By Sandy Phelps, Garden Design Consultant
It is a common
misconception that it is not possible to have a lovely, colorful, low
maintenance garden in a shady yard. Some of the most memorable gardens I have
visited have been in partial or complete shade.
The most important thing to keep in mind before you begin to create your
dream garden is to plan before you start.
A few basic steps are all it will take to create a shady nook that will take
your breath away.
When I first moved into my
current house the “garden” was a small forest with no shape or color and
overtaken by invasive plants. The first winter I observed the yard and noted
certain things. Where were the sunny areas, wet spots and shady nooks. What
animals and birds visited my yard? Where was the best and worst soil? Only
after I took these factors into consideration did I make a plan – a plan that I
have worked on bit by bit over thirteen years.
My initial step was adding
a deer fence around a portion of my yard that I wanted to plant. I then had a
soil test done by the local Cooperative Extension Service to see what
amendments I needed to add to my soil. Next I thought about where I wanted to
place the hardscape such as a patio, walkway and pond. I looked at the yard
from different angles to see where I needed to place large trees and shrubs to
screen out my neighbors and create a sense of privacy.
Since much of my yard is
in full or part shade I had to determine how much shade each area would get
over the course of a day. Filtered or
light shade is the brightest category of shade. Light is filtered through
fine leaves or spaced trees. Medium
shade occurs when the sunlight is shaded by the shadow cast by a house,
wall, fence or branches and additional foliage.
The sunlight is irregular throughout the day. Deep or dense shade occurs when there are low branching trees or
evergreens. Sunlight cannot penetrate all the way to the ground except through
reflected light. Once I determined the
type of shade different areas in my yard would be receiving I then selected
those plants that would thrive in that particular type of shade.
The backbone of a
beautiful garden lies in the woody plants that are carefully placed to add year
round interest. I selected a variety of small trees and shrubs that would
create four season color, added plants to attract birds and beneficial insects
and included evergreens for winter interest and privacy. A few ornamental trees
that could be a focal point of a well-planned shade garden are Japanese Maple,
Serviceberry, Eastern Redbud, Fringe Tree, Dogwood, Witchazel, Saucer Magnolia,
Stewartia and Japanese Snowbell. These
flowering small trees will create structure as a well as bring color and height
to a shade garden.
Once the trees were
selected for my garden I determined the shrubs that would bring structure,
color and year round interest. My favorite shade loving shrubs are Carolina
Allspice, Clethra, Red or Yellow Twig Dogwood, Daphne, Hydrangea, Hollly,
Summersweet, Leucothoe, Andromeda, Cherry Laurel, Rhododendron, Azalea, Skimmia
and Viburnum. Most of these shrubs have
a softly scented flower. Hydrangeas come in a variety of colors from blues to
pinks as well as many leaf shapes such as the Oakleaf Hydrangea and small
tree-like Pee Gee Hydrangea with huge flower clusters.
Generally shade loving
plants with more colorful flowers need a filtered shade garden. Some perennial plants with blue or purple
flowers are Amsonia, Liriope, Iris, Lobelia, Bleeding Heart, Hardy Geranium,
Phlox and Primrose. Shade gardens with all white flowering perennials are often
called “Moon Gardens” as they create a silvery effect at night. White perennial
flowers for the shade are Goatsbeard, Astilbe, Campanula, Hellebore, Phlox and
Toad Lily. There are even perennials with yellow flowers that love the shade
and brighten up the garden. Some yellow flowering plants are Corydalis,
Leopard’s Bane and Daylily.
Not to be forgotten are
the bulbs. In early spring before the leaves appear on trees and shrubs, bulbs
poke their way up through the soil to announce that winter is over. Crocus,
Winter Aconite, Snowdrops, Grape Muscari, Scilla, Bluebells and Daffodils are
the first to brighten up a shade garden in spring while Lilies appear later in
the summer. Easy to grow, bulbs multiply
year after year with little care and in time will fill a shady nook with color.
Armed with all this
information on the type of shade in my garden, where hardscape and privacy
screening should be placed and what trees, shrubs and perennials would bring
color and interest to my garden, I created an overall plan for the placement of
each item. I divided my yard into zones
and tackled only one or two projects a year.
The ambitious plan was less daunting in small pieces and also more cost
friendly.
The final step to put into
place was to create a maintenance plan to keep my garden looking its best. I
researched how to prune, feed and water each plant. I approached my garden
maintenance just like keeping up my house or car. The key is regular
maintenance. I don’t try to do it all at once or put it off until it is a
jumble of weeds. In the spring a clean-up and mulch is needed to keep weeds
from getting an early start. In the summer I take a weekly walk around the
garden with a bucket to weed and deadhead.
In the autumn I cut back dying plants and add leaf mulch. It doesn’t take much time if it is done on a
regular basis.
A shade garden can be a
retreat where you sit and relax on a hot, summer day. It can be the first to
welcome you to spring with early flowering bulbs, trees and shrubs. Armed with knowledge about the type of shade,
soil and the right plants for your yard, you can plan, plant and maintain a
beautiful garden. If you want the garden
of your dreams but have no time to create it, hire a knowledgeable garden
consultant to access your space and design a workable plan. Then hire a qualified, certified and well
recommended landscaper to do all the work for you. Take the time to plan first
and then enjoy your garden for many years.
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