these problems as a large number of plants are available that actually like shady conditions. Perhaps the colors of these plants might not be so dazzling as the sun lovers because there are not many bright reds, for example, but they are still colorful enough to put on a good display. Many plants that like shade are yellow, and so stand out well in the gloomy light.

As well as plants with bright flowers, there are many foliage plants that can be used very effectively in such areas. Some have light, cariegated or silver splashed foliage, such as yellow archangel (Lamium Galeobdolon), which tend to illuminate the darker corners.

Others, such as hostas, have shiny leaves, and these catch and reflect the light, once again helping to brighten up the relative darkness.

So, what about miniature woodlands? Many shade loving plants grow in woodlands, and they appear, flower, seed and die back all before the trees come into leaf. The absence of leaves above them means that the plants have access to both the sun and the rain. Once the leaves on the trees emerge, the plants die back and remain dormant until the following winter or spring.

These plants, including wood anemones and bluebells, can be planted in a garden in odd packets of shade, such as under deciduous shrubs. Here the plants can be seen in spring, but later in the year nothing will grow here because the soil will be covered by the shrub's leaves.

This makes good use of space. Several such shrubs, perhaps of varying height and with this type of under planting, can be used to create a miniature woodland, even in the heart of town.

By: PlantNurserySupplies

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